'Tis the season to .... BBQ!

The British Bank Holiday mandates a barbeque.

Everywhere in the country, we are taken over by the urge to group together, gather round a fire and eat meat! It's almost primeval! I am no exception to the rule, and this bank holiday weekend I have enjoyed my barbeque in the delights of The Cotswolds....(thank you Mr and Mrs T)

Street after idyllic street of beautiful houses and rolling fields. Gorgeous!! We were graced with one sunny day and the barbeque duly emerged from it's hiding place.

I think there is a bit too much focus on the meat element of the barbeque and I'm on a mission to widen it's use to salads and puddings too! I've written two of the recipes we used below, both meat-free and barbeque utilising! If the summer allows it, I'll add more over the coming months....

Courgette, Asparagus and Pine Nut Salad

Serves 4

2 large courgettes

1 bunch of asparagus

50g pine nuts (lightly toasted in a frying pan - optional)

1 lemon

olive oil

• Diagonally slice the courgette and remove the woody ends of the asparagus
• Drizzle over olive oil and season the courgette slices and asparagus spears
• Place on BBQ for 5-8 minutes (turn half-way through)
• Pile up on a serving dish, drizzle with oil, juice of half a lemon and scatter with pine nuts

Strawberry and Marshmallow Kebabs

Serves 4

1 punnet of strawberries

1 bag marshmallows

4 wooden skewers

• Add strawberries and marshmallows to skewers
• BBQ for 5 minutes (turn once)
• Serve immediately!

The finished result.....

...the picture doesn't show however, that we were cold in about two minutes and migrated rapidly inside. Some things will never change!

Quick update on my audition for ITV's Britain's Best Dish.......audition was on Saturday and I think went well. I've made some amends to my dish and will find out if I've made it through to the Regional Heats (televised...argggh!) next week. Fingers crossed!

Helen x

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Hasty Pastry...

Last week, I continued my efforts to face my pastry fear by making short crust pastry for quiches (Tasty Pastry). I concluded, after much mess and stress, that homemade pastry is not for school nights!



I will definitely continue to perfect this skill (I’ll feel a bit of a cooking fraud otherwise – my inability always on the brink of being revealed), but I’m going to investigate a few cheats that are more fitting for mid-week eating (..hence, Hasty Pastry!)


I’ve played around with two different savoury tarts, both made from just four ingredients each and served in less than twenty minutes. Leaving plenty of time for wine and relaxing……Don’t let the simpleness put you off though, they are really, really yummy!


Ingredients

• 1 pack puff pastry
• 1 jar green pesto
• Tomato Tart only = Handful of cherry tomatoes (about 10 tomatoes per tart)
• Tomato Tart only = Cream cheese (about 1 tsp per tart)
• Asparagus Tart only = Handful of asparagus (about 4 spears per tart)
• Asparagus Tart only = grated cheese (enough to sprinkle over each tart)

First up….the Tomato Tart, which I’ve photographed at each stage to show you how easy it really is…

OK, heat the oven to 180c/GM 4, cut a circle of puff pastry (use a pastry cutter or a plate if you want to make one giant tart) and score a smaller circle into the pastry create a 2cm rim…..

Now, spread your pesto (about 1tsp per small tart – too much and it’ll go soggy) into the inner circle....

....and top with your cherry tomatoes which you’ve sliced in half...

Pop into the oven for 10 -15 minutes until the edges have risen and are lightly browned....

Pop on 1 tsp of your cream cheese and serve!

The asparagus tart is equally simple…prepare the asparagus by throwing away the woody ends (just snap them off, placing stalks in a covered bowl in the microwave with 1 tbsp of water and zap on high for 2 minutes. Cut your pastry into a rectangle and score a smaller rectangle to create a 2cm rim. Spread with pesto as before, place your asparagus on top and sprinkle with cheese. Put into the oven and 10-15 minutes later, you’re done.

 I feel a bit silly posting this as it’s so easy, but I think you need some quick standby dishes and I always have the basic ingredients in. I often serve this as a starter when I’ve not got a lot of time to cook. You can play around with the flavours too , I’ve put some options below but it’s pretty much anything goes!!

• Caramelised onions and goats cheese (sprinkled with thyme)

• Olive tapenade, sundried tomatoes and mozzarella

• Sundried tomato puree, parma ham and dolcelatte• Red pesto, cream cheese and basil

• Quince jam, manchego cheese and parma ham

• Pea puree and pancetta

• Caponata and Parmesan

I’ve got some really good pastry dessert cheats too which I’ll share at some point (Hasty Pastry Puds…mmmm).

Hope you like – if you any cheats of your own, please share via Facebook!

Helen xx

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