Spring entertaining

Think simple and fresh.

The evenings are getting longer and it’s like everyone is coming out of hibernation, so be inspired and invite some friends over. Celebrate longer days, more sunshine and fabulous food.

On my travels in this glorious country, I stop at the various farmers markets and am always amazed at the food that our local food heroes produce. On a recent trip to Hawkes Bay, I visited the Hastings Farmers Market and found some quark, a type of fresh cheese that is similar to cottage cheese but is creamy with no lumps. An absolute must try. It is healthy and great to cook and bake with, fantastic for desserts and convenient and healthy to use as a base for spreads. I have since discovered that you can buy it in most supermarkets, but if you can get it fresh at the farmers market or your local delicatessen shop, buy lots of it and freeze it, so you always have it on hand.

On an earlier food adventure, I bought a Micro Greens Kit at the Taupo Farmers Market. Since my vegetable garden has been a bit neglected, I now grow some greens and herbs on my kitchen bench. You should try it; it’s so easy and convenient, and it looks so pretty.

So equipped with two tubs of quark, fresh sourdough bread, garden-fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, peas and broad beans and salmon, I put together a healthy and yummy menu. The best thing about it is that there is absolutely no cooking; you can prepare everything ahead of time and then just plate everything up before your guests arrive.

Spring Menu

Sourdough Bread topped with quark spreads and a pea and broad bean spread Cucumber Quark bites (with or without salmon) Stuffed Cherry tomatoes Home-cured Salmon

Micro Greens

Raspberry Quark Dessert

Cured Salmon (Gravlax) with Quark Raita served on Sourdough Bread

For the Cured Salmon you will need:

3 days to cure the salmon 2 sides of fresh salmon (you will need about 1 – 1.5 kg for 8-plus people) 1/3 cup of sea salt fl akes 1/3 cup of brown sugar Very fi nely grated zest of 1-2 lemons Bunch of fresh dill fi nely chopped Good grinding of black pepper

For the Quark Raita you will need:

250g of quark 1/3 of a cucumber grated 1 garlic clove crushed Handful of fresh mint leaves fi nely chopped Salt and pepper to season

To Serve

Sourdough bread thinly sliced 1 red onion fi nely sliced Capers Micro Greens (mustard or rocket works good with salmon)

Place the salmon fi llets skin down on the bench and remove the bones with tweezers (or you can ask your fi shmonger to do this for you). Place sugar, salt fl akes, fi nely grated lemon zest, and chopped dill in a bowl, add freshly ground pepper and mix well. Then rub it into your salmon. Give it a good massage. Sandwich the two salmon sides together and wrap them fi rmly with some cling fi lm. Place it on a platter or on a baking tray and weigh it down with another platter and place it in the fridge. After 12 hours, remove the salmon from the wrap (it would have created some juices) and rewrap and place it back into the fridge with another platter on top. Turn it over every 12 hours. After three days, your salmon is ready to eat and will last in the refrigerator for up to a week. To make the Quark Raita, grate the cucumber, sprinkle some salt over it and let it drain in a sieve for 20 minutes. Squeeze as much of the liquid out of the cucumber before mixing it with the chopped mint and garlic into the quark. Season with salt and pepper and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

You can make up little bites of sourdough bread, topped with Quark Raita, salmon, red onions, capers and a sprinkling of micro greens and serve them on a platter or you can place all the ingredients on a platter and let everyone help themselves.

If you have any leftover salmon, try it on scrambled egg, in sushi, in a salad or over new potatoes and with asparagus.

Savoury Quark on Sourdough Bread or serve on cucumber slices and fi ll cherry tomatoes

You will need:

250g of quark 1 tomato fi nely chopped 2 spring onions fi nely sliced a handful of chopped parsley

Or try a combination of herbs: chives, parsley and garlic basil coriander and chili or peppers

It’s all simple: Mix quark with chopped herbs and refrigerate until needed. Serve on bread or crackers or on slices of cucumbers and fi lled in cherry tomatoes.

Fresh Pea & Broad Bean Spread

You will need:

1 cup of fresh garden peas 1 cup of broad beans - pod and jacket removed (you can use frozen ones if you do not have fresh ones) ¼ cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese 1 large clove of garlic fi nely chopped Quality New Zealand olive oil Salt and pepper Place peas and beans onto a plate, and mash them up with a fork. You could do this in a blender, but I quite like the rustic effect of mashing them up with a fork. Add the parmesan, garlic and enough olive oil to make a chunky spread. Season and refrigerate until needed.

Top sourdough bread with this luscious green paste and sprinkle with micro greens.

Raspberry Quark Dessert

To serve eight guests you will need:

1kg of quark 4 cups of fresh raspberries (if need be you can use frozen ones) ¼ cup sugar 4 tablespoons of sugar Finely grated zest of 2-3 lemons 2-4 tablespoons of lemon juice

Mix the quark with ¼ cup of sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice and set aside. Keep eight raspberries aside and sprinkle the rest with four tablespoons of sugar. Choose dessert glasses that hold about 150- 200ml. Place a couple of spoonfuls of raspberries in each glass; cover with a couple of spoonfuls of quark mixture; then another layer of raspberries, a spoonful of quark and top each glass with a single raspberry.