Summer! It has been hot here in London the last few weeks. Hot like a Northeast summer, but without the air conditioning and functioning trains. I love every moment of it, though 3 previous European summers have changed me. Humidity is rough, man. On the other hand, there’s no better excuse for overindulging in ice cream, not that I need much reason.

In other news, I have my first UK library card! Cause for celebration. The first thing to come home with me was a cookbook that I’ve been thinking about for a while. I have 3 weeks to leaf through it, take notes and try recipes. Since I love eating at Polpo so much, I’m expecting a lot from this book! Most of the ingredients are easy to find, and the recipes aren’t a million steps and 7 different cooking methods.

So when you put a hot summer together with a new cookbook, something is bound to happen. This time, that something is called sgroppino. It’s from Venice, and it’s a grown up version of a slushie. It’s sweet, tart and refreshing. The word sgroppino comes from the word to ‘loosen’ in Venetian – and if you have a few you might be more loosened than you expect.

To be honest, it barely deserves a full recipe, it’s so easy, but I love organization so here you go:

Serves: 1

On the Counter

1 generous scoop of lemon sorbet
100 mL (3.5 oz) of prosecco

What to Do

Whisk the sorbet and prosecco together and serve in a chilled glass.

If you want it to be more like a dessert and less like a drink, you can split the sorbet and add half back as a scoop after whisking.

Steamed asparagus is a beautiful thing. Actually, asparagus in all forms is delicious. One of my favorite sneaky ways to bump up the excitement of steamed asparagus is to add some finely minced (or pressed) garlic and a little bit of salt before cooking it.

Get ready for next-level steamed asparagus. Did you know that asparagus is a great source of fiber? It also has lots of vitamins A, C and E… which is all the proof you need that asparagus is great, really.

By the way, if you want to save your lovely little spears from untimely wrinkling, wrap the ends in a damp paper towel and store them in the refrigerator.

Except for the asparagus, this is a one-pot meal, which means not only is there less cleaning to do, but you get all the delicious flavors and healthy (and not so healthy) bits together in a luscious sauce.

Serves: 4
Total time: 45 minutes

On the Counter

2 large free-range chicken breasts, split or 4 small chicken breasts
100 mL (1/2 cup) chicken stock or white wine
200 g (1/2 lb) white mushrooms
1 tbsp butter (or olive oil, if you’re dairy-free)
handful of chopped fresh parsley
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 large or 2 medium garlic cloves
1 shallot
16 spears of asparagus, tough ends snapped off
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

What to Do

Season the chicken liberally on both sides with salt and pepper.

Slice the mushrooms, chop the shallots and mince the garlic. Set 1/4 of the garlic aside. Slice the asparagus spears longways, either in half or quarters, depending how thick they are. You can then chop those pieces in half (or not!).

In a wide, flat bottomed pan, like a frying pan or skillet, heat the butter until it’s melted and bubbly.

On medium high, sear the chicken breasts (skin side down if it’s skin on) until it’s browned, about 4-5 minutes but have a peek underneath to confirm. If it’s sticking to the pan, give it more time. Flip the chicken and do the same again.

Remove the chicken and set it aside, covered.

Add a little more butter if needed, lower the heat and fry the shallots for 2-3 minutes, until they’re soft, stirring occasionally. Then the garlic goes in for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add in the mushrooms, and sautée. They’ll release a lot of liquid. Stir frequently until they’re soft. Season with salt and pepper.

Turn up the heat, stir in the wine or stock and deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping (with a wooden spoon) the bottom.

Return the chicken to the pan and simmer it for about 10 minutes, until the chicken is at 65C/ 144 F degrees, or isn’t pink in the middle.

With about 5 minutes left on the chicken, set a 2-tiered steamer pan boiling. Add in the asparagus, 1/4 of the garlic and a pinch of salt. Steam for 2-3 minutes until bright green. Don’t let them go further or they’ll be too soft.

Once the chicken is done, remove the pan from the heat and stir in lemon juice and parsley.

Serve on its own, or with a salad or brown rice. It’s also good as leftovers!

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go to the BBC Good Food Eat Well show in London, thanks to LexusUK. It was the first year that BBC has put on an event specifically about healthy eating. It was an interesting day, and better than I expected, though there were even more mushy brown “energy” bars and recipe box delivery services than I could have imagined.

Some of the highlights included trying some amazing hot and cold smoked anchovies from The Fickle Fish, and catching up with Riverford Organics, who I’m already a customer of and pretty much love.

The top moment, though, was getting to spend some time with Gizzi Erskine. If you don’t know her, went from working in a body-piercing shop to becoming a TV chef, and such an interesting person to talk to. For a cooking demonstration, she made a Chicken and Orzo soup that I said I just had to write about on my blog. Obviously it didn’t occur to me to get a photo with her – I think I still need some practice with selfie-ing.

And, with a head cold brewing this week, I could think of nothing more comforting and delicious than a rich, tomatoey chicken soup. Once you start making it, the promise of what’s to come is almost too much to bear. I might be guilty of picking the crispy browned chicken skin off and snacking on it…

I mean look at that browning… how could I resist?

I made a few adjustments to suit my taste and seasonality, like cutting down on the lemon and orzo portions and using canned tomatoes instead of fresh. (There is no way I’m going to find good tomatoes in March.) Check out the original recipe if you want to compare!

Serves: 4 (or 6 if you want smaller portions)

On the Counter

1 liter chicken stock
1 liter filtered water
150g (5.25 oz) orzo pasta (or white rice for a gluten free option)
1 medium free range chicken, cut into 8/10 pieces, or 8 thighs and drumsticks
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 400ml (14.5 oz) can of tomatoes, pureed
2 tbsp olive oil
A few sprigs of fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
Pinch of dried red pepper flakes
2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves or regular spinach, chopped
Small bunch of flat leaf parsley, desemmed and chopped
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt
Black pepper

What to Do

Heat the oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat until it’s shimmering.

While the oil’s heating, season the chicken pieces on both sides with salt and black pepper.

Fry the chicken, skin-side down to start, in batches until browned on both sides, about 4-5 minutes each side until the skin is brown and toasty. If it’s sticking to the pan, it’s not ready yet.

Take them out of the pan and set the chicken aside.

Lower the heat and add the onion, sauteeing for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently until they’re soft. Add in garlic and red pepper flakes and sautee for another minute.

Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, making sure that there are no big chunks. Turn the heat up to medium-high.

Pour in the chicken stock and filtered water and then add the chicken and thyme.

Cook for 25 minutes, uncovered, until the liquid has reduced by 1cm.

Remove the chicken. and leave it for a few minutes to cool. Pull the chicken off the bone and shred it. Add the chicken back into the soup, along with orzo. Cook for another 10-11 minutes, stirring frequently so the orzo doesn’t stick.  Add the spinach, and stir it in until it wilts. Add the parsley, lemon juice and zest. Serve!

This also makes great leftovers!