London Summer Barbecue

My neighbours may have been a bit puzzled this past Saturday morning, when whiffs of barbecue greeted them at 7.30am.  I suppose it's nearly like waking up to the smell of bacon... nearly.  Thirty minutes before, I was fast at work rubbing two sets of ribs in preparation for an end of Summer party we were having.  The early start was well worth it, as the ribs seemed to get pretty good reviews - the brilliant thing was how easy the recipe was... no faffing around with boiling or homemade marinades, yet the end result is fall-off-the-bone, barbecuey goodness.  The recipe comes from my vegetarian aunt from Michigan:

Baby Back Ribs


1 rack baby-back ribs
1 bottle favorite bbq sauce
salt and pepper
any steak rub


1. Rub ribs with favourite steak/meat rub and salt & pepper, and grill 6-8 minutes per side. (Can stop after this step and wrap ribs in fridge until ready to cook.)
2. Let ribs cool slightly until safe to handle. Cut into individual ribs. Place ribs in a roasting pan and cover with bbq sauce.
3. Bake for 5-6 hours at 110 degrees Celsius (225 degrees F) until falling off the bone.


I also made some salsas, using the ever trusty Salsa Bible - Mark Miller's The Great Salsa Book.





One in particular seemed to be a crowd-pleaser and it's the first salsa I ever made from this book (so also a personal favourite, and brilliantly not much chopping required):


Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 lbs roma (or plum) tomatoes, blackened
• 4 teaspoons finely minced roasted garlic
• 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
• 4 chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

1. 1
   Heat a tablespoon of oil in a saute pan over medium heat until lightly smoking, add the onion and saute until carmelized, about 10 minutes or so.
2. 2
   Transfer the onion, half the blackened tomatoes and garlic to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped but not pureed. Add the cilantro and chipotle chiles and pulse again to mix.
3. 3
   Peel, seed and chop the remaining tomatoes tomatoes and fold in along with the remaining oil, vinegar, salt and sugar.
4. 4
   Serve chilled or at room temp with chips, red meat or chicken.

The Grampy Bread

There's something really satisfying about making things with your hands - breads, pastas, doughs.
My grandfather passed away two years ago today and I named this bread after him. The weekend of his funeral was quite tough - knowing that my whole family was there in Michigan and I wasn't.  I found solace in cooking and baking... but for some reason, I only wanted to make things that I had never made before and I chose fairly time-consuming recipes.
One recipe I tried that I have now made many times over is a Carmelised Onion and Thyme Plait, featured in one of Waitrose's free seasonal magazines (back when they had them).

It's actually quite easy to make - it just takes time given that it needs to rise twice.
I make it as an accompaniment to soups or stews, but it would also be nice served up with some cheese.
This bread is now my favourite bread to make, and lovingly renamed after my grandfather: the Grampy bread.

Caramelised Onion and Thyme Plait

Rediscover the pleasure and satisfaction of baking your own bread. Our crisp, crusty plait is simple to make and delicious to eat – especially when served with a hunk of cheese.

• Nut Free

Preparation time:

40 minutes, plus proving

Cooking time:

40 minutes

Total time:

1 hour 20 minutes, plus proving  

Serves:

 8 - 10

Ingredients

• 500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 7g sachet easy-blend dried yeast
• 1 ½ tsp celery salt
• 75g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• 7 tbsp olive oil
• 750g red onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 1/3 pack lemon thyme, plus extra to sprinkle
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• Maldon sea salt

Method

1. Mix the flour, yeast, celery salt and cheese in a bowl. Add 3 tbsp of the oil and about 325ml of hand-hot water. Mix to a soft, but not too sticky, dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Put in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.
2. To make the filling, heat another 3 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan and stir in the onions and caster sugar. Fry for about 15 minutes, turning frequently, until they’re soft and lightly caramelised. Chop the thyme and add to the pan with the garlic and plenty of black pepper. Cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes. Spread over a baking sheet to cool.
3. Grease a large baking sheet. Punch the risen dough to deflate it and turn out onto a floured surface. Divide into three. Roll each piece into a long, thin strip, measuring about 35 x 10cm. Spoon the filling down each strip to within 1cm of the edges. Lightly dampen one long side of each strip and bring the sides up over the filling, pinching the dough firmly together. Turn the strips over so the joins are underneath.
4. Starting from the centre, braid the three strips loosely together, working towards one end. Pinch the ends together firmly. Braid the other half in the same way. Lift onto the baking sheet, tucking the ends underneath. Cover loosely with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for 40-50 minutes until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7.
5. Drizzle the dough with the remaining 1 tbsp oil and scatter generously with salt. Bake for 30 minutes until golden. Scatter with plenty of thyme sprigs and bake for a further 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

A saucisson that cuts the mustard

How was my picnic fare or charcuterie plate ever complete before finding Waitrose's incredible saucisson!
I think I discovered this 4-5 months ago and I've been making up for lost time.  Ho-hum saucisson transformed by some mustard seed and paprika - brilliant!

Thin slices are best and it's tasty both room temperature or straight out of the fridge.
Yum!