The February heat has us out of doors and looking for ways to make the most of the balmy days and nights while also seeking ways to cool down. There are cool meals to help achieve both of these goals. Make watermelon “pizza” and a chilled summer soup, and follow some chicken espetadas with an orange-anise sorbet.

Watermelon wedges

Watermelon salad wedges, or ‘pizza’. (Photo: Tony Jackman)

They’re round, they’re cut into wedges, and there’s a topping… but they’re not pizza.

Ingredients

1 round of watermelon, including the rind, about 1.5 cm thick

1 small red onion, sliced and pickled

1 Tbsp toasted and crushed Szechuan peppercorns

1 finely chopped red chilli, seeds removed

4 Tbsp crumbled creamy feta

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Coarse pink sea salt

Chopped mint

For the pickle:

¾ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup cold water

2 Tbsp honey

½ tsp sea salt

Method

Heat all pickle ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Slice the red onion thinly and put in a jar or bowl. Pour the pickling liquid over and let it stand for 30 minutes. Chill.

Mix the balsamic vinegar and olive oil together. Toast and crush the Szechuan peppercorns.

Cut a 1.5 cm round slice all the way through the middle of a watermelon and then cut into wedges. Keep the rind on. Pick out the pips that you can see.

Drizzle the balsamic and oil over all the wedges. Crumble the feta over. Drop slivers of pickled red onion here and there. Sprinkle the crushed Szechuan peppercorns and bits of chilli over. Finally, sprinkle with chopped fresh mint and coarse sea salt.

Chilled spanspek and coriander soup

Chilled spanspek and coriander soup. (Photo: Tony Jackman)

This recipe, though it retains the sweetness of the melon, is a savoury dish. Just like a million other soups, it starts with the simmering of chopped onion, carrot and celery with garlic, and then you flavour it up with orange peel, bay leaves and subtle spices. Then, cubed melon goes in and a bit of magic starts to happen in the pot.

The soup needs to be well chilled before serving, and is perfect for lunch on a hot summer’s day.

Ingredients

3 Tbsp avocado oil

1 large white onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 celery stick, diced

2 carrots, grated

1 tsp ground coriander seeds

½ tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground fennel

1 strip of dried or fresh orange peel (or naartjie)

2 bay leaves

1 large spanspek (cantaloupe), peeled, deseeded and cubed

1 litre vegetable stock

500 ml full cream milk

Salt and white pepper to taste

A handful of fresh coriander (cilantro), rinsed, patted dry and finely chopped

More fresh coriander to garnish

Method

Sauté the onion and garlic in avocado oil for only a minute or two until softened but not taking on colour.

Add the celery and carrot, stir well, and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes while stirring.

Add the orange peel and bay leaves and stir in the spices. Add the cubed spanspek and stir to coat. Simmer gently for 5 minutes or so, stirring now and then.

Add the stock, milk and salt and white pepper to taste and bring to a boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and simmer for about 20 minutes, covered, on a low heat.

Remove the bay leaves and orange peel. Cool the soup to room temperature.

Blend until smooth in a food processor or using a handheld blender, then stir in the chopped coriander and quickly whizz it again.

Refrigerate until well chilled. Serve with a coriander leaf garnish. 

Chicken espetadas with rosemary and garlic

Espetada: cubes of chicken skewered on rosemary branches and grilled over hot coals. (Photo: Tony Jackman)

The traditional Madeiran recipe for skewered beef or chicken is called espetada, usually cooked using bay tree branches. In more modern iterations, metal skewers are poised dramatically over a plate in your local Portuguese taverna, with bay leaves interspersed between the chunks of meat.

This recipe for chicken espetada uses rosemary branches, with plenty of the garlic and bay of the traditional Madeiran espetada. Of course, you can use bay branches if you’re lucky enough to have them.

Ingredients

4 plump chicken breasts

4 fat cloves of garlic (1 per breast), chopped finely

12 bay leaves

Coarse salt

Olive oil to prevent the chicken sticking to the braai grid

Method

The night before, or early in the morning of the day when you are to braai the sosaties/ espetadas/ kebabs, call them what you will, cut the chicken breast fillets into thick chunks and put them in a bowl or bakkie with all of the chopped garlic and plenty of coarse salt.

Massage the garlic into the meat and make sure the garlic is spread throughout. Refrigerate, covered, until an hour before needed, so you can bring the chicken back to room temperature.

Cut rosemary skewers to the desired length, somewhat longer than the chicken pieces will fill, because they look better that way and the chunks won’t fall off.

Skewer the chicken pieces directly onto the rosemary skewers; there’s no need to pick off the rosemary needles. Some may fall away naturally; that’s fine. Alternate some bay leaves between the chicken pieces. If the bay leaves will not be skewered (mine kept falling off), wrap them around the skewer and push the next piece of chicken right up against it to trap it there.

Once all the pieces are skewered evenly on the four rosemary branches, drizzle olive oil on all sides to prevent the chicken from sticking to the braai grid.

Grill on very hot coals, turning often, until just done. Be careful, as small pieces of chicken cook quickly and will dry out sooner than you can blink.

Orange-anise sorbet

Orange-anise sorbet. (Photo: Tony Jackman)

Oranges may not be in season, but there’s nothing better to end a meal in the summer heat than a tangy citrus sorbet.

Ingredients

700 ml freshly squeezed orange juice

250 g sugar

3 star anise

Squeeze of lemon juice

Method

Bring juice and sugar to a boil in a pot with the star anise, stirring.

Simmer for 3 minutes, stirring. Strain into a freezer container. Cool to room temperature. Freeze. 

After two hours, remove from the freezer and stir to break up the crystals. Repeat this every hour for three hours, then leave to freeze until needed. DM/TGIFood

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks. Share your versions of his recipes with him on Instagram and he’ll see them and respond.