Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

This has to be one of THE tastiest ways to serve steak!

This deliciously punchy sauce which originates from Argentina and Uruguay is the perfect condiment for barbecued, griddled or grilled meats - especially steaks.

We've recently got into the thin-cut sirloin steaks (more economical for a family of four, and a modest portion of red meat), which need only seconds on each side on a really hot pre-heated griddle for a nice char on the outside, and a pink and juicy inside, and are perfect then sliced into thick strips and drizzled with the chimichurri sauce.

This amount of sauce generously serves 8 when having a moderate amount of steak (such as the afore-mentioned thin-cut sirloin steak - which is around 160g / 6 oz), however I appreciate that some people like a big hunk o' meat, so the quantity of sauce reflects this, as if you're having 4 large steaks, then this would be enough to go between 4 to 6 people. You can easily halve the quantity of sauce if needs be. It also keeps well in the fridge for a few days, and you can make it the night before if you want the flavours to develop - otherwise just make it an hour or two in advance (or more if you have time).

Luxury Potato Salad

 A delicious, creamy potato salad full of flavour

This potato salad is delicious both warm or cold, depending on what you're serving it with.

Great as an accompaniment to cold meats, smoked fish, cured meats, barbecues, salads, leftover roast chicken and almost anything you can think of!

If you want to lower the calories, use fat free Greek yoghurt, light mayonnaise and half fat creme fraiche (or just extra yoghurt). Will keep happily in the fridge for a few days. Serves 8 to 10 comfortably, easily halved.

Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs (includes Instant Pot Pressure Cooker method)

Who doesn't love a sticky spare rib from the BBQ, with tender, slightly charred meat that falls off the bone?

Well, there's definitely a knack to it! I've not always been a fan of spare ribs, having been given my fair share of over-cooked ribs with dried out, 'cottony' textured meat clinging stubbornly to the bones, and therefore it wasn't something I chose to cook very often. However, there came a point where I learnt that the secret to cooking *really* good spare ribs on the BBQ (or indeed under the grill) was all in the pre-cooking - low and slow (or the equivalent in the pressure cooker, as I have now discovered!) to ensure tender and succulent meat, which just needed a quick spell to give that characteristic, caramelized deliciousness on the outside.

Not only will this recipe give you delicious ribs, you also get an incredibly tasty Thai-influenced sweet and sour sauce to serve alongside - and unlike many sweet and sour sauces, there are no refined sugars, ketchups or artificial ingredients in it, it's all natural! If you're having a BBQ, it's easy to prepare these ahead, and then just warm the sauce through when you're ready to go.

Serves: 1kg spare ribs will serve four to six people as a starter, or as a main with another dish of similar proportions (e.g. with one quantity of my Sticky Sichuan Chilli Chicken Wings - recipe here).

Calories: For those counting, a quarter of the ribs (served with sauce) is approximately 593 calories, and a sixth is 395 calories. [Calories shown in square brackets]

Sticky Sichuan Chilli Chicken Wings (including Instant Pot Pressure Cooker method)

Whether on the BBQ, or under the grill, you can't beat spicy, sticky chicken wings!

With only four ingredients, and no chopping, these wings couldn't be simpler, and they have a unique umami kick from the Sichuan chilli bean paste.

          

There's no need to marinate (although you're welcome to if you'd like to!), and you can pop them in the pressure cooker for 10 minutes before barbecuing or grilling to ensure your wings are perfectly moist and tender inside with crispy sticky skin on the outside.

Serves: 1kg chicken wings will serve four to six people as a starter, or as a main with another dish of similar proportions (e.g. with one quantity of my Sweet and Sour spare ribs).

Jamaican Jerk Chicken (includes Thermomix instructions)

One of the best known and loved Jamaican dishes, jerk chicken is quite literally packed full of flavour and brilliant for a barbecue if you're having one!

In the town near to where I live, there is a Caribbean Carnival every year which I like to visit with my family. Members of the local community organise the most fantastic parade full of absolutely amazing home made carnival outfits around the city, and there are all kinds of stalls including many selling traditional Caribbean foods and drinks.

A helping of jerk chicken from one of the stalls from an enormous barrel-shaped barbeques smoking away, together with some curry goat from a huge, simmering pot, rice and peas, and salad on the side has become a must, washed down with the milk of a fresh young coconut - its top skillfully hacked off by a young man with a machete, and replaced with a straw for drinking it with... sitting on the grass in the sunshine with the family, eating it and getting sticky fingers with the sound of reggae music in the background... Summer bliss! And what's more, having eaten it so often I'm completely happy that I've really nailed the flavours of the marinade in this recipe, so I hope you enjoy it too!

Quick Thai Prawn and Pineapple Skewers

OK, so you have some plump and juicy delicious raw prawns (shrimp), and you want something quick and tasty to do with them?

Well, dig out that red Thai curry paste, and a few chunks of pineapple (you can even use tinned!) and a luscious treat is yours in minutes!

These are delicious cooked on the BBQ (and probably rather impressive too... little do your guests know how easy they are!), or just cook them under the grill, or on a griddle instead. It really doesn't matter as they will be full of flavour either way!

You can use a good quality ready-made Thai red curry paste, if you can't get hold of all the ingredients to make one yourself, or if you want to make your own, my recipe is here (includes Thermomix instructions).


Serves two as main with sides, or four as a starter or as a selection of dishes. Makes four skewers,  62 calories per skewer (124 calories for a portion of two skewers). Easily doubled, or more, for everyone.

Bulgogi - Korean Barbequed Beef (includes Thermomix instructions)

This is a delicious way of cooking beef on a barbeque - the marinade makes the meat really tender.

Listed at number 23 of the world's 50 most delicious foods (from a reader's poll in CNN Go - have a look here if you're intrigued as to what else is on it) - if you're a lover of all things beefy and barbecued and keen on Asian flavours this is something you might want to try!

         

If you fancy something a little different, but not too 'out there', this is a great way to cook rump* steak. One of the tastiest cuts of steak, it is also from a hard-working muscle which means it is not the most tender steak - however in this dish, the Asian pear in the marinade really tenderises the meat. And on top of this, it's packed full of robust Asian flavours - garlic, ginger, soy and onions, with a hint of sweetness (and all you need to do is blitz up all the ingredients for the marinade in a food processor or blender - so it's easy to prepare too!).

Serves four people, at 287 calories per serving.

Turkish (Lamb) Adana Kebabs / Kofta Kebabs - the Really Mouth-Watering Recipe... (AKA How to be a Kebab King/Queen!)

It may seem like I enthuse a lot over some of my recipes, but I only do that when I think they're really, really good and I've spent time perfecting them!

And this one, I tried making with different levels of herbs and spices, then different ratios of lamb and beef, and different fat proportions, until the combination of the spices, and the flavour and succulence of the meats just sang. Even thinking about how juicy and tasty these kebabs are, straight off a hot smoky barbecue makes my mouth water!

For me, there has to be lamb present as a majority. And I'm afraid it can't be lean, or extra lean lamb. If you're able to mince your own, or go to the butcher to buy your mince, then make sure it's from shoulder of lamb. The fat content is pivotal in getting those kebabs all juicy and sizzling and tasty ('Fat is flavour' as someone once said).

I've tried it with beef mince only, and for me, it just doesn't work. (Because the whole 'lamb' flavour is missing, obvs). Making it with lean or extra lean beef alone just yields a really dry result, I'm afraid. And I'm spoilt by having tasted really good Turkish Adana kebabs and being fortunate enough to have a really good Turkish restaurant within 20 minutes drive. Who cook their kebabs on a proper mangal, on top of burning coals. Mmmmm.

Anyway, I digress. I found my perfect balance of lamb vs. beef, and rather than using my local butcher, I used something from a supermarket, so that you can recreate exactly what I cooked and I know it will be good, rather than me getting all the good stuff, then you going down to [insert name of supermarket] and feeling like you got a duff deal. If you can cook this on the barbecue, you will be achieving near-as-damnit-perfection from a domestic point of view. So go on, give it a go... it's delicious served on top of my easy Turkish rice, with some Cacik as a dip (think Tzatziki) and a simple Vegetable Kebab as a must to compliment it, Turkish red cabbage salad, maybe a warm flatbread to hold it with and a side salad. And you can make them the day before, along with maybe my Turkish chicken shish kebabs (similarly perfected flavour-wise, of course!), and invite your best, most appreciative friends over to enjoy them with!

Oh, and it would be rather rude not to make them some of your own hummus, perfected with my recipe and tips, along with a selection of spiced pitta crisps to serve them with.

If you fancy making up a whole Turkish feast, with a shopping list and preparation plan then have a look here!

So, here you are... lamb-on-a-skewer perfection! And as for Adana/Kofta - if you want to impress your friends by telling them which of the two they're eating, use wide metal skewers, and shape the lamb around them in one length per skewer and call them Adana kebabs (and you could get away with a little more spiciness). Or if you want to call them Kofta kebabs, roll the lamb into walnut-sized balls and slide them onto a skewer. Me? I find it easiest to use soaked wooden skewers as the meat seems to stick better, and squidge the mince around them in a flatt-ish sausage shape and to hell with it - it tastes good any which way! Oh, and if you Google kofta kebabs (not the right spelling, but I've had to use it too, for continuity!), you'll see a lot of the well-known chefs get it wrong and just wrap it around the skewer in a sausage too... ;)

Makes 12 skewers, at 133 calories per skewer (two skewers per serving). Serves six as the protein part of the dish on its own, or more with other kebabs (e.g. alongside my chicken shish kebabs). [Calories in square brackets]

Pulled Pork 'Sandwich' with Smoky Barbecue Sauce and Southern Style Slaw

So this, quite simply, is a delicious consummation between the home-made pulled pork, barbecue sauce, and slaw I've posted, between two pieces of bread, or bun, or roll, or whatever you like to call it...

It's for those who like the details, the numbers, the finished product.

Look tempting? Mmmm, it is very tasty - my son actually said, without being asked or prompted "Wow, Mum, I think that's actually the tastiest sandwich I've ever had in my life".

I'm not sure what that says about my sandwich-making, but this is some good shizzle.

Not, perhaps a recipe in itself, but it does give the calorie counters an idea of how much they're putting in their mouths in terms of delicious, smoky, porky naughtiness. Or maybe not so naughty! The rest of you, just go ahead and shovel it in... [calories in square brackets].

Calories, per bun/'sandwich' approximately 309 (if using all my recipes - other products will vary)

You don't need to use all of these recipes, you can just buy your favourite coleslaw and BBQ sauce and impress your friends by finishing off your own pork on the barbecue - or if this has really whet your appetite, you can even buy pre-cooked pork joints for warming through and pulling as well. But obviously, they won't be as tasty... ;)

Smoky Barbecue Sauce (includes Thermomix method)

You can't beat a decent barbecue sauce, especially if you make it yourself!

This is amazing with my Pulled Pork recipe, especially in a bun with some homemade Southern style coleslaw or with spare ribs, and also great on burgers, with sausages, or even on grilled chicken with a little handful of melted cheese, and a couple of rashers of crispy bacon. You could use it as a glaze if you're cooking, as well as a sauce.

Many commercially-made varieties are overly sugary and vinegary, and lack substance, being made mostly of water and thickener. If you make your own with a base of tomato passata (sieved tomatoes), you can control how sweet and thick it is yourself, and adjust the salt and acidity levels as well. As you can see, I played around until I got it to my preferred consistency and flavour (the bottom right!).

Even better, if you're making it for the family, you can leave out the salt if you have small children (or want to reduce your salt levels). This one does have a little bit of a kick though (only a little one, honest!) from the smoked paprika, so if there are any baby-mouths in the house, you might want to go easy on that! Once you've made it, you could portion it out into re-sealable sandwich bags to freeze (and defrost as required), or store from hot in sterilized jars and refrigerate after opening. If you have a Thermomix, I've included the Thermomix method at the bottom. [Calories in square brackets]

Calories per 2 tbsp (30ml) serving, 24. Makes approximately 1.2 litres / 1,200 ml / 1,200g.

Tea-Smoked Teriyaki Trout (or Salmon)

Smoking, Brining and Photo-Editing

No, I'm not talking 20 Marlboro...

I'm itching to get my smoker fired up (it's an eco smoker, which is essentially a cardboard box with metal shelves in it, and a fantastic little smoker in the bottom that burns for up to 10 hours and cold-smokes your food). I love that thing - it paid for itself on the first use, by smoking a side of salmon that I got half price (£10), with a variety of cheeses, sea salt and garlic bulbs using up the spare space.And then there was the home-made pastrami, marinated in spiced brine, cold smoked, then cooked sous vide... but more on all that another time. As a distraction from trying to make some kind of cool title photo involving forks and food, I was thinking about smoking in the house, in a wok (or possibly even large pan), something easy to do at home, where you don't really need special equipment. I've tea-smoked fresh-caught mackerel and teriyaki-marinaded trout on a barbeque before (recipe below), with a mix of tea, sugar and raw rice on some foil on top of the glowing coals, lid down once the smoke is going, then within a short time, luscious, smoky fish...

I was thinking of tea-smoking some duck breasts I bought last week, but didn't get around to it. And I was still thinking about smoking something indoors (rather than outside) yesterday. And the day before. And today. So, I'm going to do it...