Category Archives: Barbecue

Chargrilled Salmon with Avocado & Corn Salad

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This is another dish that I actually cooked some time ago, but hadn’t got around to posting yet. But this is surely the time for it, given the abundance of corn at the moment… I’m sure the next time I go to the supermarket they’re going to offer to pay me to take corn away from them.

I’ve had this recipe in my book for ages… but I’m not quite sure where it came from. It’s not my own. So if anyone recognises it let me know! And if nobody does, then we can send a collective thank you to its author.

It’s a lovely summer meal and doesn’t take long to make. It’s extra good for you, too – fairly low in fat with lots of omega 3 and coloured veges. My camera or photo editing has captured some eerily bright colours – the salmon doesn’t in fact look so thermo-nuclear in real life. Try it and find out!

Grilled Salmon with Avocado & Corn Salad
Serves 2

corn kernels – from say 1 cob (or about half a can if you’re using the tinned variety)
½ a medium avocado
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 ripe tomato, copped – or use a few halved cherry tomatoes
½ a red onion, finely chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh coriander
salt and pepper, to taste
2x salmon fillets, skin removed if you prefer (or if you want the even healthier version)
2 tsp moroccan seasoning
cooking spray – canola or olive oil
baby spinach or lettuce leaves, to serve

Cook the corn in the microwave until just tender (this won’t take long at all). Set aside to cool.

Place the avocado and lemon juice in a medium bowl and toss to coat the avocado. Add the warm corn, tomato, red onion and coriander. Toss gently to combine and season to taste.

Heat a char-grill pan, barbecue, or frypan over medium heat. Sprinkle the salmon fillets with moroccan seasoning, salt and pepper, and spritz with cooking oil spray. Cook the salmon for 4-5 minutes each side.

Place salmon on plates with salad leaves, and serve with the corn & avocado salad.

Lolly Cake

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The forecasts were wrong! We had a beautiful day yesterday, and we’re not far into today, but it looks fine too! First load of washing is on so I’m keeping the faith it will be able to dry outside. Um, sorry, that is so boring. I take unnatural pleasure in being able to dry washing on the line. Sun and wind-dried clothes make my day. That’s the sad sort of creature I am.

Anyway. We went to a barbecue last week with loads of kids. I wanted to take some baking. But leafing through my book, most of my recipes are aimed at adults. I know kids eat most things, but this barbecue was such a kiwi summer type affair, I wanted to add a classic. Lolly Cake. I’m not sure that I’ve made this or even eaten it since I was a little girl.

I hesitate to even call this a recipe – I think it falls into the category of assembly instructions. There’s not hot stove or oven, or even sharp knives (cut the lollies with scissors), and it’s very easy to get right – so a great project to involve kids in.

I was a little short on fruit puffs, so added in a few dates. They were a little out of place but, hey, it’s just lolly cake. And I remembered after I made it that I had meant to put jubes in. I tried a rocky road recently with wine gums in it, and I loved the chewy. Note to self for next time. I guess what I’m trying to say is, you can put anything you like in here. Go for it.

Lolly Cake

125g butter, melted
1/2 can condensed milk (about 200g)
1 tsp vanilla
1 packet malt biscuits, crushed (about 250g I think)
150-200g fruit puff lollies (the hard marshmallow-y ones)
coconut, for rolling

Melt the butter, and mix in the condensed milk. If they’re not mixing easily, zap them in the microwave for 15 seconds or so (you shouldn’t need to at this time of year). Stir in the vanilla, crushed biscuits and lollies and mix it all up together.

Now comes the sticky bit. Roll the biscuits into a log. I find it easier to make 3 or 4 logs, and I make them fairly small (probably 4-5cm in diameter). There is nothing vaguely redeeming about that ingredient list, so stick to small pieces of lolly cake (plus, wee pieces suit wee fingers).

Roll the logs in coconut, making sure you cover all sides. Wrap the logs in cling film and leave in the fridge to chill. You’ll need to chill them for at least a few hours, overnight is best. Then just cut the logs into slices and voila. The kids (and actually, the grown-ups) at the barbecue will love you for it.

Food on Sticks

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One of the best things about summer, I think, is Food on Sticks. We’ve been barbecuing whenever possible, which has been most days in fact, and I’ve been making loads of skewered dishes. Prawn skewers (with chorizo tucked into the curl of the prawn – wow), citrus fish kebabs, thai chicken kebabs, and most recently, these lamb kofta.

I really, really love lamb. I try and fit in one lamb dish every week, although it can be tremendously expensive. Good lamb mince is one of the cheaper ways to do it, and I try and stock up on leg steaks when they’re on special. Hoping to tackle a good lamb roast sometime soon, too, although I can’t see us ever eating it every Sunday!

Lamb kofta come in many forms (although none are particularly attractive in photographs, I think). The basic anglicised recipe I use is half an onion, a clove of garlic, 500g mince, and a few teaspooons of whatever spices take your fancy. You could also add fresh ginger and herbs, or I also have a recipe that includes a can of chickpeas, which bulks the quantity out. I think lamb is the best meat to use, but beef is also fine (if rather unconventional).

Lamb Kofta
Adapted from several recipes, mostly by Alison Holst
Serves 4

½ an onion
1 large clove garlic, peeled
2cm piece fresh ginger (optional)
500g lean lamb mince
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp chilli powder (or less, to taste)
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint – or other fresh herbs

Firstly, if you’re using bamboo skewers, soak them in cold water for at least half an hour so’s they don’t burn when you cook them :)

Whiz the onion, garlic and ginger (if using) in a food processor until they’re very finely chopped. Add the mince, spices and herbs, and whiz until the mixture just starts clumping together.

Using wet hands, shape the mixture into twelve sausage shapes (I divide in half, then half again, etc, to get even portions). Push a skewer through the kofta lengthways.

Get your barbecue or grill heating, and once hot, grill the kofta for about 5 minutes each side (or you could bake them in the oven at 200º, for 6 minutes a side), until cooked through and golden brown.

I served the kofta with a little tomato and cucumber salad, a loaf of ciabatta, and a sauce made by mixing together: 1 cup low fat yoghurt, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 Tbsp tahini paste, and about 3 Tbsp each fresh chopped mint and coriander, plus salt to taste.

Enjoy this Food on Sticks meal, and here’s to many more this summer!

Couscous with Grapes & Nuts

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My kitchen is in a calm before the storm. The advance Christmas cooking and baking is all out of the way. In another 4 days I’ll be preparing Christmas dinner itself. But in the meantime, we’re snacking on salads and lean barbecued meat. Specially with the weather turning out so nice this week, sharing the kitchen with a hot stove has not been a high priority.

This couscous salad-y dish has been on the menu a couple of times. It requires very little time and energy, and is a nice way to use the gorgeous seedless grapes we’re getting at the moment!

The recipe comes from The Best of Annabel Langbein: Great Food for Busy Lives. I got this book for my birthday this year and I haven’t cooked a lot from it, but whatever I’ve cooked has turned out well. It’s a huge book so it will take me some time to cook my way through it ;)

Chilli Lemon Couscous with Nuts & Grapes
from Annabel Langbein’s Great Food for Busy Lives

Mix together 2 cups boiling water with finely grated rind of 1 lemon, 2 tsp Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce and 1 tsp salt. Add 2 cups couscous and leave to absorb for about 10 minutes. Fluff up with a fork, and mix in 1/2 cup toasted nuts (e.g. pine nuts, pistachios or almonds), 1/2 cup chopped mint or coriander (or a mix), and 1 cup chopped grapes. Serve as is, or if you prefer to heat it first, cover and microwave for 3-4 minutes just before serving.

I hope your lead-up to Christmas is going well and not too stressful!

Watermelon & Mint Salad

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Time for another salad for bbq season!

This may be my favourite salad ever. Mum picked it out of a newspaper years and years ago and we make it all the time during summer. Specially to take to bbqs – people love this salad and always ask for the recipe. And the colours are so beautiful!  I think I might make this as part of our Christmas dinner spread.

The original recipe used watermelon, red onion and red capsicum; I was making it to take somewhere a couple of weeks ago and there wasn’t quite enough watermelon available at the supermarket, but they did have pomegranates on special, so I added the seeds to the salad to juzh it up a bit. They may become a permanent feature :)

Watermelon & Mint Salad
Adjust quantities to taste, and to how many you need to serve…

Watermelon
Red onion
Red capsicum
Pomegranate seeds (optional)
Mint sauce

Just toss together chopped watermelon, sliced red onion, sliced red capsicum, and pomegranate seeds, if you’re using them, and dress with mint sauce. A few fresh mint leaves wouldn’t go astray, either.

Enjoy!

Tabbouleh

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Me: OK, think of something to write about tabbouleh.

Me: Gotta make it sound fresh and interesting. OK.

Imaginary Pen: Tap, tap, tap.

[awkward silence]

Me: Well, let me think. It’s a salad. It has a filling cracked wheat component. You can take it to barbecues.

Brain: Yeah, loving all that fresh-and-interesting-ness.

Me: Do you have a better idea?

[awkward silence]

Me: I thought not. Maybe I’ll just let it speak for itself.

Brain: Mondays are hard.

Tabbouleh
Serves 6-ish 

1 cup bulgur/cracked wheat
4 spring onions
1 onion
3 tomatoes
1 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
½ cup chopped mint
¼ cup slivered almonds
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
large pinch chilli powder

Place the bulgur in a heatproof bowl, and pour boiling water over it (enough to cover the wheat). Place a plate or a lid on top and leave it for 15 minutes (like how you prepare couscous, just left for longer). Drain and rinse the wheat in cold water, drain again and set aside to cool.

Prepare the other salad vegetables – finely chop the spring onions and onion, dice the tomatoes and chop the herbs. If you’re using almonds (highly recommended), dry toast them until they’re just fragrant. Mix with the cooled wheat.

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and chilli powder, and season to taste. Toss through the salad to coat and serve.

Side note: while I was thinking of things to write about tabbouleh, I googled it and came across this article on David Lebovitz’s site. Turns out this kind of tabbouleh bears little resemblance to the traditional Lebanese dish. Two thoughts – firstly, this salad is still nice and a dish worthy of being made anyway, secondly, let’s try the traditional Lebanese way next time :)

Spicy Lamb Burgers with Raita

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Lamb Good. Burgers Good. That’s all I really need to say.

I think this recipe came from an issue of Taste magazine last year.

Spicy Lamb Burgers with Banana Raita
Serves 6

Raita:
2 bananas
1½ Tbsp lime juice
1 hot green chilli, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 cup unsweetened yoghurt
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp salt

Burgers:
½ cup chopped shallots
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1½ Tbsp butter
¼ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
¾ tsp salt
500g lamb mince
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp unsweetened yoghurt
6 burger buns, or ciabatta rolls etc
mango chutney

Firstly, make the delicious raita. Peel the bananas and slice them thinly. Gently toss them with the lime juice, then add the other raita ingredients and mix gently. Set this aside in the fridge.

For the burger patties, cook the shallot and garlic gently (I used a spray of canola oil and a Tbsp water, you could cook them in butter if you must). Add the chilli, coriander seeds, ginger and salt. Set this mixture aside to cool a little. Then add the lamb mince, lime juice and yoghurt, and form the mixture into patties. Cook the patties quickly either on the bbq, or in a hot frypan, turning once, until cooked through.

Spread the bun cases with a little mango churtney. Add the patties and raita, and some other burger fillings if you wish, top with a little more chutney and sprinkling of fresh coriander, then the bun lid. I served mine with some spring asparagus, steamed beetroot, and cherry tomatoes. Beautiful!

Ambrosia

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Today is indeed a day for celebration in New Zealand. I’m not much of a rugby follower but I’ll admit I’ve been swept up in the World Cup. And we are once again world champions!

I figure there will be a few celebratory barbecues happening from now on… plus Labour weekend often kicks off the summer barbecue season anyway. I always put Mr J in charge of choosing meat to take to a barbecue, and I make up either a salad or some dessert. We went to our first barbecue a few days ago, and funnily enough it had a kiwiana theme. I actually had plans for a pavlova roulade, but it turned into an epic dessert fail. So I turned to my trusty Ambrosia recipe. This dish saved my bacon – and still fit the kiwi theme. Phew.

I think of ambrosia as a staple at kiwi summer barbecues – although it may be one of those dishes where everyone has a different idea of what constitutes “proper” ambrosia. Any thoughts?

This recipe was from a friend of my mum – it must be the easiest dessert in the world to make. It’s definitely one of my brother’s favourites, and mum often made it when we were teenagers. It has such a creamy, dreamy texture, and a beautiful boysenberry flavour. I can eat it by the gallon.

Ambrosia
Serves 4-6

300ml cream
2 tsp icing sugar
1 packet pink and white marshmallows
200g natural unsweetened yoghurt (or you could use berry-flavoured)
1x 400g can boysenberries, drained

Whip the cream with the icing sugar, and stir in the marshmallows and yoghurt. Carefully fold in the drained boysenberries so you get a nice swirly colour. That’s it. Seriously.

You could also use fresh berries; I threw in a few chopped strawberries this time (they had been destined for the aforementioned doomed pavlova roulade, but worked nicely here).

Choice!