It feels like summer is here again as the days are warm, and the valley is lit up with clear alpine-like skies after the marathon heat (le chaleur) of August.
3-minute read
Before our palates switch to winter (l’hiver), and we turn to hearty soups and stews for comfort, I wanted to share three of our summer 2025’s favourite recipes (recettes). Two have made the most of the vegetable patch (le potager). The other celebrates the free fruit available in the hedgerows (les haies) of which we are working hard to cultivate – and restore.
Homemade blackberry ice cream
This creamy homemade (fait maison) ice cream (glace) is quick and easy. You can make them in lolly shapes or in ramekin dishes.
This recipe was so popular, we made weekly batches – and the constant supply was on-hand to keep us cool on hot days. It replaced any need to buy ice creams or lollies, because the recipe is so quick and easy.
We tried the recipe with a whole range of fruit. Here are the conclusions from testing: blackberry (mûre) fruits were free and the ice cream felt healthy as well as tasty; strawberry (fraise) was delicious; raspberry (framboise) not as good as strawberry; mango (mangue) interesting/better than shop bought and, lastly, cherry (cerise) was tasty – but you need to strain the skins and – as I have been reminded – I added too much fruit and not enough milk.
How to make it
Put about 500/600g of fruit into a bowl and mash the fruit. You don’t need to be too precise with the quantity of fruit but the more you add, the better the flavour. When not having access to free foraged blackberries, then I used small bags of frozen fruits (defrosted) or fresh fruit.
Take the fruit, and using a handheld mixer, blend it with a small tin of condensed milk (lait concentré 397g). Then add about 300ml of milk. The electric whisk will mix it well and add air.
At this point you might be spraying fruit around your kitchen, so you should use a tea towel (un torchon) like a tent to try and keep the fruit pieces off your walls. Being a bit of a chaotic cook, this lesson was one learned.
Put the mixture in your lolly shapes or ramekin dishes and place in the freezer (congélateur). If you don’t want the seeds or skins, strain the mixture before freezing. After about 4+ hours or over night your pots or lollies will be ready for devouring.
This is not sophisticated ice cream-making. If you know the difference between gelato and standard ice cream this could be too basic for you; however, for someone without an ice cream maker or the time to re-enter the freezer every few minutes (I mean, who has time for that?!), it is quick and simple. If it is too hard to eat when you take it out, let it soften for a few minutes.
Delightful summer sandwich
This sandwich is packed full of goodness, very low cost and this Peyroulat invention kept us fed during the summer.
I named it my “poke bowl summer sandwich”. There is nothing more pleasurable than eating sushi, but that is a Pau “luxury” and not around every corner here. In the sticks (la cambrousse), dining is still more about confit de canard and beef.
It was cheap to make because all vegetable ingredients used were grown from seed.
How to make it
Take a generous amount of shredded beetroot (betterave), add tuna (thon) flakes, tomatoes (in the photo yellow pear variety). Add shredded basil (basilic).
Butter your bread and add a layer of mayonnaise. Then pour some sweet chilli sauce (to taste) and a few dashes of sweet soy sauce over the beetroot mixture, so it can absorb this liquid and not run out of the sandwich. Top with a piece of bread.
Et voila (here it is), a cheap and healthy homegrown “summer poke bowl sandwich” packed with multi-coloured wholesome homemade (fait maison) veg.
If you are vegetarian, emit the tuna.
Simple tomato sauce
Delicious with pasta or as an accompaniement with roasted courgettes and herb sausages, this makes the weeks of preparation on the veg patch worthwhile across the whole summer months.
Pick the tomatoes, then chop into small chunks. Add salt and pepper plus a splash of olive oil and roast in the oven at about 170c for 40 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened – but not lost all their shape. Before serving add shredded basil.
You can also make this into a more sophisticated sauce by adding other ingredients such as onion, garlic and roasted peppers but, in our opinion, freshly picked roasted tomatoes are so full of flavour they can stand up for themselves.
Add the sauce to pasta plus a sprinkling of cheese et voila.
Disclaimer:
Dear reader, these recipes have been written as a useful information-only resource with the aim of spreading a little joy. The author takes no liability for any kitchen chaos or injuries that may arise or forseen and unforseen food allergies. Bon appétit (enjoy your meal).
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