Nothing quite beats a barbecue. There’s something about eating outside, straight from the grill that makes the food even more enjoyable.
As a family, we love nothing more than an impromptu barbecue in the garden with friends. When the weather is on our side and we’re able to plan ahead, we pack up and head to the beach for a barbecue.
It’s an ideal way to keep the kids entertained at the weekend and the fresh air, good food and a little sunshine keeps everyone happy.
Barbecues are becoming more sophisticated – even smaller portable ones – and you can create a really tasty meal on a barbecue if you challenge yourself a little. It might be tempting to stick to sausages and hamburgers, but there are so many more recipes to explore that don’t have to be complicated.
The flavour you can get from cooking food over a barbecue can be wonderful and the smokiness works really well with everything from fresh vegetables to fish and different cuts of meat.
Getting the coals to the right temperature is the key so you get just a hint of smokiness to enhance the flavour rather than overpower it.
The secret is to still keep it simple – try to think of food that’s easy to eat and enjoy outdoors. Pork ribs, lamb chops and fish kebabs all work well and are tasty alternatives.
Making up a colourful selection of fresh salads and sides is a great idea too and means you can make the most of the season’s fantastic vegetables. Seasonal, local ingredients enjoyed really simply are the key to a really good barbecue.
Now all we need is a little sun to stay out long enough.
SEAFOOD KEBABS
FOR THE SEAFOOD
Visit your local fishmonger and select any combination of seafood you wish. Salmon, prawns and cod work really well but anything you can get your hands on that’s fresh and local will work. I’d allow 50g of seafood per kebab and two kebabs per person.
I’ve recommended a marinade here too but again you can add a variety of herbs to suit your taste, and you can combine the seafood with a selection of your favourite seasonal vegetables such as courgettes, aubergines and garlic.
FOR THE MARINADE
1tsp chopped garlic
A handful of sprigs of herbs such as bay leaves, rosemary and thyme
1tsp thinly sliced chillies
Zest of 1 lemon
1tbsp chopped mint
100ml natural yoghurt
1tsp chopped ginger
Wooden or metal skewers
Firstly soak your wooden skewers in water to avoid them burning. Cut your fish into roughly the same size chunks or cubes.
Make sure they are big enough to achieve the right flavour and avoid burning. Around 1in by 1in is about the right size. Place your choice of fish and vegetable onto metal or wooden skewers.
Take all of the ingredients for the marinade – the garlic, herbs, chillies, lemon zest, mint, yogurt and ginger – and combine them together in a bowl and whisk. Place the completed kebab skewers in the fresh marinade for 1-2 hours to allow the fish to absorb the lovely flavour.
When you’re almost ready to eat, place the skewers on the barbecue and cook on a medium to high heat for 4-5 minutes. These are best served fresh from the barbecue.
BBQ PORK CHOPS WITH TOMATO COMPOTE AND GRILLED CHEDDAR
SERVES 4
4 pork chops, about 180g each and 2-3cm thick
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil for cooking
TOMATO COMPOTE
2 shallots, peeled and sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
6 tomatoes, chopped
2 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1tsp chopped black olives
1tsp chopped basil
TO SERVE
180-200g Cheddar, sliced
FOR THE TOMATO COMPOTE
Heat a wide heavy-based saucepan and add a little olive oil.
Add the shallots with some salt and pepper and sweat gently for 3-4 minutes without colouring.
Now add the garlic and tomatoes and sweat for 2-3 minutes. Put a lid
on the pan and cook for a further 6-8 minutes (the tomatoes will
release a lot of their liquid during this time). Remove the lid and let bubble for 10-12 minutes to reduce the liquid until you have a compote consistency.
Stir the spring onions, olives and basil into the tomato compote.
FOR THE PORK CHOP
Heat your barbecue to medium-high. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper.
Add a drizzle of olive oil over the pork chops and place them on the barbecue.
Colour for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from the grill and place in a large gratin dish.
Next, spread the tomato compote over the top of the chops. Lay the cheddar slices on top and place back on the barbecue for 3-4 minutes until melted and bubbling.
Serve with summer coleslaw or fresh potato salad.
SUPER SIMPLE SUMMER COLESLAW
SERVES 2
Half a white cabbage, chopped finely
Julienne of 3 carrots, cut into strips
2 spring onions, sliced finely
Juice of 1 lime
1 chilli, chopped finely into rings
Half a bunch coriander, chopped
This coleslaw is a really nice combination of fresh ingredients.
Mix together the chopped cabbage, carrots and spring onions then add the chopped chilli and chopped coriander and mix together.
Add the lime juice just before you serve it so the dish stays crunchy.
SPELT SALAD
SERVES 4
100g spelt
1 shallot
1 carrot
100g cabbage white
Small bunch of coriander
1 Chilli
2 cloves of garlic
2tsp rice wine vinegar
Juice of half a lemon
Half tsp table salt
Half tsp finely chopped ginger
Cook the spelt in salted water for about an hour until soft.
Sweat off one shallot with one clove of chopped garlic, combine with the spelt. Slice cabbage, grate carrot. Dice (small) chilli, ginger, one garlic clove. Roughly chop coriander.
Mix the remaining ingredients together and place on top of the spelt mixture to serve.