A BBQ in the sun

With the sunshine finally making an appearance, what better way to spend the weekends than BBQ-ing?
Grilled meat, salads and a well-crafted piece of bread make a satisfying yet healthy meal.
Of course, there are a couple of things to consider: don't burn the meat and pay attention to sauces.
Aside from not tasting that great, burning meat creates toxic chemicals. This isn't something you want to be consuming much of.
Sauces are concentrated sources of added sugar. We all know added sugar isn't great for us so why not try an alternative such as putting together a home made salsa? By chopping together a few ingredients, you will create a nourishing topping, so good, that you won't bother with the sugar-laden sauce.

Here are a couple of recipes for a healthier BBQ: marinated chicken, home made beef burgers and a pineapple salsa.

Home made beef burgers
Makes 2 burgers, multiply the recipe as required.
250g organic beef mince
1/2 red onion, very finely chopped
a small handful of parsley, finely chopped
a pinch of sea salt and black pepper
Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and combine well by kneading. Form into 2 burgers.
Grill on a BBQ and enjoy.

Marinated chicken breast
4 small chicken breasts
a handful of fresh herbs, finely chopped, I used thyme and basil but you can use any combination
1 clove of garlic, crushed
a generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper
juice of half a lemon
Flatten the chicken breasts by putting them between 2 sheets of cling film and bashing them with a rolling pin. You want them to be roughly 1" thick which will ensure that they cook more evenly & without drying out.
Put the chicken and the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, mix well and marinate for half an hour.
Grill on a BBQ until thoroughly cooked.

Pineapple salsa
1/2 small pineapple, skin and core removed, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 red chilli, finely chopped
5 mint leaves, finely chopped
juice of half a lemon
a pinch of sea salt and black pepper
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir well to combine.
Use the salsa to top your burger or serve it alongside the chicken for a punch of flavour.
 

Cauliflower steak, seeds and lemon kale

Like any good carnivore, I was sceptical about making cauliflower steaks.
Luckily, a lonely cauliflower inspired me to make something out of the ordinary. And it was... The cumin, garlic and thyme coated cauliflower is insanely delicious, balanced nicely with some lemon kale and brought together by mild chilli seeds.
Give this recipe a go. You may be pleasantly surprised about just how good it is.

Ingredients for 2:
1 pack of chilli Munchy Seeds
1 medium cauliflower
3 stems of curly kale or 4x handfuls of chopped kale
8 cherry tomatoes on the vine
1 small clove of garlic
1 sprig of thyme
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
juice of half a lemon
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
Butter or rapeseed oil to cook

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
To make the cauliflower steaks, remove the leaves, sit the cauliflower on a chopping board (stem down) and cut off both sides until you are left with an 8cm wide, central piece. Cut this piece in half to form two 4cm steaks.
Heat the butter or oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.
Squash the garlic by pressing down on it, there is no need to peel it. Put the garlic and thyme into the hot oil, stir, then add your cauliflower steaks. 
Season the steaks with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and cumin and cook for 2 minutes without moving.
Flip the steaks over carefully, add a little more oil or butter if required, season with salt, pepper and cumin again and cook for another 2 minutes.
Remove the steaks from the pan, put them on a roasting tray with the tomatoes and roast for 15 minutes.
Whilst the cauliflower steaks are roasting, make the lemon kale. Remove the leaves of kale from the stem and tear them into 2-3" pieces.
Squeeze over the juice of half a lemon, season well with sea salt and black pepper and massage the kale until the leaves are bruised and reduced in volume to about half the original amount.
To serve, divide the kale between two plates, top with a cauliflower steak, put the roasted tomatoes on the side and sprinkle liberally with chilli seeds.

Sumac and cumin spiced lamb

This is the kind of simple, meat and potatoes dish that I tend to revisit whenever I need a fuss free yet fulfilling supper. It can easily be altered according to what vegetables you may have hanging around in your fridge and needs little attention in terms of cooking.
Aside from the sumac, which can be purchased from most supermarkets or middle Eastern stores, the recipe uses standard spices. The fresh coriander can be substituted with parsley if coriander isn't to your taste.

Ingredients to feed 2:
300g lamb or mutton mince
350g new potatoes, large pieces cut into quarters
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
a large handful of leafy greens such as spinach, swiss chard or kale
1 carrot, shaved with a peeler or very finely chopped
A small bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked and stalks finely chopped
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of sumac plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes
sea salt & black pepper
Creme fraiche to serve
 

Method:
Cover the potatoes with enough water to top them by an inch. Bring it to boil and cook for 20 mins until tender. Drain and set aside.
Chop the vegetables whilst the potatoes are cooking.
Put a frying pan on a medium heat and brown the lamb mince with the onions (5 mins approximately). There is no need for oil as the lamb has plenty of fat in it.
To remove some of the fat, take the frying pan off the heat once the meat is cooked, tilt the pan and push the meat to the top of it. The fat will drain to the bottom and you can spoon it off. This part is optional, although I do tend to remove around 1-2 tablespoons of the fat.
Put the frying pan back on the medium heat, add the garlic, cumin, coriander stalks, sumac, chilli, turmeric and season well with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add your vegetables and cook for another couple of minutes.
Add the potatoes, stir well and cook for another minute or two. Check the seasoning and season to your taste.
Divide the lamb & potatoes between two plates, sprinkle some sumac and fresh coriander leaves and put a dollop of creme fraiche on top.

Middle Eastern turkey meatballs

Turkey is a lean and thrifty protein source. For this recipe, I combined minced turkey breast with the warming Middle Eastern spices of ground coriander and cumin. 
The end result is these flavoursome and succulent turkey meatballs, served with couscous and lemon black kale.
A satisfying supper that is high in nutrients.

Ingredients  - Serves 4

For the turkey meatballs:
500g turkey breast mince
1 onion (180g), very finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
large handful of parsley leaves (5g), finely chopped
1 large tomato (150g), finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of oil for cooking (rapeseed is ideal)

For the couscous:
160g couscous
4x spring onions, sliced
large handful of parsley, finely chopped
sea salt and pepper to taste
water
olive oil for drizzling

For the lemon kale
1 pack of black kale (calvo nero), 200g
juice of 1 lemon
sea salt & pepper to taste

Method:
To make the meatballs, combine all of the ingredients (apart from the oil) in a large bowl. Mix it well by kneading it with your hands until well combined.
Shape into meatballs.
Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. 
Fry the meatballs for 5 minutes on one side, turn over then press them down and fry for another 5 minutes. This makes the shape akin to a mini burger but it does ensure that the meat is throughly cooked.
Keep them warm until you make the couscous and kale (I did this by putting the meatballs in a bowl and popping them in the oven on a low heat).
Put the couscous with a pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl, pour over enough boiling water to cover the couscous by an inch. Cover and let it stand for 5 minutes.
Fluff it up with a fork, add the spring onions and parsley, drizzle with olive oil and stir well to combine.
For the kale, tear the leaves into small chunks, discarding the main stem. Put the kale in a large bowl, season well with salt and pepper and squeeze over the lemon juice. Massage the lemon juice into the kale for 5 minutes or so until the leaves have broken down. You should end up with roughly half the volume that you started with.
Divide the couscous, kale and meatballs between four plates and serve.