Special Barbecue Recipes For Summer

Filed in archive Holidays , Recipes on June 1, 2010

© SomeDriftwood

Memorial Day is the official start of summer. And we all know what summer means: barbecue parties!

Here are a few barbecue recipes that you can use this summer (found via):

Easy home-made flour tortillas

Serves 4-6

250g strong white bread flour
1½ tsp scrunched sea salt
70g lard

Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and rub in the lard until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the middle and mix in 200ml water with a fork. When it starts coming together, transfer to a lightly floured board and knead for 5 minutes, pulling the dough away from itself with the heel of your palm to stretch the gluten. It should be pretty smooth and elastic. Cover in clingfilm and set aside for 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 150C/Gas Mark 2. After the dough has rested, roll out walnut-sized balls of dough into thin circles. Lightly grease a heavy-bottomed pan and place on the barbecue. Cook the tortillas for 1-2 minutes on each side until lightly browned in patches. Alternatively, heat a flat griddle directly over the charcoal and cook the tortillas on it. Wrap in foil and keep them warm in the oven until you are ready to eat.

Barbecued chicken with citrussy chargrilled spring onions

Serves 4-6

4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic 4 heaped tbsp tomato purée
Juice of 1 orange
1 scotch bonnet chilli
1 heaped handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped, plus extra to serve
A good few dashes of soy sauce
1-2 tsp brown sugar
1 medium chicken, cut into bits, or 12 chicken pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 bunches of spring onions
2 limes

Whizz the olive oil, onion, garlic, tomato purée, orange juice, chilli, coriander, soy sauce and sugar together in a blender, and pour over the chicken bits. Season, then marinate overnight, or for at least a few hours, in the fridge.

Take the chicken out at least 30 minutes before cooking so it comes up to room temperature. Light your barbecue and wait until the flames have died back and the heat has calmed so that you can hold your hand 20cm above the fire and count to five without squealing. Barbecue the chicken until brown and crispy all over. The cooking time depends on how close to the flame you put it, but try 5 minutes on each side before checking. If you stick a skewer in the middle and pink juices rush out, it needs longer.

If you are nervous, or want to griddle the chicken indoors, start it on the barbecue or griddle and finish off in a hot oven (180C/Gas Mark 4) for 10 minutes. When the chicken is cooked, wrap in foil and let it rest near the barbecue for 10 minutes.

Drizzle olive oil over the spring onions, season and barbecue until charred and completely soft (about 5 minutes). Dress with a squeeze of lime juice and serve with the chicken.

Grilled courgette salad with chilli, feta and pine nuts

Serves 4-6

4 courgettes
80ml extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
60g currants
60g pine nuts
2 baby gem lettuces, cut into ribbons
1 large handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped
2 red chillies, finely chopped
140g feta cheese
Juice of ½ lemon

Cut the courgettes lengthwise into thin slices. Drizzle with olive oil, season and cook on the barbecue for about 1 minute on each side until slightly blackened and cooked through. It will take 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat another drizzle of olive oil in a frying pan and add the currants and pine nuts. Fry until the currants have puffed up and the pine nuts are a pale gold. Put the lettuce, mint and courgette strips on a plate, scatter over the pine nuts, raisins and chillies, and crumble the feta on top. Season with some good grindings of pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and the lemon juice.

Barbecued peaches with home-made clotted cream

Serves 6

For the clotted cream:
350ml double cream (farmhouse for best results)
100ml sour cream
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp muscat
A few drops of vanilla essence
Finely grated zest of an orange

For the peaches:
6 peaches
30g butter
50g demerara sugar
A few tbsp of muscat, or other pudding wine
1 tiny dash of orange-blossom water
1 small handful of toasted, slivered almonds

To make the clotted cream, put all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil very slowly (about 20 minutes). Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Tip into a china or ceramic bowl and leave in a warm place (or wrapped in a woolly hat or blanket) overnight. It won't completely set, but it will be very thick. Store in the fridge.

Cut the peaches in half, remove the stones and place them face up in a double layer of tinfoil, with the edges scrunched up like a baking tray. Mix together the butter and sugar and divide it up among the peaches. Sprinkle with a few tbsp of muscat and the merest trickle of orange-blossom water. Lay a sheet of foil over the top and scrunch it up with the bottom sheet, so no steam can escape. Make a flattish burrow in the barbecue embers and nestle in the parcel. Cook for 10-20 minutes, or until the peaches are warm, soft and smell delicious. The exact time depends on how hot the embers are. Serve scattered with the almonds and great spoons of the clotted cream.