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Archive for June, 2024

BBQ Mushroom & Halloumi Burgers

Posted in Barbecue, Food, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 16 June 2024| Leave a Comment »

Oh so very good and with superb flavours! A proper hefty burger with a fabulous butter for basting – none of that mushy stuff that veggie burgers are often made of.

Wine Suggestion: cold beers, or juicy, cheap reds … barbecue fare.

BBQ mushroom & halloumi burgers – serves 4

  • 2 x 225g packs halloumi
  • 8 portobello mushrooms

FOR THE BUTTER:

  • 160g butter, softened
  • 2 tbsp white miso
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 5g mushroom powder or dried porcini mushrooms, ground to a powder
  • ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
  • 2 large garlic cloves, finely grated
  • finely grated zest of ½ lemon

TO SERVE:

  • 4 brioche burger buns, split
  • 4 tbsp sweet chilli sauce or hot chilli sauce
  • 4 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 4 handfuls of rocket

Get your barbecue on and ready for cooking.

Cut the halloumi blocks in half horizontally to creat 4 flat pieces of halloumi.

To make the butter, put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix to combine, seasoning with salt (not too much) and pepper.

Brush the mushrooms on one side with the butter and put them onto a medium-hot barbecue, buttered side down. Brush plenty of butter on the other side. After a few minutes turn the mushrooms over and add the halloumi to the barbecue. Brush the halloumi with the butter too. Keep brushing the mushrooms and halloumi with the butter as they cook.

When the mushrooms and halloumi are almost done, toast the burger buns on the barbecue. Brush any remaining butter onto the toasted buns.

To assemble, put a mushroom on each burger bun base. Top with a piece of halloumi and add a spoon of sweet or hot chilli sauce. Pile a handful of rocket on top, then spread some mayonnaise on the bun lids and sandwich together.

(Original recipe from Tom Kerridge’s Outdoor Cooking, Bloomsbury Absolute, 2021.)

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Steak, Piquillo Pepper and Asparagus Salad

Posted in Barbecue, Beef, Food, Gluten-free, Spanish, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 10 June 2024| Leave a Comment »

A main course salad with warm elements cooked over charcoal and a delicious dressing. Like everything it tastes best eaten outside.

Wine Suggestion: A current favourite is Bodega Jesus Romero’s Rubus, a Garnacha-Tempranillo blend from the mountain slopes in Aragon, Spain, that despite it’s depth of flavour has a real energy and vibrancy.

Steak, piquillo pepper and asparagus salad – serves 4

  • 2 ribeye steaks (about 500g in total)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 16 asparagus spears
  • 2 baby gem lettuces, leaves seperated
  • 100g roasted piquillo peppers, sliced – good quality Spanish brands like El Navarrico will make a difference here
  • 2 tbsp capers
  • 30g flaked almonds, toasted

FOR THE DRESSING:

  • 1 clove of garlic, grated
  • 2-3 sprigs of marjoram or oregano, leaves picked
  • 2 tbsp PX sherry vinegar
  • 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Take the steaks out of the fridge about an hour before you want to cook them.

Get your barbecue hot and ready to cook on – if you don’t want to barbecue you can cook the asparagus and steak on a griddle pan.

Season the steaks and rub all over with oil.

Sear the steaks for a few minutes on each side on a hot barbecue, then set aside to rest.

Toss the asparagus spears in oil and cook on the barbecue until charred. Tip into a serving bowl.

Add the lettuce leaves, piquillo peppers and capers to the bowl with the asparagus.

Combine all of the dressing ingredients and season well.

Slice the steaks and arrange on top of the salad, then drizzle all over with the dressing and scatter over the toasted almonds.

(Original recipe from The Spanish Home Kitchen by José Pizarro, Hardie Grant Books, 2022.)

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Asparagus & Saffron Risotto

Posted in Food, Italian, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 9 June 2024| Leave a Comment »

We make a lot of spring risottos and we think this one might be the best. We miss Russell Norman.

Wine Suggestion: Verdicchio all the way with this, and from a winery obsessed with this grape: Sartarelli. Their Miletta is a little bit special coming from a select vineyard and treated with extra care. It’s almost a contradiction in taste by being both full bodied, round and textured as well as elegant, flinty and ethereal. Hawthorn and almond flavours with apricots and a creamy nuttiness, plus a salty freshness tying it all together.

Asparagus & saffron risotto – serves 4

  • 1 litre vegetable stock (we used Marigold Swiss Bouillon)
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large white onion, very finely diced
  • 320g Carnaroli rice
  • 200ml dry vermouth
  • 12 spears of asparagus, woody stems snapped off, sliced lengthways, then cut into 2 cm pieces
  • 1 scant tsp saffron
  • 80g unsalted butter
  • 80g grated Parmesan, plus some extra for the table if you like

Heat the vegetable stock in a large pan on the back of the hob and keep hot.

Pour the extra virgin olive oil into a large, heavy-based saucepan and put over a low-medium heat. Add the onion and cook slowly for 10 minutes, making sure it doesn’t brown.

Add the rice and stir to make sure every grain is coated, then add a large pinch of flaky sea salt. When the mixture looks dry, add the vermouth. Keep stirring until the vermouth has been absorbed, then add a ladle of hot stock and stir again.

Over the next 20 minutes continue to add a little more stock every time the risotto has absorbed the previous ladleful. After 10 minutes, stir in the asparagus and saffron, then continue gradually adding the stock.

Test the rice after 20 minutes, it should not be too firm. When it’s done, turn up the heat, add the butter and stir until it has melted. Take the pan off the heat and allow to rest for a minute, then gently stir in the Parmesan. Serve on warm plates with extra Parmesan and black pepper.

(Origianl recipe from Brutto by Russell Norman, Ebury Press, 2023.)

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