My Perfect Barbecue

It's getting to that time of year, when the evenings are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer and we're all realising that we can cook and enjoy the outdoors again.  With this in mind, and in association with the Central England Co-Operative, I've come up with some delicious ideas that you can use to cook yourself a tasty meal to enjoy outdoors with a cheeky glass of wine (or two).

Beef Burgers:
500g Lean minced beef
1 medium red onion
¼ Red pepper
¼ Orange pepper
Bunch coriander
Salt and Pepper to season
30ml Double Cream

1. Finely chop the onion and the peppers.
2. Chop the coriander.
3. Place the mince, chopped onions, pepper and coriander into a large bowl.
4. Add the cream and season with salt and pepper.

5. Mix together thoroughly and shape into 6 burgers.

6. Chill for 10 minutes in the fridge.
7. Cook on the barbecue until thoroughly cooked through.


Sausage Wheel:
1 Pack of Cumberland Sausages
3 long metal skewers (or use wooden ones that you've soaked in water)

1. Untwist the individual sausages and distribute the meat evenly throughout the skin.
2. Roll gently into a spiral.
3. Skewer through from one side, through the centre and back through the other side, evenly using your three skewers.

4. Brush the surfaces with oil and barbecue until cooked through.


Chicken, Pepper & Red Onion Skewers

1 Chicken breast, cubed
1 Red onion
¼ Red pepper
¼ Orange pepper

1. Cut the top and bottom off the onion, then stand it on one of the flat edges.
2. Slice vertically through the onion into 6 wedges.
3. Cut the peppers into pieces the approximate size of your onion wedges.
4. Thread the pieces of chicken, onion and pepper alternately onto the skewers.
5. Brush with a little oil and barbecue until the chicken is cooked.


Pineapple Salsa:
175 Pineapple in natural juice
4 Spring onions
50g Red pepper
15ml Cider vinegar
15ml Dark brown sugar
60ml BBQ sauce
5mm Root Ginger.

1. Chop the pineapple, onions and pepper.
2. Grate the ginger.
3. Place all the ingredients into a saucepan and heat through for 10 minutes.

4. Serve hot or cold with your cooked burgers and sausage wheel.


Soured Cream Mint Dressing:
100ml Soured cream
15ml Concentrated mint sauce

1. Mix the soured cream and the mint sauce together thoroughly.
2. Serve with your cooked meats and salad.

I served my burgers in warmed pitta breads, which I spread with the soured cream mint dressing and stuffed with salad.

I was provided with vouchers from the Central England Co-Operative to purchase ingredients to make my BBQ meal.

Meat Juices Gravy

When you've gone to all the effort and cost of making a roast dinner with a light and crispy Yorkshire Pudding, using whatever is your favourite meat, what better way of using those unctuous juices than in a proper gravy, the way my mum taught me to make it.

Meat Juices from your roast (approx. 250ml)
1 stock cube/Knorr stock pot
45ml (3tbs) Yorkshire pudding mix
30ml (2tbs) Bisto gravy powder
200ml Cold Water
2 or 3 splashes of Tabasco sauce

1. In a saucepan, place your meat juices and stock cube/stock pot.
2. Bring to the boil until your stock cube/stock pot is fully dissolved.
3. Mix the Yorkshire pudding batter mix and your Bisto gravy powder into a paste then add the cold water and mix thoroughly.

4. Pour this into your meat juices and bring to the boil, stirring continuously to prevent lumps forming, until thickened.
5. Add additional boiling water, if the gravy is too thick.
6. Turn the heat down to a simmer and taste.

7. Add a couple of splashes of Tabasco and taste again.  Add an additional splash of Tabasco, one at a time, until you've got the most amazing flavour that you can imagine.
8. Serve poured generously over your Sunday roast!

*It's essential that you stir your gravy continuously when you pour in the Bisto thickened batter mix, or lumps will form as it cooks unevenly. If you don't and the worst does happen, then whisk briskly until they've been broken up. Lumpy gravy is not appetising in the slightest!!!

Meatballs with a Spicy Chilli Sauce

Similar to my other meatball recipe, I made this today but had a play with the sauce to spice it up using a Knorr Mixed Chilli Flavour pot.

2 medium Onions

3 cloves Garlic

Generous handful of fresh herbs (I used basil, sage, thyme, oregano & parsley)

2 eggs

100g Dried breadcrumbs

500g Minced Beef

Sauce

Small handful of fresh basil, sage & oregano

540g Passata sauce

1 medium Onion

4tbs tomato ketchup

1tbs Tomato purée

2tbs Cider vinegar

Knorr beef stock pot

Knorr mixed chilli flavour pot

Extra Virgin Olive oil

1. In a food processor, place the onions, garlic cloves, herbs and eggs.

2. Blitz until they form a thick, foamy paste.

3. In a large bowl, place your breadcrumbs and mince.

4. Pour your onion, garlic, herb and egg paste onto the mince and breadcrumbs and mix together thoroughly, using your hands.  Then wash your hands.

5. Without the need to wash the food processor bowl, add the sauce herbs, Passata and onion.  Blitz these together until they form a smooth sauce.

6. Pour your sauce ingredients into a large saucepan and add the ketchup, tomato purée and cider vinegar.

7. Mix the Knorr beef stock pot in 500ml boiling water until dissolved.

8. Add this to the sauce mixture with the Knorr mixed chilli flavour pot (I only used half of the chilli pot, but add more or less according to your own personal taste).

9. Bring the sauce ingredients to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer.

10. Roll your meatball mixture into small balls, about 2cm in diameter.

11. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and brown the meatballs all over.  It's best to do these in batches so that they brown and don't steam.

12. Transfer your browned meatballs to the sauce and shake the pan to coat.

13. Repeat until all of your meatballs are in your sauce mixture.  Try to avoid stirring the sauce so that you don't break your meatballs up.

14. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add your chosen pasta shape. Return to the boil then simmer until cooked to your liking.

15. Drain the pasta and add to your serving bowl.  Spoon some meatballs and sauce over your pasta.
16. Serve with a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Sunday Roast anyone?

To celebrate Knorr stock pots being awarded Product of the Year in the consumer voted Gravy & Stock category, I was sent all the ingredients last week with which to create an incredible Sunday lunch.  Succulent lean beef, fresh vegetables and a supply of the stock pots, along with a china gravy boat were delivered on Saturday while I was in London enjoying the delights of Borough Market and celebrating my birthday the following day with two close friends.

I'm an absolute traditionalist when it comes to my Sunday dinner, with a roast being on the menu pretty much every week. What better way to round off the week than with good food, fresh and healthily prepared with lots of steamed veg & a rich gravy.

My beef was roasted slowly at 150C for a few hours in a roaster to keep it moist.  Whilst the meat was resting, I roasted half of my potatoes and parsnips in a hot oven, along with my Yorkshire pudding (always with chopped onion added to the mixture as my mum does!) The remainder of my potatoes, I cut up & boiled with the rest of the parsnips, the carrots & broccoli steaming above them. Into a large saucepan, I put my meat juices and a beef gravy pot, and brought them to the boil whilst whisking.  To this I added a little of the leftover Yorkshire Pudding mix that I'd loosened slightly with cold water and returned it to the boil to thicken before reducing it to a simmer.  A couple of splashes of Tabasco sauce and a glug of double cream and it was tasting amazing!  Dinner was served with a dollop of hot horseradish sauce, making it a meal to remember!

It may have been my birthday last Sunday, but I didn't mind cooking my roast, and boy! Did we all enjoy eating it too!

Knorr gravy pots can be used on their own, whisked into boiling water. You don't need to use meat juices, to thicken them, or add any additional ingredients.

The hamper of food was sent to me free of charge by Knorr. I was under no obligation to provide a favourable review of the contents, nor to endorse the products contained therein. All views are my own.

Beef burgers

Everyone loves a burger from time to time, and to make your own surpasses the flavour of any shop bought, mass produce, additive containing, packed out with cheap filler, mush every time.  They're simple to make (involve the kids) and you can easily batch make these to freeze for a later date. So, lets burger off into the kitchen and get making!

10 Wholewheat crackers (or Cream Crackers or 2 slices of bread, crumbed)

Handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped (use 1tbs dried if you don't have fresh)

15ml (1tbs) Wholegrain mustard (or any mustard you find in your fridge!)

1 Large egg

1 Medium onion, finely chopped

1 Red chilli, finely chopped

2 Cloves garlic, finely chopped

500g Minced beef (try to choose leaner beef if you can, as it'll ooze less fat when you cook it)

Salt & pepper

1. Tip all of your ingredients into a large bowl.

2. Get your hands in there and squish it all together until fully combined.

3. Divide into 8 equal(ish) portions.

4. Flatten into evenly shaped rounds resembling a burger (make sure they're about the same thickness so they all cook at the same time).

 

5. Preheat a griddle pan until very hot.

6. Cook for 4-5 minutes each side or until cooked through.

Serve in a roll with some tomato chutney, cheese & a bit of salad.

See, I told you it was easy!

If you don't want to use them all now, simply place a piece of waxed/grease proof paper between each one, bag them up and put into a freezer.  Defrost before cooking.

If you want to be all evenly shaped and pretty looking, you can buy a burger press with waxed discs fairly cheaply online or even from some of the supermarkets.