summer dish

Enjoy all the flavours of a taco night in this colourful Tex-Mex salad. Just like a taco, you can make it your own and add your favourite toppings

Taco salad

red onion, sliced

lime, juiced

sunflower oil

lean beef mince

½ pack taco

tomato purée

can black beans,

tortilla chips

iceberg lettuce, shredded

avocados,

tomatoes, chopped into chunks

feta, crumbled

coriander, chopped or leaves picked

½ lime, juiced

tbsp soured cream

chilli sauce (optional),

Mix the red onion with half the lime juice and a pinch of salt in a small bowl, then set aside.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-low heat, and crumble in the mince. Cook for 15-20 mins – the mince will release some liquid, but once this has bubbled away, it will sizzle in its own fat. At this point, stir or toss with a wooden spoon so the mince browns and caramelises all over. If the pan becomes too dry, add a drizzle more oil. When the mince is well toasted, sprinkle over the taco seasoning and cook for 2 mins, then stir through the tomato purée and pour over the rest of the lime juice and let it sizzle for another minute. Stir through the black beans and turn up the heat to medium, continuing to cook until everything is hot. Taste for seasoning, then set aside.

To make the dressing, mix the lime juice with the soured cream and chilli sauce, if using, season, then set aside.

Scatter a handful of tortilla chips into a bowl, then add a layer of lettuce, then the mince and black beans. Top with the avocado slices, chopped tomato, pickled red onions, along with any juices, and the feta. Drizzle with the dressing, then finally scatter over the coriander. Tuck more tortilla chips around the sides of the bowl, then serve.

Simple, delicious and refreshing -- my Shandong Chicken recipe, served with a sweet and tangy savory sauce, is the perfect addition to your meal on a hot day! With my simplified version, you can easily make this classic dish at home.

Shandong Chicken (Chinese Chicken and Cucumber Cold Dish)

chicken leg (or bone-in chicken thigh, drumstick

soy sauce

vegetable oil

Sichuan peppercorn

tsp rice cooking wine (mijiu) (or Shoaxing wine)

ginger

scallion

tbsp broth from steaming chicken

garlic (minced,

tbsp rice vinegar

tsp black vinegar (optional)

tsp sugar

tsp sesame oil

mini cucumber (or 1 English cucumber)

chopped cilantro (optional)

chili oil (optional)

Coat both sides of the chicken with soy sauce before placing it skin side down and marinating for 30 minutes.  This step is mainly for getting color on the chicken to mimic the result of braising chicken. You can do this a few hours ahead or overnight.

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat until the oil is hot, pat dry the chicken before placing the chicken in the skillet with the skin side down.  Cook for about 3 minutes or until the skin becomes golden brown.  Flip the chicken and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Transfer chicken into a dish or tray with skin side down, top with Sichuan peppercorn, rice cooking wine, ginger, scallion and steam for 30-35 minutes over medium heat or until it&#39;s cooked through.

Prepare the Chicken

Trim the two ends of the cucumbers before cutting into 2&quot; (5 cm) sections.  Gently smash each section with the flat side of your knife just to break them open.  Cut each section in half lengthwise and place them on a serving plate.

Drain the broth from steaming the chicken and set aside 4 tbsp of the broth. In a small bowl mix the broth with soy sauce, rice vinegar, black vinegar, sugar, minced garlic and sesame oil.  Drizzle a bit over the cucumber.

Prepare Cucumber and Dressing

Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard Sichuan peppercorn, ginger and scallion, break pieces of chicken off from the bone and place it on top of the cucumber. Top with scallion slices (and other optional toppings if using) and drizzle with the dressing.

You can serve this dish right away or let it chill in the fridge for about half an hour before serving.

Assemble the Dish

Get this juicy steak dinner on the table in only 15 minutes. Enjoy with lemony lentils, rocket, parmesan, roasted red peppers and charred lemon

Steak tagliata with lemony lentils

sirloin

pouch of cooked puy lentils

lemon, halved

red peppers

rocket

tsp red wine vinegar

tbsp extra virgin olive oil

parmesan

Take the steak out of the fridge an hour before you want to cook it.

Heat a frying or griddle pan until it’s smoking hot. Meanwhile, warm the lentils following pack instructions, then tip them onto a big plate or platter to cool a little. Rub the oil over the steak and season generously, then put in the hot pan. Cook to your liking (rare to medium-rare works well for this dish and will take around 2 mins on each side, or a little longer if the steak is particularly thick). Transfer to a plate and leave to rest for a few minutes, loosely covered with foil.

Put one lemon half in the pan, cut-side down, and char it over a high heat for a minute – this will make it extra juicy. Scatter the peppers and rocket over the warm lentils, drizzle with the vinegar and extra virgin olive oil and season with salt. Toss together lightly using your hands.

Slice the steak as thinly as you can and arrange it over the top of the salad. Cut thin shards of parmesan straight from the block, crumble them a little in your hands, then scatter over the top. Serve the lemon on the side for squeezing over.

Top 3 summer dish recipes from across the web

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Taco salad

Shandong Chicken (Chinese Chicken a...

Steak tagliata with lemony lentils

Top 3 summer dish recipes from across the web

The most viewed summer dish recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Taco salad

Shandong Chicken (Chinese Chicken a...

Steak tagliata with lemony lentils

The most viewed summer dish recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine