Light & Fresh Grain-free Summer Menu

A light & fresh grain-free summer menu for a relaxed evening of entertaining as you enjoy these warm nights. With lots of make-ahead elements this menu is perfect for entertaining:  3-Cheese Almond Rosemary Crackers, Spicy Pickled Shrimp, Herb Butter Roasted Chicken, Really Good Greek Salad & Brown Sugar Pavlovas & Rum Butter Peaches

With August looming, I thought it was time to share some hot weather recipes – a beautiful grain-free summer menu with lots of make-ahead components. I’ve been decidedly absent from Fresh Hunger for most of the summer. The cafe has kept me busy & my loving boy Finn has kidney disease. He needs to be hand fed & can’t be left alone. So if something hasn’t been Finn, cafe or family related in my life over the last couple of months, chances are it was dismissed or put to the bottom of the heap temporarily (sadly I’m in that pile). Today I’m blowing the dust off the blog & sharing a summery menu with you.

To start, something to enjoy with a cocktail or glass of bubbly – 3-Cheese Almond Rosemary Crackers. With a handful of ingredients these easy to make ‘crackers’ are delicious, crunchy, quick-cooking & grain free. 

For an appy –  Spicy Pickled Shrimp. I could eat this every day & not get sick of it. Seafood such as shrimp, calamari & scallops are perfect to pickle. Essentially it’s a ‘quickle’ – a quick pickle. And it’s a perfect way to start a meal: light & fresh, the piquancy stimulates your taste buds getting you ready to chow-down on a fabulous meal. 

Unless you’re a dedicated vegan, most of us love a good roast chook (chicken for you non-Aussies). I always spatchcock whole chickens before I roast them, which is as simple as removing the backbone & pushing on it to flatten. Then I spread a butter, garlic & fresh herb mixture between the skin & backbone. This serves double-duty; first, to keep the flesh moist & second to add flavor. This is a simple & effective way of creating an exceptional roast chicken meal. Grab the recipe here. 

For the sides, I’m keeping it simple with a Really Good Greek Salad with sheep feta – so fresh & healthy. If you’re craving some taters then you’ll want to try this excellent roasted potato recipe.   

Of course you can’t put together a gorgeous summery menu without a gorgeous summery fruit dessert to end the meal. Enter Brown Sugar Pavlovas with Rum Peaches. These individual pavs can be made a few days ahead of time. So can many components of this menu. That’s why I love it. It epitomizes summer with colorful, fresh veggies & fruits. I didn’t initially set out to share a grain-free menu, but through the sheer nature of the recipes, that’s how it ended. Whether you’re wheat, gluten or grain-free, you’ll love this menu. 

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