BBQ Halloumi Wrapped in Red Pepper

Not to generalise but I think sometimes carnivores can be a little unimaginative with vegetarian guests at a BBQ. Imagine there surprise when the vegetable kebab and quorn burgers don't arrive.

These peppers are substantial enough for a main dish and pack a little chilli kick.

- 4 red peppers
- 200g block of halloumi, sliced into 4 (5mm thick)
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- 2 tsp chopped oregano or 1 tsp dried
- 4 green olives, cut into slivers

Roast or grill the whole peppers until they begin to soften (you can skin them if you like). They need to be soft enough to wrap the cheese but not to soft that you won't be able to cook them again.
Open each pepper by making a cut down one side then removing the tops and bottoms so you have a strip.
Put a slice of halloumi in the centre of each, sprinkle with the lemon zest, lemon juice and chilli to taste. Divide the oregano and olives between them then wrap the peppers around the halloumi. It doesn't matter if the cheese sticks out the ends a bit.
Tie the rolls with some kitchen string that your soaked in water ( lay the string over the front, cross at the back at a right angle and tie at the front0. I think maybe a cocktail stick would work as well.
Cook the parcels on the BBQ for around 5 minutes each side or until they are starting to char and the cheese is browning at the ends and softening. Watch you don't burn the string or you'll be digging those quorn burgers out.
You can prinkle with a few more olive slivers and oregano leaves if you had fresh to posh it up a bit.

As tasty as they were I should of cooked them a little longer till they charred but everything else was ready and we were very hungry, plus I would have risked losing my trademark rubbish photograph


Time taken     1 hr 15 mins
Effort     2.5/5
End result 3.5/5

RAINING?
Grill or griddle the parcels

Bourbon-glazed Beef with Ember Baked Potatoes

I haven't added a blog in a while as I had my i phone stolen in a supermarket. I won't say which one but now I know why, in the adverts they smile over there shoulder whilst patting they're back pocket, They are checking they haven't been robbed. Anyway I had a brilliant app called recpics which I stored all the recipes I wanted to try so its been back to the drawing board.

This recipe turned out to be a real winner. I pulled it out of a magazine ages ago and wasn't expecting it to be quite as good as it was. I made up the marinade in the morning-

In a dish mix a large pinch of chilli flakes
4 garlic cloves,
125ml tomato ketchup
2 tbsp dark muscovado sugar
1 tsp english mustard, powder or paste
4 tbsp of boubon
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

All I needed was a fillet of beef so after finding none in the supermarket I popped to my local butchers. They only had Welsh Black Beef. I picked a piece suitably sized and asked the price................

After being revived and having regained full consciousness I handed over my credit card. Added the beef to the marinade and hoped it was worth it. Marinade for between 2 and 24 hrs.

Before lighting the BBQ I prepared the potatoes by piercing them several times with a skewer then coated them very lightly in olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt then wrapped each one in a double layer of aluminium foil. I used potatoes about the size of a medium lemon so if you have large ones leave them cook longer.

The main cooking-
As soon as the BBQ coals were glowing red I put the potatoes directly onto the coals (avoiding anywhere that still had a slight flame).
This is where you have to decide how you like you beef cooked. The potatoes take 20 minutes then turn them and cook for another 20 minutes.
The beef after shaking the excess glaze off needs 7 minutes on each of the 4 sides for rare and a little longer for medium.
Don't forgot the meat will need a little time to rest
Don't forget the oven gloves and be careful lifting the grill with the beef on to turn the spuds.

I heated up the remaining glaze and served on the side with a cheeking brush of the beef during cooking

Making flavoured butter for the potatoes is an easy addition. Here are a few ideas
To 125g of softened unsalted butter add either -

75g of mature cheddar, 2 tbsp chives, 1 tbsp tomato puree
or
1 garlic clove crushed, 4 tbsp chopped herbs (parsley,tarragon,basil,chives or dill)
or
Roasted red peppers from a jar or deli finely chopped, 2 shakes of tabasco or black pepper

Time taken     1 hour + marinading
Effort     1.5/5
End result     4.5/5

RAINING?
I have added this section for my Scottish readers. 'Readers' might be a bit ambitious - Hi Derek x
Sear the fillet all over in a pan for 10 minutes then cook in the oven at 200C/180C fan/gas 6 for 10 mins rare; 15 mins medium rare, rest before carving. Alas it is to dangerous to recreate ember baked potatoes indoors.

I was a tad nervous about the potatoes as earlier this week whilst removing a baked potato from my oven it exploded. Not just popped, it very extremely exploded! No group has claimed responsibility. Do they spontaneously vegetabley combust? How much does this cost the NHS every year?

I made halloumi wrapped in red peppers as a vegetable side dish but I will post this separately as they were more suited to a vegetarian main dish and would serve beef with a nice green salad next time



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Lamb and Pear Tagine

I have heard people claim they love chickpeas and couscous but in all honesty I thought they must be lying. But in the same way that I never quite got reggae until I went to Jamaica, I think I get it now. In the spiced gravy of a tagine they have found there place for me. Why try a recipe if you don't enjoy 2 of the main ingredients you might wonder. Whilst browsing this cookbook I realised I had everything but the lamb and pears so how could I not cook it. ( Ha ha yes I did have chickpeas and couscous)

- oil
- 100g plain flour
- 700g-750g diced lamb
- 1 large onion, cut into chunks
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and squashed
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp garam masala
- a few juniper berries
- 1 tin x 400g tomatoes
- 450ml good lamb beef or chicken stock
- 3 pears, peeled, deseeded and quartered
- 1 400g tin chickpeas
- roughly chopped coriander

Place the flour on a plate, season with salt and pepper then toss the lamb in it to coat. Meanwhile heat the oil in a large pan and once it is nice and hot add the lamb. Cook for 3 minutes stirring frequently. Add the onion, garlic, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, garam masala and juniper berries. Season (be generous with the pepper) and cook for 5 minutes or so, stirring to ensure it doesn't burn.
Add the tin of tomatoes and the stock, bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for about an hour. Add the pears and chickpeas and cook for a further 15 minutes.
Serve sprinkled with the coriander. You could toast a few pine nuts and throw them on too if you fancied.

I served this with couscous. Make sure its the quick type and not raw couscous. I found a bell pepper in the larder and a mild red chilli. I popped them in the oven for half an hour then chopped the bell pepper finely and added to the couscous. I added the same about of hot chicken stock as couscous, covered the bowl and left for a few minutes, then serve.

He who genuinely tried to fake illness when he saw the couscous and chickpeas on the kitchen worktop, gave it a 4/5 and ate every scrap.

I did raise an eyebrow at putting pear in. I would use it again as it did add to the flavour even though I didn't eat all the pear. Garam masala? not exactly North African but still. If your thinking of taking time out from reading 'Which' magazine to cook this and be transported back to your travels in Morocco, I can not honestly say how authentic it will taste as I have eaten one tagine ever and that was ten years ago and in exotic Cardiff. Nonetheless it met the brief and was a lovely evening meal.

I used lamb neck as it is less expensive and perfect for this type of cooking.
I stopped the cooking just before the pear and chickpeas go in and started again 20 minutes before we were ready to eat which worked well.

Time taken     1 hour 40 mins
Effort     2.5/5
End result     4/5

This recipe is from 'Home cooking made easy' by Lorraine Pascal