Tag: barbecue

Burgers with Jack Daniel’s Barbecue Sauce

Posted in Meat, RecipesTagged , Leave a comment

I keep reading articles announcing the arrival of the barbecue season. However, for us Brits, there really is no such thing as a barbecue season. It’s much more of a grab-the-opportunity-when-you-can season, as you just never know how long the sun is set to shine for.

I’m pleased to confirm the sun is most definitely shining this weekend here in Bristol though, and so the perfect time to bring you a very easy but very tasty burger recipe for the next time you get the chance to fire up the barbie. Continue reading “Burgers with Jack Daniel’s Barbecue Sauce” →

Round-up: The Spice Trail beach barbecue challenge

Posted in Competitions and challenges, RecipesTagged , , , , 7 Comments

spice trail badge long

I’m loving this extended summer we’re having here in Somerset, particularly as it means we can continue having barbecues. In fact we enjoyed a teatime barbecue just yesterday when the children got home from school.

And so I don’t feel too bad about having taken so long to bring you this round-up of delicious beach barbecue recipes from August’s The Spice Trail challenge. I’m hoping there’s still time to enjoy a fair few of these dishes al fresco before the weather turns and autumn proper sets in…

Beach Barbecue Collage Continue reading “Round-up: The Spice Trail beach barbecue challenge” →

Mexican salsa verde with tomatillos and pineapple

Posted in Recipes, VegetarianTagged , , , , , , , , 8 Comments

Mexican salsa verde

I am clearly not a proper foodie. The other day a carton of tomatillos arrived on the back doorstep in our weekly veg box from Riverford and I had no idea what they were. I thought they looked vaguely like Cape gooseberries, so peeled back the papery husk of one and popped it in my mouth. I instantly spat it out again as the sour juices hit my tongue.

On consulting the Riverford website, I discovered these little green fruits were indeed tomatillos, native to Mexico and a staple of Mexican cuisine. It turns out they are actually related to the Cape gooseberry, so I don’t feel a complete plank for stuffing one in my gob.

tomatillos

So, what to do with them? I posted the question on Twitter and Instagram, and the response was almost unanimous: Mexican salsa verde. Who was I to argue? Particularly as were planning a barbecue later that day, and I thought a salsa verde would make a perfect condiment.

But as is my wont, I felt the urge to play with the Riverford recipe I turned to and decided to throw in some ripe pineapple for a little sweet to balance out the sour, an addition that worked out rather well I thought. Some recipes call for cooked tomatillos, but Riverford recommend  using raw as “they retain a sour freshness that would be perfect for a summer’s day”. I rather liked the sound of that. The end result was a vibrant and fresh dip for tortilla chips that works equally well as a tangy accompaniment to grilled steak and fish, particularly when washed down with an ice cold beer.

My nine-year-old loved it while my six-year-old wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole – perhaps it was just a little too green for her?

Mexican salsa verde

Mexican salsa verde with tomatillos and pineapple

350g tomatillos, husks removed and washed
½ ripe pineapple, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, finely diced
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
juice of 1 lime
large handful of fresh coriander (plus a little extra for serving)
1 tsp brown sugar
sea salt

Simply throw all the ingredients into a food processor and whiz them up until you achieve a still chunky salsa texture. Pour into a serving bowl and garnish with a little extra chopped coriander.

spice trail badge square

I’m entering this Mexican Salsa Verde into August’s Spice Trail challenge, hosted by moi, where the theme is Beach Barbecue.

Grilled salad of courgette, chicory, basil and mozzarella from ‘The Natural Cook’

Posted in Recipes, Reviews, VegetarianTagged , , , , , , , , , , 9 Comments

The umming and ahhing is over. The decision has been made. Our house is now officially on the market and we’ll soon be leaving the sticks and heading back to the big city. Bristol, to be precise, which isn’t exactly a heaving metropolis and is actually one of the most laid back, greenest and coolest cities I know.

Bristol was home for us until our first daughter was about eight months old, at which point we decided family life meant a bit of the good life, the country life. And while we’ve loved it here and having space and green fields around us, a veg patch and apple trees, foraging in the hedgerows, picnics by the stream and drinking scrumpy at the annual village fete, it’s now time to crank the pace back up again with a bit of inner city living. You can take the girl of out of the city, but you’ll never take the city out of the girl, it would seem.

There are lots of things I’m looking forward to about being back in a city. One of them is not having to drive so much to get, well, anywhere really. I love the idea of being able to walk back home after a night in a restaurant, or at least being able to afford the taxi fare. And one of the restaurants I intend on visiting as soon as we’re in Bristol is Tom Hunt’s Poco on Stokes Croft, with its emphasis on seasonal ingredients, thrifty cuts of meat and sustainably sourced fish, most of which is sourced from within a 50-mile radius, and at the same time producing the minimum of food waste. Continue reading “Grilled salad of courgette, chicory, basil and mozzarella from ‘The Natural Cook’” →

Review: Amoy Special Selection Soy Sauce & Sticky Glazes

Posted in ReviewsTagged , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Amoy Collage

We consume rather a lot of soy sauce in our house. Perhaps it’s down to the Chinese Malaysian ancestry. Ever since I was little, I’ve loved the stuff and I could probably survive on a diet of boiled white rice smothered in soy sauce. Just the thought of it now is making me hungry.

I usually buy huge bottles from the Chinese supermarket because we get through so much of it. So when Amoy asked if I’d like a complimentary bottle of their new ‘Special Selection’ soy sauce to try out, of course I had to say yes.

It’s actually very good, and I’m not just saying that because I got it free. I fully intend to buy some when we finish this bottle, which won’t be long, and I’d certainly recommend it.

According to Amoy, their Special Selection soy sauce is made from the finest extracts of soya beans and blended with sea salt to provide an intense and full-bodied flavour. They’re absolutely right about the full-bodied flavour – it’s deliciously deep and rich and very, very moreish. We’ve tried it with rice, noodles and stir-fried vegetables and the whole family has given it a thumbs up every time.

Amoy also sent me some of their Sticky Glaze sauces to try: peanut satay, Chinese barbecue and sweet soy.

AmoyCollage2

While I don’t normally buy packet sauces, I was quite impressed with these, although they were all a little on the sweet side. That’s probably why they were so popular with the children. The glazes are an extremely speedy marinade for meat, fish and vegetables, so they’d be quite a useful ingredient to have in the cupboard when you’re short of time and need something quick and easy for dinner.

The children loved the peanut satay in particular, which we had with chicken, but they do usually love food of any description on a stick. It was supposed to have ‘a chilli twist’ but I couldn’t really detect any chilli in there. My favourite was the Chinese barbecue glaze, which I used on pork spare ribs. Sweet and sticky and finger-lickingly good, just as good ribs should be. I can see myself buying that one again in future. I wasn’t so taken with the sweet soy glaze though – I much prefer my own version I made at Chinese new year!

Disclosure: Amoy sent me a complimentary bottle of their new Special Selection Soy Sauce and the three Sticky Glazes  for review purposes. No money exchanged hands.