a trip to the bbq man

A trip up to see the nice man who does great bbq pork and birds up the street is always a great treat, even though something you do more than once a week technically should fall outside the treat category. He's been doing his art forever, and the consistency alone of what is churned out has to be totally respected. Just a handful of fatty slices of char siu atop steamed rice and a

smattering of green onions and minced ginger is a polystyrene takeaway container and throwaway chopsticks of legends. I'll never tire of this.

Barbecuing at home (without any outdoor space I have to add) has its small but not impossible challenges and a set of why bothers when our friend does his so well. But when all that is said, he doesn't have ribs in his collection. This is easy slow long cooking simplicity. Smokey it may slightly fail on to a degree, but taste and texture wise, hard to beat without getting all too fancy.

Great barbecue ribs

Enough for 4

2 racks of small pork loin ribs - 5 or 6 ribs per person

1½ tsp smoked paprika
a good splash of soy sauce
a good splash of Worcestershire sauce
20g tomato ketchup
30g dark brown sugar
20g HP sauce
20g strong mustard

Place the racks curved-side down, and using a small knife to peel the edge of the translucent membrane away from the smaller end of the rack until you can get a grip of it. Pull this towards you, so the membrane comes away from the bones.

Mix together the marinade ingredients and rub about half into the ribs well. Put in a shallow dish, cover and leave for at least a couple of hours, turning once or twice during this time to make sure the entire rack is coated.

Heat the oven to 140°C. Cover the dish tightly with foil and cook for about 2½ hours until tender, basting once or twice during this time, removing the foil for the last 15 minutes. The racks ought to be close to falling apart by now but still remaining intact.

If possible, heat a barbecue or a griddle pan until hot, drizzle the ribs with the rest of the marinade and cook until blackened and charred. Serve immediately.

If it is not possible to barbecue over a fierce flame, crank up the oven to 200°C and conduct this last bit without any cover on the ribs until a crust appears.

hong kong bumps into moscow

In a city I'd never made it to before a couple of weeks ago, Moscow; there are some utterly brilliant people, the most amazing sights and some of the most wonderful magical ingredients still to be properly discovered outside the region. Among the fantastically shaped bottles, jars and sachets which I'm now lucky to have at home, is a great big bottle of tkemali. 

Tkemali is the name of the wild sour plum which gives the sauce its name, and I'm to believe is Georgian in origin. It's a ketchup like condiment, and has everything going on from pungently tangy to tart, sweet and sour, but above all else, its insanely addictive now I've opened my bottle.

Fried rice pops up at home an awful lot, and every time it comes out just that little bit differently, I guess the nature of what's at home and kicking about in the fridge will always dictate as such. This time of the year it has to be glutinous rice though, makes the whole thing more sticky and warming, perfect as winter begins to take shape (21°c and blue skies here today)

fried rice, bbq pork, tkemali

For the glutinous fried rice

Serves 4

500g glutinous rice, soaked overnight

50g dried shrimps, soaked and cleaned

50g shredded dried cuttlefish, cleaned

3 Chinese dried sausages, sliced

8 large mushrooms cut into cubes

1 bunch of spring onions, chopped

4 tblsp garlic oil

2 egg omelette, shredded

25g fried peanuts

Seasoning

1tbsp dark soya sauce

1tbsp oyster sauce

2tsp salt

Clean and drain the soaked glutinous rice and steam for about 35-45 minutes. Sprinkle water into the steamed rice every 15 mins and continue steaming. Fluff up the rice after 25 minutes and continue sprinkling water till the rice is soft. You can pinch some rice and try if it's soft enough, if not, just continue to steam.

Remove from steamer and set aside. In a wok, pour in the garlic oil, then put in the dried shrimps and dried cuttlefish and fry them till aromatic, add the mushrooms, Chinese sausages and sauté for several minutes on a medium heat.

Now add in the steamed glutinous rice and seasonings and keep frying till everything is well mixed with the seasonings.

Taste and add more salt if necessary. Toss in the chopped spring onions, shredded omelette and fried peanuts to finish.

Serve with the barbecued pork, and a heavy handed hit of tkemali and your work for the night is now complete.

barbecued corn, and more of that beef

Incredible. Remarkable. Outstanding.

This wonderful North Devon beef just keeps getting better, and for a weekday treat, a fillet steak given some simple seasoning and a hard pan fry is all that's needed. If anyone wants some of this incredible meat, give Siana Yewdall a call on +447817 395924 to place an order for one of her brilliant beef boxes.

With a steak of this quality, a slightly fancier something on the side is always worth the effort when the main part needs no help to be splendid. So enter some spunky barbecued corn.

Barbecued sweetcorn with lime, chilli and parmesan butter

Serves 4

This recipe is a regular barbecue number at home, incredibly simple to prepare, and fun to eat.

4 whole corn cobs, in their husks

100g unsalted butter, softened
100g parmesan cheese, freshly grated
finely grated zest of 2 large limes
1-2 bird's-eye chillies, seeded and finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lime, quartered

Place the corn cobs on a preheated hot grill and cook until golden brown, about 15 minutes, turning often.

Peel off the husks when cool enough to handle. While the corn is cooking, combine the butter, parmesan, zest and chilli, and beat until smooth.

Season with salt and pepper and smear each cob with the butter and serve with a wedge of lime, a crispy jacket potato and an outstanding piece of beef fillet.

A proper treat indeed.

Lemon pork ribs with potatoes and herbs

On first inspection, this dish somehow doesn't seem quite right at the time of year, but this is a barbecue inspired classic after all, so what's the problem? Serving as a full on dish is what this recipe is meant to do, but should there be any leftover meat, rolling it up and cutting it into little bite size chunks as a pre dinner nibble for the weekend is utter genius in my book. BBQ and what is done with pork in particular is a tireless subject, and this Georgian number from Helen Graves' travels is definitely worth a look, quite delicious.


Lemon pork ribs with potatoes and herbs

Serves 2

Lemon pork ribs with potatoes and herbs

8 garlic cloves
1 onion
1 lemon
500g pork ribs
Small bunch thyme
A few sage leaves
500g large waxy potatoes such as Charlotte
Knob of butter 

10g flat leaf parsley

Gently crack the garlic cloves with the heel of your hand, then flake away the papery skin. Peel, halve and finely slice the onion. Remove the zest from the lemon in small paper-thin scraps. 

Place the ribs in a pan that can comfortably hold all the ingredients, add the garlic, onion and lemon zest, thyme, sage leaves and a generous seasoning of salt, preferably Maldon sea salt flakes, and black pepper. Peel, rinse and thickly slice the potatoes directly into the pan so they cover the ribs etc.

Cover with water. Tear off sufficient greaseproof paper to tuck inside the pan to cover the food. Smear it with butter and place butter-side down. Bring to the boil, immediately reduce the heat, cover the pan 75 per cent and leave to simmer gently for 30 minutes. 

Check that the meat is meltingly tender, if not, cook on for a further 10 minutes. Serve scattered with parsley, the wedge of lemon, salt and pepper and crusty bread and butter. 

You may wish to add some frozen petits pois for the final few minutes of cooking; these, like the potatoes and butter-soft mellow garlic, are delicious mashed into the juices.

Barbecued rib eye steaks and summer vegetable skewers with a tangy lemon dipping sauce

On a recent weekend get away to New York City it was staggering to stumble about Chinatown and see with my very own senses of sight and smell just how authentic it all is. Having lived and breathed Asia myself I was in love the moment I made ground out of the Subway and ventured up Canal Street, this is a must on anybody's go to list if in the city and in need of something reminiscent of South East Asia. Manhattan's Chinatown is one of the oldest ethnic Chinese enclaves outside of Asia. The char siu bao was phenomenal as were some near damn perfect sui mai, but today we shall leave them to the experts I think.

Here's a barbecued steak idea for home, nothing whatsoever like the char siu of a good bbq shop, but easily something to brighten a cold late Winter night at home...

Serves 4

4 x 200g rib eye beef steaks

Olive oil, to drizzle

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

Large handful of lemon thyme sprigs

1 glass of dry white wine

1 large courgette, trimmed

1 medium aubergine, trimmed

1 large red onion, peeled
4 globe artichoke hearts, cooked

For the dipping sauce
4 tblsp mayonnaise
3 tblsp Greek yoghurt
Pinch of cayenne powder
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon

Put the steaks in a bowl or food bag with a generous drizzle of olive oil, some freshly ground black pepper, the garlic, spices, a few sprigs of lemon thyme and the white wine. Toss everything together, then leave to marinate at room temperature for one hour.

For the vegetable skewers, slice the courgette in half lengthwise, then cut into 1.5cm thick half-moons. Slice the aubergine into quarters lengthwise, then cut across each quarter into 1.5cm thick wedges. Chop the red onion into small chunks or wedges and the globe artichoke hearts into quarters.

If using wooden skewers, soak them in a bowl of cold water. Put all the vegetables into a bowl. Pick the leaves from the lemon thyme and toss through the vegetables with some freshly ground pepper and a generous glug of olive oil. Thread the vegetables alternately on to the skewers.

Season the beef and vegetables with salt just before you start barbecuing. Allow 10-15 minutes for the vegetable skewers on the barbecue, turning them regularly until the vegetables are tender and golden. Cook the steaks over a high heat, allowing 3-5 minutes on each side, then allow them to rest on a warm plate for 5 minutes.

For the dipping sauce, mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl, adding lemon juice and seasoning to taste. Serve the steaks on warmed plates with two vegetable skewers per person and the dipping sauce in small bowls on the side

The chilli off

So, last night saw the inaugural residence chilli off, and a variety of the most weird and wonderful showed up with no two the same which was both frightening and impressive in the same mouthful. The whole chilli debate is still raging the day after, beans or no beans, chocolate, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary  and apricots all featured last night, but did they work? One of the most surprising was started barely an hour before we gathered, some went on the stove three days ago!

Here's my number, which humbly, was pretty awesome should I say so myself, the half beef classically prepared with the other half made up of the smoked pork made mine the champion, well in my house anyways! 

Serves 4-6

1 large onion or 2 banana shallots, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Half a head of celery, finely chopped

2 chipotle chillis, deseeded or keep half with seeds if you like it spicy

2 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked and roughly chopped

Olive oil, for frying

500g good quality minced sirloin of beef

300g pork belly, barbecued/smoked and minced

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp dried oregano

1 beef tomato, roughly chopped

400g chopped tinned tomatoes

2 tblsp tomato puree

100-200ml chicken or beef stock

3 tblsp tomato puree

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

400g kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Salt and pepper

Handful of chives, chopped

200ml soured cream

Boiled rice, to serve

Sweat the onion, garlic, celery, chilli and thyme in 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan. At the same time, brown the mince in a separate pan over moderate heat in a little oil.

Add the dried spices to the onion mixture and cook until they release their aroma. Then stir in the beef and mix well. Add in the pork at this stage. Add the fresh and tinned tomatoes and leave to cook down a little for at least 30 minutes.

Pour in the chicken or beef stock and stir in tomato puree to taste. Drop the cinnamon and bay leaf in then bring to the boil and leave to simmer. Transfer this now to a slow oven, around 150c/300f, covered, for up to 2 hours, checking occasionally. Remove from the oven now that the sauce has thickened, add the kidney beans and leave to cook for another 5-10 minutes to allow the beans to soak up the flavours. Check for seasoning.

Mix the chives and soured cream together. To serve, spoon the chilli into the centre of a mound of rice, with the soured cream and chives in a separate bowl on the side. World champion material if ever I saw. This is the stuff you really want on your chilli dog...

Cauliflower a la grecque

So the past few days have gone something like this; Another visit to the ice cream shop which now has legendary status in my little world. Dolcezza in Georgetown cannot do wrong and this week threw up a combo of espresso and purple raspberry - sublime, sensual and thoroughly memorable in every sense. My new rule for this place is 'only when I have visitors' while my little voices are telling me 'who are you kidding, that will never last'

This took me back to reality with a little lunch party at the Embassy on Sunday which threw together a few lovely summer time rug on the grass kind of dishes, one of which was a neat little mushroom a la greque number. I felt it worked out pretty good assisted by the quite stunning weather and a number of other dishes in keeping with the moment. Something as simple as this was all that was needed to split the day up to recharge. Got me thinking though, and next opportunity it'll be cauliflower trated the same way. Perversely, here's a photo of Sundays' mushrooms, and  a sweet little recipe for the future of cauliflowers...

Serves 4-6

90ml tomato puree
90ml olive oil
90ml dry white wine
1 large onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
2 spoons coriander seeds, crushed
5ml grated fresh root ginger
450ml water
1 large cauliflower, broken into florets
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
15ml lemon juice
1 tsp shredded coriander leaves

Place the tomato puree, oil, wine, onion, garlic, coriander seeds, ginger, water, and salt and pepper in a large pan. Bring to the boil, and then simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the cauliflower and cook for 10-15 minutes, until just tender. Leave to cool.

To finish, stir in the lemon juice and check the seasoning. Transfer to a serving dish and leave to come to room temperature. Sprinkle with coriander to serve.

This took us through to Sunday evening where the only thing left to do was light the barbecue and take in the sunshine as the day drew to a close. Sundays are totally made for this treatment and I could not imagine for a second spending this latest one anywhere near indoors, or worse still, a restaurant to fill me up. A few little quails all crunchy and charred to the point of almost being a little bitter on the skin, some big fat beef sausages spiked with thyme and a bit of cayenne and some chicken skewers marinated in onion juice and yoghurt helped wash a few local micro brewed beers down just nicely thank you very much. I think there were a couple of salads bouncing around in there, and a definite trace of anchovy in the air, but quite frankly, it was all about the meat/beer finishing off a glorious weekend.

Back to the day job, and the oppotunity to assemble some lighter lunch dishes is always great fun. Using the garden as inspiration, keeping the food light and in season while ensuring everything makes sense is just the direction I need to keep motivated, and this lobster dish ticks each and every box. So for lunch today we've got some steamed lobster claw meat, a few baby roasted artichokes, the tiny hearts of a couple of lettuces, paper thin shavings of a couple of different radishes and courgettes all brought together with the faintest splash of vinaigrette and a zesting of lemon. All good in DC right now...

Salt and chilli squid

Serves 6

Deep frying for me is a flash back home when I was younger. If it wasn't deep fried, then it was cooked to within an inch of its life in a pot, and that's where it all began. If squid isn't your thing, and I'm constantly surprised by how many say it isn't due to one previous average experience, then try this with strips of white fish instead. It's equally delicious.
You could eat this on a bed of rocket, with lime to squeeze over definitely not a throwback to the fish suppers of my childhood) Nowadays I like the squid best eaten really piping hot from the pan, as an informal stand up first course for a kitchen supper with friends while the rest of the meal is being assembled.

1kg squid, cleaned and cut into rings, tentacles left whole
2 tblsp fish sauce
1 lemon, juiced
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
2 tblsp salt flakes, crushed
1 tblsp crushed white peppercorns
250g cornflour
Vegetable oil, for frying

Place the squid, fish sauce and lemon juice in a bowl and marinate for up to 30 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

Place the chilli, coriander, salt, peppercorns and cornflour in a large freezer bag, add the squid and shake well to coat.

Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan to the depth of about only 2cm. The pan should be no more than half full. Fry the squid a few pieces at a time, for about a minute, until crisp and light gold. Drain on kitchen paper and eat straight away

Lamb grilled with mustard and lemon

Serves 2

A mild enough seasoning that does not overpower the flavour of the lamb. Steaks cut from the leg usually come nearly 2.5cm thick - for anything thinner or thicker alter the cooking time accordingly. For ribs, pop them through a hot oven for a few minutes once you've got a bit of colour on them from the grill.

2 plump cloves of garlic, peeled

a good pinch of sea salt

1 tblsp fresh thyme leaves or 2 tsp dried thyme

2 tblsp grain mustard

2 tblsp lemon juice

4 tblsp olive oil

4 lamb steaks, ribs or chops, weighing about 100g each

Crush the garlic with the salt in a pestle and mortar or in a small bowl with the end of the rolling pin. Add the herbs, mustard and lemon juice. Whisk in the oil with a fork, or small whisk, until the mixture has slightly thickened.

Pour one-third over the lamb, turn over the meat and baste that side too with another third.

Heat the grill to very hot. Grill the lamb for 3-4 minutes on each side, depending on how thick the meat is.

Brush with the remaining mixture as you turn the meat. The lamb should be a little singed outside, and rare within.

Aromatic lamb kebabs

Serves 4 to 6

Bengal gram, also known as chana dal, is a staple in Indian cooking and commonly used in vegetable stews. Here I've roasted and then ground to a powder to add a sweet, nutty flavour to the lamb mixture, but should you only be able to find yellow split peas, they'll do fine. Kind of goes without saying that this is merely the meat for yet another sandwich - wrap up with some lettuce and tomato and either some mint yoghurt as mentioned below or a roof of your mouth cleaning garlicky mayonnaise...

4 tblsp Bengal gram or yellow split peas
6 cardamom pods, seeds only
6 cloves
½ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp pink peppercorns
1 medium sweet or red onion, finely chopped
2 tblsp olive oil
500g lamb mince
2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
Grated zest of 1 lime
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium egg, beaten
Mint yoghurt dip, to serve
Lime wedges, to serve

Put the Bengal gram or yellow split peas, cardamom seeds, cloves, fennel seeds and pink peppercorns in a sauté pan and roast over a moderate heat, tossing them about, until lightly toasted and aromatic. Grind them into a fine powder using a spice grinder or pestle and mortar.

Next, fry the onion in half of the oil until soft and lightly golden. Put the lamb mince in a mixing bowl and add the spice powder, onion, chillies, lime zest, the remaining oil and some salt and pepper. Mix everything together, adding just enough of the egg to bind.

Wrap the mixture around skewers, wetting your hands as you mould the meat to avoid a sticky mess, until you have used up all of the mixture. Carefully grill for about 10 minutes on a hot barbecue or griddle, turning occasionally.

Serve either straight on a platter with a mint yoghurt dip and lime wedges on the side, or wrapped up in a soft pita bread with some salad.

Grilled courgettes with tahini dressing

Serves 4

I hear the weather back home is pretty damn fine at the moment, and it is Sunday after all, so I reckon a few barbecues must be in the planning stage. This great little dish is terrific as it is, or served as a side dish with crisp edged lamb chops and a little goats cheese, say, or, best of all, stuffed into flatbread with shreds of charred barbecued lamb.

55ml tahini
55ml water
Juice of ½ lemon
1 clove garlic, grated
Sea salt
450g courgettes, sliced 1cm thick lengthwise
3 tblsp olive or rapeseed oil, plus more for drizzling
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tblsp fresh mint leaves, shredded

First make the dressing, which is a cinch - just whisk together the tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic and a pinch of salt, then set aside.

Brush the courgettes with oil, sprinkle with a little salt and grill over medium coals until lightly charred and tender - about four minutes on each side.

Arrange the courgettes on a plate, drizzle over some of the tahini dressing and a splash or two of oil, a few grinds of pepper, some salt flakes and a sprinkling of mint. Serve immediately.

Lamb filled flatbreads

Serves 4

Like I said a couple of days ago, it's barbecue night tonight, and the old adage of meat in bread will never die in my book - you just need to jazz it up now and then. Loud flavours here, with spice crusted lamb, garlic scented yoghurt and the hot smokiness of ground paprika, a cute sandwich to eat outdoors

1 whole fillet of lamb
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
6 black peppercorns
3 cloves garlic
3 tblsp olive oil

For the yoghurt
1 small bunch coriander leaves
a few sprigs mint leaves
200g thick yoghurt
2 cloves garlic

To serve
4 handfuls rocket or watercress
a few whole mint leaves
1 lemon
4 warmed flatbreads
a little hot smoked paprika

Grind the coriander, cumin seed and black peppercorns to a rough powder with a pestle and mortar. Peel the garlic and mash it into the spices with the olive oil. Rub the paste all over the lamb fillet and set aside for an hour or two.

Make the yoghurt dressing by pulling the leaves from the herbs and finely chopping them. Stir them into the yoghurt. Peel and finely chop the garlic and add. Cover tightly and keep refrigerated till the kebabs are ready.

Heat the grill, barbecue or a ridged cast-iron grill pan. Season the lamb with salt and lay it on the grill and leave to brown nicely, a matter of five or six minutes then turn and cook till that side too is crusty and the inside a rosy pink.

Set aside for a full five minutes to rest. Toss the rocket or watercress and whole mint leaves with lemon juice.

Slice the lamb thickly then place two or three slices on a piece of warm flatbread together with a handful of salad and a large spoonful of yoghurt. Dust with a shake of paprika and roll up.

Steak panini with mustard mayonnaise

Serves 2

I'm doing a big barbecue at the weekend, and rather than the standard fare of hunks of charred meat stabbed into doughy buns, I'm going to do things more along the lines of beautifully perfect little steak sandwiches perked up with a piquant mustard mayonnaise. I've got some great green peppercorn mustard for this one, but a good smooth Dijon would do just the trick. All cooked, assembled and served off the grill, no need for squashing into a sandwich maker here.

Splash of olive oil

2 x 150g pieces cut thin rump steak

Crystal salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 small ciabatta or small French sticks

2-3 tblsp green peppercorn Dijon mustard

2 tblsp good quality mayonnaise

a small bunch rocket or watercress

Lightly oil and season the steak with salt and black pepper then cook on a hot barbecue grill or ridged grill pan. It will only need a few minutes to colour on the outside. Take it off while it's still pink in the middle and leave it to rest on a warm plate.

Cut the bread in half lengthways and toast the cut halves on one side. Mix the mustard with the mayonnaise.

Spread the bottom piece of toasted bread with the mustard mayonnaise then pile with trimmed watercress and rocket leaves.

Place the steak on top, pour over any juices that have collected on the plate then top with the second half of bread.