Shooting with the Mela team is always a delight and I would be the first to say that all the bright ideas are not mine!  I have our lovely Mela producer who loves light summery meals and this is one of her favourites.  I am a curry and rice kind of girl so salads are not always top of mind!

 

We shot the second season of Mela in November last year.  When I watch the show, I burst into fits of giggles because shoot days can be quite stressful…Eskom’s load shedding meant that I was having my make up done at 3.30am!  And this is when our neighbor chooses to have his trees felled!  So, we sometimes just have to wait it out!  So, I play around in the Holi Cow garden while taking a break…it’s beautiful!  Here is the clip from Mela if you missed the show, 

 

On the menu for the Summer Mela Menu….spicy fish cakes, watermelon salad and a mango fool to use up those slightly over ripe luscious mangoes!

 

Spicy fish cakes

 

Ingredients

400g potatoes, boiled and mashed

2,5ml ajwain or carom seeds

2 spring onions, finely chopped

1 green chilli, finely chopped

1 egg yolk

400g lightly steamed hake

Salt and black pepper, to season

Handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped

 

Plain flour to coat

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Bread crumbs, to coat

 

 

Here’s how:

 

Place the potatoes in a mixing bowl and season with ajwain.

Add the spring onion, green chilli and the egg yolk.

Flake the fish fillets and add to the mixing bowl.

Season with salt and black pepper.

Lastly add the fresh coriander.

Mix the ingredients until well combined.

Mould the mixture into patties and dust with plain flour.

Leave the cakes on a sheet lined with baking paper.

Refrigerate until firm.

Remove the cakes from the refrigerator and gently coat in the beaten egg.

Coat with bread crumbs and then place on a well greased baking tray.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and bake the cakes for 20 – 25 minutes depending on the size. (I made 6 large cakes on Mela which took about 20 minutes to cook).

Serve with a chutney of your choice or raita.

 

 

 

Watermelon Salad

Serves 4

 

Ingredients

 

20ml olive oil

15ml lemon juice

Pinch of salt

600g watermelon chunks

1 onion, finely chopped – optional

100g feta cheese

100g flaked almonds

Chopped mint, to garnish

 

 

 

Here’s how

Combine the olive oil, lemon juice and salt.

Place the watermelon chunks on a platter and sprinkle the onion, feta cheese and flaked almonds over the top.

Drizzle the dressing over the watermelon salad and garnish with sprigs of mint.

 

 

Mango Fool

 

500g mango pieces, pureed

25ml sugar

15ml lemon juice

250ml double thick cream

100g double thick Greek yoghurt

100g whipped cream, to garnish

Mint leaves, to garnish

 

Here’s how:

Place the mango pieces into a blender with the sugar and lemon juice.

Blitz until the mangoes are pureed – if you are using stringy mangoes, pass the puree through a sieve to remove the fibres.

Pour the mango puree into a mixing bowl and fold in the double thick cream.

Spoon the yoghurt into serving bowls and top with the mango puree.

Top with whipped cream and garnish with a mint sprig.

Refrigerate until chilled and serve.