Spicing Up Summer Dining
The weather is finally starting to heat up again, and whether you are lucky enough to have a garden to enjoy the sunshine in, or are experiencing the heat from within your own home, summer is a great opportunity to mix up your diet and incorporate more fruits and vegetables.
There’s nothing quite like the crisp, refreshing taste of a cucumber or watermelon under the pulsing heat of a baking hot day. But if the old, slightly bland, 3-ingredient ‘tomato-cucumber-lettuce’ salad fills you with dread, you may want to try something different this year.
Read on to discover some refreshing, creative ideas that will spice up your summer barbecues this year. And if you don’t have a barbeque or an outdoor space, don’t fret! These barbeque dishes can all be made in an oven grill instead.
Chicken or Chickpea Masala Salad Bowl
This is a playful and flexible take on salad for the salad-averse, because if leafy greens simply aren’t your thing, you can omit them entirely.
With this recipe, I like to use masala sauce that I’ve made in advance, so I can prepare both vegetarian and meat options – but you may prefer to make it fresh.
Toss the chicken (or the chickpeas, if you want a meat-free alternative) with 1.5 teaspoons of garam masala, add 1 teaspoon of salt, and fry in ghee with some chopped onions.
For a dairy-free or vegan alternative to ghee, you can use vegetable oil.
Add some tikka masala sauce, simmer for 3 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and allow the sauce to infuse into the meat/chickpeas for another 5 minutes.
I like to use this sauce to flavour a salad bowl containing rice, cucumber, onion, chillies and avocado, but you can experiment by adding in different vegetables or grains, as you see fit.
If you want a healthy salad, whole or brown rice provides lots of fibre, while being high in iron and protein.
Alternatively, you can use other grains, or Bombay potatoes.
Barbeque Baba Ganoush
Ever end up with a lonely aubergine at the bottom of your fridge, and have no idea what to do with it? Baba ganoush is very easy to cook on a barbeque, making it a great way to add some extra zing to your kebab, or burger.
Simply char your aubergine over the barbeque until the skin starts feeling soft and begins to peel. Wait for it to cool, then cut it in half and scoop out the inside.
Discard the skins and place the flesh in a muslin, wringing out the extra moisture. Add 1 clove of garlic, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, half a tablespoon of vinegar, the juice of half a lemon, ground black pepper, some chopped parsley and/or coriander, and beat the mixture until it’s reasonably smooth.
You can add some fresh pomegranate to this if you like, or leave it plain.
If you want to play up the pomegranate flavour further, you can find pomegranate vinegar online, or in specialist food shops.
Barbecue Baked Caribbean Bananas and Pineapples
So you’ve come to the end of your main. But there’s always room for dessert!
Baked fruits are a warm, comforting end to the night, when the temperature starts to drop off, and using bananas and pineapples as your fruity dessert will bring a summery, tropical twist.
You can use caramel as flavouring for the kids, or spike it with rum for a more adult alternative.
Firstly, create a foil parcel and place your banana inside it. Cut a slit down the banana peel, and open it up. Stuff the banana peel with sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and a small amount of allspice, then (optionally) drizzle it with rum, before wrapping it back up in the peel and foil.
For the pineapple, cut it into slices, then use the same process for each piece.
Bake your bananas and pineapples over the barbeque for 10-12 minutes, then serve them with ice cream, extra rum or caramel.
What’s been your catering inspiration this summer? Get in touch and let us know!
