Summer BBQ recipes

With summer finally upon us (with the exception of today's stormy conditions!) it's time to dust down the BBQ and do some cooking alfresco! This year we've upgraded to a gas BBQ which in my humble opinion is easier to cook on than charcoal as you can maintain and regulate the heat a lot easier. Below are some easy to follow recipes that definitely have the 'wow' factor and will impress your guests should you be having any round!

Charred asparagus with lemon and sea salt

Ingredients (serves 4)

16 asparagus spears

2 lemons

Sea salt crystals

Splash of olive oil

This dish is as simple as it sounds. Simply chop the wooden bit off the asparagus spears put them in a dish cover with the juice of the lemon, olive oil and salt. Leave for about 30 mins then grill them on a hot BBQ turning frequently to ensure they get an even colour. When they look a bit like the picture above they're ready to serve!

Rib-eye steak with a Dijon mustard and garlic herb glaze

Ingredients (serves 4)

4 rib-eye steaks

4 tsp Dijon mustard

4 garlic cloves crushed

1 small bunch of flat parsley chopped

4 sprigs of thyme

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Olive oil

In a bowl mix together everything but the steaks. Mix well then brush it onto the steaks and leave to marinade. If you can give it 12 hours great, if not then a minimum of 30 minutes will do. Make sure your BBQ is nice and hot then start cooking your steaks. Blue-1 minute each side, rare-1 1/2 minutes each side, medium rare-2 1/4 minutes each side and medium-well done 2 1/2-3 minutes each side. Leave to steaks to rest for a couple of minutes then serve!

King prawn and chorizo kebabs marinaded in olive oil, garlic and parsley

Ingredients (serves 4)
8 large king prawns de-veined (trail of nastiness along it's back)
8 thick slices of chorizo
1 tbsp chopped parsley
4 garlic cloves crushed
Splash of olive oil
4 wooden skewers

Again another simple one! Mix together the garlic, olive oil and parsley and pour over the prawns and leave to marinade. Like with the steaks 12 hours is great but if not then 30 minutes will do. To stop the wooden skewers from burning let them soak in water over night. If that can't be done then pour boiling water over them leave for 15 minutes then repeat with another lot of boiling water. Skewer the prawns and chorizo and start cooking. Be careful not to burn them with the oil that the chorizo will release. When the prawns are pink they're ready, time to serve!

Lamb kebabs with a Greek yogurt and Harissa marinade

Ingredients (serves 4)
4 lamb steaks diced
200g Greek yogurt
2 tbsp chopped mint
2 tbsp chopped rosemary
2 tsp Harissa paste
2 cloves of garlic crushed
Salt and pepper for seasoning.
4 wooden skewers

Mix together all the ingredients except the lamb and then mix the lamb in. Again a long period of marinading would be good but not absolutely necessary. Thread the lamb onto the pre-soaked skewers and then straight onto a hot BBQ. If your BBQ has a lid then close it for 5 minutes to get it extra hot. When the lamb feels firm to touch (after about 5 minutes) then it's ready. Serve it with tzatziki and enjoy!

Pan fried Bream on chilli and chorizo risotto

Last weekend I catered for a party in the Costwolds and on my way there I decided to give Stroud market a go and see how much of my ingredients I could get from it. Well it turns out Stroud market is a bit good and I managed to get most of my ingredients from Gilt headed bream to various cured meats and locally produced cheeses. I liked it so much that I got some ingredients for myself and here's what I did with them.

Fillet of bream on a chilli and chorizo risotto with beer battered scallops and balsamic reduction

Ingredients: (serves 2)
1 whole bream scaled and gutted
8 scallops (roe removed)
1 cup of risotto rice
Splash of white wine
1 pint of fish stock (or cube, see below if you want to make your own)
10 slices of chilli and garlic chorizo
1/2 red onion finely diced
1/2 green chilli finely chopped (seeds removed)
1/2 green pepper sliced
3 garlic gloves finely chopped or through a garlic crusher
1 knob of butter
Beer batter (lager mixed with self raising flour-the consistency should be thick enough to cover the back of a spoon)
1/2 pint of vegetable oil
Balsamic reduction
Salt and pepper for seasoning.

Method
First remove the two fillets from the bream. You can ask your fish monger to do this for you but ask for the carcass if you want to make your own stock. To make a fish stock fill a pan with cold water add the fish and any root vegetables you have to hand, a few garlic cloves and fresh parsley if you have any. Slowly bring the pan up to simmering point and simmer very gently for about an hour. Strain this through a very fine sieve or muslin cloth if you have one. To get perfectly clear fish stock freeze it then defrost it through a muslin cloth.
To make the risotto firstly fry the slices of chorizo with a little olive oil then add the rice making sure that each grain get covered in the olive/chorizo oil. Then add the onions, garlic, chilli, pepper and white wine. Simmer the wine so it burns off it's alcohol. Pour in the fish stock and let it simmer, when the rice is cooked add the butter, season and set aside with a lid on it. Dip the scallops in flour then into the batter, in a sauce pan carefully heat up some vegetable oil. Season the fillets of bream and heat up some butter and olive oil in a frying  pan. When it's bubbling cook the bream, skin side up first. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side spooning the oil from the pan over the fillets as you cook them. As they are cooking test the heat of the vegetable oil by dropping a bit of the batter in, if it starts bubbling then it's ready. Cook the scallops for about a minute then drain on kitchen paper. To plate I used a circular cake cutter for the risotto, then placed the fillet on it, poured some balsamic reduction around the risotto and placed the scallops on that, as you can see from the photo! Give it a go and bon appetit!

Making pizza with my kids

Another wet day here in Wiltshire and the school run was a total wash out. My two boys and I looked like we'd been for a swim in our clothes, riding bikes in the rain isn't it's all cracked up to be. After getting home, changed and putting the heating on I decided it was time the boys learnt a bit about cooking and after talking it through with our eldest (5 and three quarters) Pizza was on tonight's menu. Total carnage was what I was expecting and got!
Here's the recipe for the pizza base (made by James and Ollie):

Ingredients
(Makes 3-4 pizza bases)
500g strong white bread flour
1/2 tsp fine salt
7g sachet of dried yeast
1/2 tsp caster sugar
325ml (about 1/2 a pint) lukewarm water
Extra flour for dusting

For the child friendly version I first got all the ingredients ready in separate bowls and made sure we had a large work surface (we used the dinning room table). Most recipes say to put all the flour onto a surface, make a well in the middle then add the water, not such a good idea with little chefs so we opted for a large mixing bowl to try and contain as much mess as possible, it kinda worked.
First mix the sugar, yeast and water together. Mix well and leave for 5 minutes. Then put the flour into the bowl with the salt.

James mixing the yeast, Ollie taking care of the flour.

So far no mess! Next make a well in the middle of the flour and slowly pour in the water mixture stirring as you do.

Boys concentrating!

Mix the mixture with a fork or wooden spoon, it should start to look like stodgy porridge. When it gets to hard to stir with a fork it's time to use your hands. Flour the work surface with quite a bit of flour and empty the mixture onto it. Start stretching the flour with the bottom of your hands and do this for about 10 minutes until it becomes smooth and springy. However if your'e working with 2 little chefs let them punch it as hard as they can!

James showing the dough who's boss, Ollie shouting because he can.

Now you should be getting a mess that can only be described as a flour explosion! Put the dough back into the mixing bowl, dust with flour, cover clingfilm and leave for around 20 minutes. In the mean time, time to thank the boys for their hard work, put on Power Rangers (I really don't see the appeal) and clear up the mess.

What mess?

After the dough has had 20 minutes to do it's thing (double in size) it's time to roll out the bases. Flour your work surface and separate the dough mixture into 3 balls. Roll out into a rough circle finishing with the dough nice and thin. Heat the oven to 230C, now its time to apply your toppings. The tomato sauce is relatively easy - fry 1/2 an onion with a diced garlic glove, add chopped tomatoes and oregano and simmer for 10 minutes. Put the rolled out base onto a floured baking tray and add your ingredients, try not to over load your pizza! The boys had cheese and tomato and my wife and I had chorizo, Parma ham, asparagus, mushroom and mozzarella, and very nice it was too. Have fun!

Chorizo, Parma ham, asparagus, mushroom and mozzarella pizza 

  

Scallops wrapped in Parma ham with Chorizo and Watercress salad

For me nothing says Spanish food more than Scallops and Chorizo. The two were made for each other, wrapping the Scallops in Parma ham keeps the Scallops nice a moist and adds a bit of saltiness to them, the peppery watercress give some natural goodness and balance to the dish.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

6 Scallops with the roe removed

6 slices of Parma ham

6 slices of Chorizo

Handful of washed watercress

Pepper for seasoning

Method

Wrap each scallop in Parma ham, one layer of ham will do so it cooks evenly. Heat a small splash of olive oil in a pan and when hot add the sliced chorizo, turn after a minute then add the scallops. Cook the scallops for 30 seconds each side and remove from the heat. Dress the watercress in a little olive oil and arrange on the plate. Season the scallops with cracked pepper and place on the plate on top of the chorizo. Serve and enjoy!

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