Mangetout: from chill-out soup to hot bananas

August is the time of year when the temperature across France can hover in the early-to-mid 40s and all you feel like doing is flopping into the pool.

Soups are normally regarded as winter fuel to warm us up on damp, freezing days, but they can also work their magic to help us chill out on the hottest of midsummer days.

Those of you who, like me, have a potager often face the challenge of what to do when you have a glut of a particular vegetable. There is a limit to how much you can give to neighbours who probably have the same problem.

Here is the answer when your cucumbers go on the rampage. Make a refreshing cucumber vichyssoise. Melt some butter in a pan, add a chopped onion and cook until softened. Add 750ml of chicken stock and a couple of medium-sized peeled and chopped potatoes. Cook until tender. Cool slightly. Then pour the mixture into a blender and give it a whizz, adding a roughly chopped peeled cucumber in small batches until smooth. Add half a litre of cold milk. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until well chilled. To serve, add a swirl of cream and sprinkle with chives. Enjoy with a nicely chilled Sauvignon Blanc.

‘Yes, we have no bananas’

During World War Two, you could have heard people singing that song outside greengrocers that no longer stocked bananas as a result of the government banning imports for five years. It hurt us Brits as bananas were – and still are –
a great favourite. On average, we each eat more than 100 a year.

The French are a little less keen, but they do make a sublime banana liqueur. La Maison Briottet in Dijon, a family business founded in 1836 and now run by its sixth generation, is best known for its Crème de Cassis, but it also has its own Crème de Banane Briottet.

If, on a balmy August evening, you feel like a taste of the tropics, then mix yourself a ‘Slippery Monkey’. It is a sweet, fruity, creamy cocktail but with a saucy kick. Take a shaker, add ice, then one part banana liqueur, one part light rum and one part cream; shake and strain.

If that is too sissy for you, then the more macho ‘Banana Bliss’ might cut the mustard. Mix three parts cognac with two parts sweet sherry and one part banana liqueur. Give it a stir and pour over ice.

While bananas are good for your physical health, some rather dubiously claim that they might also be good as a mood-enhancer.

There is no doubt whatsoever that when you take a sip of either of those banana cocktails, you will soon be feeling on top of the world, if not totally bananas.