Oriental vegetable kebabs with peanut dressing (serves 4)

Ingredients

Preparation

1 red pepper, de-seeded and cubed

1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and cubed

12 cherry tomatoes

4 salad onions topped, tailed and cut into 5cm/2in lengths

2 baby courgettes, cut into chunks

groundnut oil or sunflower oil, for grilling

4 kebab skewers

basmati rice, to serve

For the marinade

2-3 tbsp soy sauce

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp sugar

pinch of ground ginger

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the dressing

1 tbsp groundnut or sunflower oil

1 shallot, finely chopped

½ tsp hot chilli powder

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tbsp dark brown sugar

110g/4oz unsalted roasted peanuts, ground

150ml/5fl oz coconut milk

½ lemon, juice only

Cover and leave for two hours, stirring occasionally.

For the dressing, heat the oil in a small pan and fry the shallot until starting to brown. Add the chilli powder and cook for one minute.

Stir in two tablespoons of the marinade from the vegetables, the garlic, sugar and ground peanuts. Stir well.

Add the coconut milk a little at a time. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for two minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and season to taste.

Thread the marinated vegetables on to skewers. Brush with a little oil and grill over the coals for about 15 minutes, turning occasionally.

Gently re-heat the peanut dressing.

Serve the kebabs on a bed of rice, drizzled with peanut dressing.

Spiced lamb burgers with herbed yoghurt (serves 6)

Ingredients

Preparation

1 small onion, quartered

4cm/1½ in piece fresh ginger

4 large garlic cloves

20g/¾oz fresh coriander, stalks and leaves

2-3 green chillies, chopped or ½-1 tsp red chilli powder

450g/1lb lamb mince

¾ tsp ground cumin

1½ tsp garam masala

1 tsp salt, or to taste

1 large free-range egg

2 slices thick-cut white bread, processed to crumbs in a food processor

2 tbsp oil, for greasing

For the herbed yoghurt

200g/7oz Greek-style yoghurt

30g/1oz fresh coriander leaves

15g/½oz fresh mint leaves, or 1 tbsp good quality dried mint

1-2 green chillies, finely chopped (optional)

salt, to taste

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

To serve

6 hamburger buns

1 onion, sliced crosswise into large rings

2 ripe plum tomatoes, sliced crosswise

crunchy lettuce leaves

Shape into six burgers and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes, or until you are ready to cook them. Take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before you start cooking.

Meanwhile, for the herbed yoghurt, mix together all the ingredients for the herbed yoghurt in a bowl and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Preheat the grill to high. Place the burgers on a well-oiled baking sheet and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side. They can also be cooked in an oiled non-stick pan for 8-10 minutes, turning halfway.

While the burgers are cooking, heat the buns in the oven for the last 3-4 minutes of the cooking time.

To serve, split the buns in two. Place a burger onto one half of each bun on a bed of lettuce. Top with the tomatoes and onion rings and a spoonful of the herbed yoghurt. Finish with the other half of each bun.

Turkish kofta kebabs with minted yoghurt and kohlrabi and carrot salad (serves 4)

Ingredients

Preparation

900g/2lb minced lamb

2 onions, finely grated

6 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 small bunch of flatleaf parsley, chopped

oil for brushing

2 vine-ripened tomatoes, thinly sliced

salt

freshly ground black pepper

For the minted yoghurt

200g/7oz Greek natural yoghurt

2 tbsp chopped mint

For the carrot salad

2 large carrots, peeled and halved

2 kohlrabi, peeled

2 tbsp sunflower oil

4 tsp cumin seeds

4 tsp lemon juice

Cover eight bamboo skewers with cold water and leave them to soak.

Put the minced lamb into a bowl with the onions, garlic, chilli flakes, parsley, one teaspoon of salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Mix together with your hands until bound together.

Divide the mixture into eight and mould it into long sausage shapes around the drained bamboo skewers.

For the minted yoghurt, mix the yoghurt with the mint, half a teaspoon of salt and some pepper and set aside.

For the salad, finely shred the carrots and kohlrabi, on a mandolin or on the coleslaw setting of your food processor so you get nice long, thin, crunchy strips.

Put these in a bowl with a large pinch of salt and mix together well.

Heat the sunflower oil in a small pan, add the cumin seeds and, as soon as they start to sizzle, add them to the vegetables with the lemon juice and toss together.

Brush the kofta generously with oil and lightly oil the bars of the barbecue or griddle. Cook for five minutes, turning occasionally, until browned all over and cooked through.

Spread the minted yoghurt over one large or four individual serving plates. Lay the kofta on top, garnsih with the sliced tomatoes and serve with the salad.

Hot hounds with beer-and-mustard-barbied onions (makes 8)

Ingredients

Preparation

4 large onions, thinly sliced

150ml/5fl oz dark ale or bitter

1 tbsp demerara sugar

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

large knob of butter

1 large sprig of thyme

salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 good-quality, thick sausages (experiment with some of the many varieties on offer)

8 bread rolls, or pieces of French bread

Place carefully on the barbecue. Leave to cook for 25-30 minutes until the onions are meltingly soft and most of the beer has reduced to a syrupy consistency. During the cooking time, carefully open the foil a few times and stir the onions. If there’s too much liquid in the foil when the onions are almost cooked, open up the top of the foil and cook for a further 5 minutes to allow the liquid to evaporate.

Place the sausages on a medium-hot barbecue and cook for 8-10 minutes, turning every so often. Check they’re cooked through before serving. Put the cooked sausages in the rolls or French bread and dollop the onions on the top.

Grilled mackerel with soy lime dressing (SERVES 4)

Ingredients

Preparation

250ml/9fl oz cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar

250ml/9fl oz water

5-6 pieces coriander stalks, washed

40g/1½oz caster sugar

35g/1¼oz red onion, finely sliced

½ tsp whole pink peppercorns

3-4 lemon slices

2 whole mackerel, filleted, pin bones removed

1 tbsp oil

For the soy and lime dressing

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp water

1 lime, juice only

1 tsp fresh root ginger, peeled, finely diced

½ tsp dark muscovado sugar

For the fennel salad

1 tsp fennel seeds, soaked in water for 2 hours, drained and toasted in a dry pan

1 fennel bulb, finely sliced on a mandoline, slices soaked in ice-cold water for 20 minutes, drained

1 tbsp olive oil

½ lime, juice only

1 bunch rocket leaves

2 pinches sea salt

1 pinch cayenne pepper

When the mixture has cooled, place the mackerel fillets into the container, flesh-side down. Set aside to marinate for 20 minutes.

For the soy and lime dressing, combine all the dressing ingredients in a small pan and gently heat through until the sugar has dissolved. Set to one side.

Preheat the grill to its highest setting.

When the mackerel fillets have marinated, remove them from the marinade and pat dry with kitchen paper. Make several diagonal scores in the skin, going across the length of each fillet to stop them from curling up during cooking.

Brush a baking tray all over with oil. Arrange the mackerel fillets onto the greased tray, skin-sides facing upwards. Place under the grill and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the skin is crisp and the flesh is cooked through.

For the salad, combined. all the salad ingredients in a large bowl.

To serve, divide the fennel salad equally among four serving plates. Place a grilled mackerel fillet on top of each portion. Spoon the salad dressing around the edge of the plate. Scatter over the remaining toasted fennel seeds.