BBQ's are such a thing in our house. Especially having invested in a massive Big Green Egg which I can tell you is worth every penny, the first thing we cooked was a roast chicken , it may have been one of the best roast chickens I have eaten . It was moist like you wouldn't believe, cooked really quickly and had an unbelievable flavour from the charcoal. I was converted from sceptical to a true believer in about 3 mouthfuls.

Now one of  the things I really love about BBQ's, in fact I think this holds true for almost all my cooking, is the sauces.

Here are some of my favourite BBQ recipes, including marinades, sauces, brioche buns and more, and of course they can all be done in your Thermomix.

​

Asian Marinade for Lamb

6 cloves of Garlic Crushed

1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, finely grated

1 red chilli  , finely chopped

3 T runny Honey

2 T sunflower or rice oil

3 T Rice Vinegar

4 T dark Soy Sauce, (Japanese)

1 T toasted Sesame Oil

Lamb, you can use a whole leg butterflied out,  Cutlets, 

or I often use Neck Fillets

 

 

1. Place the garlic, ginger and chilli in the Tmo bowl and whizz for 3 seconds speed 7. Scrape down and repeat a couple of times. 

2. Add the honey, vinegar, oil, soy sauce and sesame oil.

3. Mix together 20 seconds on speed 6

4. Pour this marinade over the lamb (ideally in a nice strong plastic bag which you can suck most of the air out of - this makes sure that the marinade is in contact with the lamb and makes it easy to turn every now and then).

5. Transfer to the fridge and leave for at least 2 hours, better still overnight, or 2 nights it can only get better.

6. When you are ready to cook the lamb , remove it from the marinade. Pat it dry with kitchen paper. 

7. If you are BBQ ing it then pop it on a nice hot BBQ but you need to make sure that it is not over a direct heat. All the coals want to be spread around the edges not under the meat. The cooking time will depend on the cut you are using, I suggest using a meat thermometer, you need the lamb to reach between 60 & 70°C. 

8. You MUST allow a large piece of meat to rest for 30 minutes before carving.

​

​

​

Salsa Verde

​

I love salsa verde, you can serve it with so many things, fish, chicken, kebabs, lamb, steak, you name it.  

​

1 garlic clove 

1 bunch of parsley 

1 bunch mint (leaves only)

handful of rocket

2 T capers

1 T dijon mustard

2 T red wine Vinegar

3 anchovies

150 mls Extra virgin Olive Oil

salt to taste

​

Process all the ingredients except the olive oil until evenly chopped and smooth.

Taste and adjust as necessary, add lemon if you like.

​

​

Brioche Buns

​

This recipe is straight from the Cookidoo recipe site. How wonderful to have freshly made buns. 

For reliability on a cool day I like putting them to rise in an oven with a pan of boiling water (say 1 1/2 litres) in the bottom of the oven, this is just enough to produce a perfect proofing environment - though on a warm day this won't be necessary.

​

80g butter at room temperature

20g white sugar

10g dried instant yeast

80g milk

150g water

450g strong white bread flour

1 1/2 tsps fine salt

1 egg

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

sesame seeds for the top of the buns

​

1.  Grease a large bowl and set aside. Line a large roasting tin or baking sheet with baking paper or a silicon liner and set aside.

2. Place the sugar, yeast, milk and water into the Thermomix mixing bowl and heat 3 minutes, 37°, speed 2.

3. Add the flour, salt, butter and egg and knead  for 10 minutes using the knead function. Place this dough into the prepared large bowl to rise. Set it aside in a warm place until doubled in size (if it is a cold day see my note in the introduction).

4. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide it into 10 equal portions, using the scales to divide it equally so that the buns will be nice and even. Form them into nice even rounds and place with at least 2 1/2 cms between them on the prepared tin.  Lightly cover with cling film or a tea towel and leave to rise again to double their size.

5. They are now ready to cook either in a preheated oven at 200°C or if you have an egg style BBQ they can be cooked in this. Brush the buns with the egg yolk (gently so as not to deflate them) and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

6. Bake until golden brown and hollow sounding underneath. Roughly 15 minutes but no oven is ever quite the same.

7. Allow to cool on a wire rack before splitting open.

​

​

Dukkah

​

I love having a jar of Dukkah always on the go in my kitchen. It is a great thing to have ready to scatter over a salad or grilled vegetables adding a nutty, tasty edge to your flavours.

​

Black Sesame 30g

White sesame 30g

Roasted Almonds 70g

Roasted Pistacchio’s 70g

1 T whole cumin

2 T Coriander seeds

1 T fennel seeds

Black Pepper 1 tsp

1 good pinch chilli flakes
1 tsp flaky sea Salt

​

Serve scattered over a roasted/BBQ'd Butternut squash salad.

 

 

Heat the oven to 180°

Roast the nuts until just golden. The pistachio’s will need 5 minutes, the almonds 8. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile in the Thermomix place the cumin, coriander, chilli flakes and fennel seeds and roast them, 15 minutes at Varoma temperature, speed 0.5 without the measuring cup.

​

In a frying pan colour the sesame seeds until the white ones are just browning. 

 

When the spices are roasted you can grind them in the Thermomix -  20 seconds at speed 10. Set aside.

 

Allow the sesame and nuts to cool and then grind everything in the Thermomix on speed 5,  1 - 2  seconds, only just long enough to be lightly chopped but still with some texture.

 

Store the dukkah in an airtight jar, it will keep well for months.

​

​

Tuna & Prawn Burgers  serves 4

​

This is a great recipe adapted from Grangers very popular Australian restaurant.

Ideally make the burgers the day before you need them to give the flavours a chance to meld.

​

4cm thumb of fresh ginger (approximately 20g unpeeled), peeled and roughly sliced in discs

1 handful of fresh coriander

1 red chilli deseeded and in 4 pieces (you will need to decide yourself how much to use as they can be so different)

2 lime leaves 

1 clove garlic

200g fresh tuna

400g raw prawns, peeled and deveined

lettuce and radish slices (crisped in iced water) to serve

& home made mayonnaise.
 

1. Place the ginger, coriander, red chilli, lime leaves and garlic in the Thermo bowl chop 3 seconds, speed 8 repeat several times, scraping the mixture back down with a spatula. Then add the tuna and half the prawns. Chop 3 seconds speed 6.5. Roughly chop the remaining prawns with a large knife for texture and stir into the mixture with a spatula.

2. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Divide the mixture into 4 balls and with wet hands shape into patties. Leave uncovered in the fridge overnight to dry out.

4. They will simply need BBQing for maybe 4 minutes each side ready to serve in your homemade brioche buns with lovely fresh salad leaves and homemade mayo (stir through some lime and even fresh coriander or a dash or chilli sauce). Be sure to have your own BBQ sauce too.

​

​

Aubergines with Pomegranate Molasses & Mint Dressing and Tahini Sauce

​

Last time I made this I couldn't find pomegranate molasses anywhere in my local Italian town but my neighbour had a pomegranate tree heaving with fruit. Turns out it is simple to make molasses, just reduce the juice to about 1/4 and store in a jar. And it is divine.  I did it in my Thermomix on varoma temperature.

​

3 nice generous aubergines roughly 500g total​

• olive oil 

• 1 bunch of fresh mint 

• 1 clove of garlic 

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 

• 3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses 

• 9 tablespoons thick Greek-style yoghurt 

• 3 Tbsps tahini

• lemon juice to taste

• 1 handful of pomegranate seeds 

​

1. Slice the aubergine into 1cm-thick rounds.

2. Brush the aubergine with olive oil and BBQ your aubergine slices until golden brown 

3. Meanwhile for the dressing, pick off the mint leaves. Put Mint leaves, garlic, oil, red wine vinegar, pomegranate molasses in your Thermomix or food processor and blitz. 

4. In a mixing bowl combine the yoghurt, tahini, lemon juice, salt and water (if needed to make less thick).

5. Arrange the aubergine slices on a serving plate, drizzle over the dressing and scatter with the pomegranate seeds.

6. Serve the tahini dressing to the side.

​

​

Grilled Sweetcorn Salsa

​

2 fresh sweetcorn cobs, make this when sweetcorn is in season and they are crunchy and sweet and plentiful

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​