For this recipe we want courgettes to char and not release their water, so it is important not to salt the courgettes in advance. The strong seasoning (that courgettes love) comes in a vinegar and herb dressing. Don’t skimp on the Maldon salt here, courgettes need to be seasoned properly because of their high water content. Also, if you dress the courgettes while they are still hot or warm, they will absorb the aromatic sweet, sour, and salty dressing and will be delicious eaten straight away or even the next day. You can use any good-quality vinegar you like, and pretty much any combination of soft herbs works. I have tons of oregano, marjoram and chives growing in my garden, so that’s what I use, but a mixture of tarragon, dill and basil also works beautifully. If you do happen to come across nasturtium leaves and flowers, they will add a beautiful peppery taste to the dish.
If your courgettes are small, slice them in two lengthways. Slightly fatter small courgettes can be cut lengthways into quarters, and if your courgettes are massive, cut them in half across and then into quarters lengthways.
Put the cut courgettes into large bowl and drizzle over the oil, then give them a good toss, making sure they are slicked in oil. Do not be tempted to season with salt here! Remember the dressing will season them once they are charred.
I use a plancha set over some glowing embers in my fire pit. But you can use a griddle pan or even a frying pan – either over your barbecue or over the hob. Make sure the plancha is hot and then put the courgettes in cut side down. Don’t be tempted to turn them too quickly. You want the beautiful char to come through. Turn them on the other side and cook some more, until all the sides are well-charred and courgettes feel softer.
Meanwhile, pick the leaves off your herbs. Cut the garlic roughly and put it into a pestle and mortar and add the 1/2 tbsp of Maldon. Remember you are seasoning 700g of courgettes, so this amount of salt is not too much. Now start bashing the garlic with the salt, the flakes will help crush that garlic into a paste in no time. Now add the herbs and bash some more. It’s ok for the herbs to be simply bruised rather than pulverised. Add the vinegar and the honey and give it all a good mix and a taste. At this point you can work with your taste buds and add more vinegar, honey or salt. Keep in mind that the dressing should taste strong, almost on the verge of being over seasoned. Courgettes will release their water and will dilute the dressing, so don’t be shy with the seasoning.
Scrape the dressing into the bowl where you had the oiled courgettes. Then when the courgettes are sufficiently charred and soft, drop them into the bowl with the dressing. Give them a good stir to cover and taste. If it needs more seasoning, do add some more.
Pile the courgettes on to a serving plate and sprinkle over the flowers and leaves of nasturtium, borage or any other pretty edible leaves or flowers.
This dish is fantastic piled into a pita bread and some grilled halloumi or serve alongside some grilled fish or chicken.
We’ve teamed up with the talented Olia Hercules to create a refreshing and zingy salad, perfect for light lunch or as a side dish to a hearty meal like spatchcock chicken.
The salad contains all the flavours that Olia enjoys! Beetroot is paired with vibrant chicory wedges and bursts of orange segments to bring a gentle sweetness to the dish. The dish is inspired by an amazing recipe from Georgia called charkhali. The original dish is fantastic, and involves boiled beetroot tossed in a spicy sour plum puree, flavoured with pennyroyal mint, garlic, dill and Georgian spices. Olia goes a step further by charring the beetroot and cooking the plum sauce over fire, adding an amazing smokiness to the whole dish!
Here is how to boil beetroot…
Young beetroot with leaves work best here, if yours are large, simply boil them for much longer, until you can pierce them with a tip of a knife.
To boil the beetroot, simply put them into a pan, whole, with the skins still on. If you have beetroots with decent leaves and stalks, do not throw those away! What Olia likes to do is bring a large pan over the flame of the hob and lower the beetroot roots inside and cover those with water, leaving the leaves to hang over the side of the pan. Leave the beetroot boils whilst the leaves hang out.
Bring to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes, dropping the leaves into the pot for the last 2 minutes of cooking. The beetroot is ready when you can pierce a knife through them quite easily. You want the beetroots to be al dente, but pierceable. Drop the leave into the pot for the last 2 minutes of cooking.
Drain them when ready and run under a cold tap to cool them down. Then slice lengthways. This can be well in advance of your barbecuing, even a day or two before (just keep them in the fridge until ready).
How to make the plum sauce…
The early addition of Maldon Salt will help the plums to release their juices quickly, speeding up the sauce-making process. You can use other dark fruits too, including blackberries, sour cherries and blackcurrants. Just make sure to balance the sweetness according to how sweet the fruit is (i.e. if your blackberries are pretty sweet, omit the honey). You can use chilli flakes instead of fresh chilli too. As long as you have, sweet, sour, salty, slightly spicy flavours – your beetroot will sing and will turn the biggest beetroot hater into a beetroot lover!
If your plums are not the ripest and tastiest, it is not the end of the world. Just chop them up into smaller pieces to help them cook quicker. If your plums are ripe and separate easily when twisted, simply do that – split them in half and take out the stones.
Put the chopped plums into a cast iron pot (or another flame-proof pot) and pop it on the plancha or a barbecue. The embers should be barely glowing. Add 1 tbsp of Maldon Salt. This will help to draw out the juice out of the plums, speeding up the cooking process.
Add the garlic and chillies to the plums as well as the dill, give it all a good stir and bring to the boil. The plums should break down and start bubbling beautifully fairly soon.
Taste the sauce once it breaks down, add some honey or a touch of brown sugar if you feel like you want a little sweetness there. The original Georgian sauce is pretty sour so it’s all down to individual taste.
The sauce needs about 20 minutes of cooking or until the plums break down properly.
Cooking the beetroot…
While the sauce is cooking nicely, put the beetroots into a bowl and drizzle over the oil, toss well to coat.
Put the beetroots and their stalks and leaves on the hot plancha or griddle pan or cast-iron pan set over the coals of a barbecue and cook them until gently charred.
Adding the chicory…
Most other bitter leaves, especially radicchio, will do beautifully here, but Olia likes to use chicory for both a hearty crunch and a slightly sweeter taste.
Cut the chicory lengthways into elegant wedges and put them into the bowl where you oiled your beetroots.
When the beetroot is nicely charred, add them to the chicory – don’t worry about the heat, it’s ok for the chicory to get that little bit of residual heat.
If the plum sauce isn’t quite reduced enough yet, Olia likes to skim some of its juice off the top and pour it into the bowl with the chicory and the beets. Put as many as 5 tbsp in. You want the vegetables to be nicely coated in the spicy pink juices!
Taste the beetroot or chicory and add more Maldon Salt if you feel it needs it.
Assembling the salad…
Layer the beets and their leaves and the chicory on a beautiful platter or a large serving plate and sprinkle over the tarragon and mint or any other soft herbs that you really love or have at hand. Coriander, dill and basil make a beautiful trio.
Drizzle over some more oil to make the salad glisten and serve alongside a barbecue feast.
How long does this recipe keep?
This salad keeps very well, especially if covered with more of the plum dressing (which will almost pickle it all!). Just cover the leftovers with more of the plum tkemali, put it into an air-tight container and keep for a up to 5 days.
What can you do with the leftover plum tkemali?
You can blitz the rest of the plum tkemali into a puree and keep in a small sterilised jar in the fridge for up to a week or even longer. It is good served as a condiment – with roast duck, pork, roasted vegetables and even fish. It also freezes beautifully.
The day before you want to cook, dry brine the chicken. Make a few deep slashes in the meat of each chicken leg and sprinkle the salt all over, rubbing it in well. Set on a rack hung over a tray and slide into the slide uncovered overnight. The following day, fire up the barbecue ready for direct and indirect cooking. Set the chicken onto the grill bars away from the fire and leave to cook indirectly, with the lid down, for a good 20 minutes, turning and rotating once or twice. While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce by whisking together the mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon juice, horseradish, crushed peppercorns and chilli flakes in a bowl. Season to taste with salt. Transfer half to a small serving bowl to use as a dressing for the finished dish. Take the other half to the barbecue and have a silicone pastry brush ready for basting. Tip the bread cubes into a fireproof pan (no wooden or plastic handles) and drizzle over 2 tbsp of the olive oil. Use the flat of a large knife to bruise the garlic cloves and add them to the pan with the rosemary. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil onto the tomato halves and season with salt and pepper. Once the chicken has had its 20 minutes’ cooking time, begin basting with the sauce. Brush all over regularly and keep cooking and turning for a further 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. When tested with a digital probe thermometer in the thickest part of the leg, it should read 74°C. When you start basting the chicken, set the pan of bread over the direct fire and cook until crisp and golden, tossing to cook evenly. Remove the croutons from the fire and set aside. At the same time, rest the tomato halves over the fire so they grill and soften, turning to cook both sides. To serve, scatter the watercress onto a large platter and top with the grilled tomatoes. Add the chicken legs and sprinkle over the croutons. Drizzle with some of the reserved sauce and serve the rest alongside.
Place your prawns into a tupperware container with a lid (or bowl with clingfilm). Mix all the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl until nice and even. Season generously with Maldon salt and pepper and pour over the prawns. Place the lid tightly on the container and shake to marinate the prawns. You can leave them for 30 minutes if you wish but can cook immediately too.
Sear prawns on the BBQ on both sides until opaque and bright coral in colour, adding a touch more Maldon salt on each side. Once cook, serve immediately.
The best and simplest way to mix a vinaigrette is in a jam jar. Add the olive oil, Aspall’s apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, runny honey, Dijon mustard, chopped tarragon and a generous grinding of black pepper and pinch of Maldon salt. Tightly seal the lid on and then shake the jar well to mix all the ingredients until you have a smooth dressing.
Use the vinaigrette on salads, new potatoes, steamed greens or even drizzled across BBQ meat or fish.
Place the saffron in a glass with 1 tbsp water and allow it to steep and infuse.
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a paella pan, then add the finely chopped onion and red pepper with a pinch of Maldon salt. Cook the onion and pepper for 5 minutes until softened, then add the crushed garlic and chorizo. Fry this for a further 3 minutes until the garlic is soften and the chorizo is sizzling and fragrant.
Next add the smoked paprika and the paella rice. Stir this so it is well mixed with the other vegetables and chorizo and gently fry for a couple of minutes. Next add the white wine and allow this to bubble and mostly cook away before adding the chicken stock, saffron water and chopped tomatoes. Season the mixture with Maldon salt and cracked black pepper, mixing to combine. Now allow the mixture to bubble simmer for 5 minutes before dotting in the monkfish pieces, and then leaving to cook for a further 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes mix in the squid rings and tentacles, the frozen peas and the prawns. Allow these to cook for 3 minutes before finally adding the mussels to the top of the pan. Loosely cover the pan with tin foil and allow the mussels to steam and open up – this should only take 2 minutes.
Once all the seafood is perfectly cooked you are ready to serve. Top the paella with the chopped parsley, a final pinch of Maldon salt and the lemon wedges to be squeezed over. Bring the whole pan to the table to serve your guests.
Fresh blackberries with a savoury kick from the sprigs of thyme – a combination of flavours that work perfect together! This cocktail is sweet, refreshing and surprisingly easy to make.
It’s important to call out the use of thyme in this cocktail, as although subtle, it is a worthy addition. The thyme will help bring out the tequila’s spicy notes, whilst adding gentle, herbal notes to the drink.
Although you might think the Maldon Salt rim is just for decoration, it actually serves a purpose! The flaky sea salt adds balance to the drink due to counteracting the bitterness from the tequila and enhancing the sweetness from the blackberry. The rim also provides texture, stimulating your receptor cells.
Here is how to make our Blackberry & Thyme Margarita…
Mix together the Maldon Salt and the picked thyme leaves on a small plate. Set side.
Rub the rim of a lowball glass or short tumbler with the wedge of lime so it is wet. Then, turn the glass upside down into the salt and thyme mix and press, turning it so that t there is a good even coating of salt around the rim of each glass.
In a cocktail shaker add the 6 blackberries and 3 thyme sprigs. Muddle these well by pressing the the blackberries so that they burst and break down.
In the same shaker add the tequila, agave and lime juice.
Fill the shaker half full of ice, then pop the lid on and shake well for a minute until the shaker is cold to touch.
Add some ice cubes into your salt rimmed glasses.
Pour the margarita through a fine strainer into each glass.
Garnish with the remaining blackberries and a sprig of thyme in each glass.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
How to make this virgin / alcohol-free?
You can easily make this recipe virgin / alcohol-free by replacing the tequila and using a combination of ingredients:
Lime and lemon juice to bring citrus.
Tonic or Sparkling water to add bubbles.
Simple syrup / agave syrup to balance out the tartness.
What to serve with this cocktail?
As Mexico is the homeland for a classic margarita, it makes sense to pair a delicious Mexican dish with this drink! Serve our tacos to experience a perfect balance in flavours from the fiery zest of the pulled pork with the sweet and slightly bitterness of the blackberry and thyme.
We find that tequila also pairs beautifully well with grilled seafood, such as squid or prawns. Serve our BBQ prawns, tossed in a chilli and garlic marinade to give you a gentle kick of spice whilst you take a sip of your sweet, soothing margarita.
What other herbs would work instead of thyme?
If you are not a fan of thyme, blackberries pair well with mint and basil. Additionally, rosemary and sage work well with blackberry, but please do add sparingly as tend to be very strong in both taste and aroma.
Start by placing the flour into a large bowl. On one side of the bowl add the yeast and on the other side add the Maldon salt, then mix everything together with a wooden spoon until combined. Create a well in the middle of the flour and pour in the lukewarm water and 2 tbsp of olive oil, and then mix until you have a sticky dough. You can either knead this on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes, or you can do this in an electric mixer with the dough hook attachment – knead until the dough is smooth and slightly less sticky. Once kneaded place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave in a warm place and allow the dough to prove for 1 hour until it has doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 200C. After the dough has proved, knock the air out by kneading it again briefly and deflating it. Grease a 25 x 35 cm baking tin with olive oil. Pull and stretch the dough so it roughly fills the bottom of the tin, then place the tea towel back over it and leave it to prove once again for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes your dough is ready to bake. Use your fingers to make dimples in the top of the dough and to help spread it into the corners of the tin. Dot the cherry tomato halves across the top and then add small sprigs of the rosemary in and around them. Drizzle over 2 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle with Maldon salt. Place into the hot oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes until golden brown on top and the tomatoes have softened and charred slightly.
Remove from the oven and drizzle over the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil to soak into the warm bread. Allow to cool slightly before removing from the tin and slicing up whilst still warm. Serve with a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dip the bread into.
Want a dish to impress your dinner guests? Make our succulent, melt in the mouth Nordic baked salmon, served with crisp fried greens, radicchio and asparagus.
This is a truly showstopping dish for any occasion, but particularly great for Easter, making it a great alternative to the classic roast lamb. With a pinch of Maldon Salt, a handful of dill and squeeze of lemon, this dish will cause your guests to have a second helping.
What Does ‘Nordic Baked’ Mean?
The Nordic baking style is known for being fuss-free, easy to follow yet equally delivering on impactful flavour!
This is why you will find our recipe easy to follow when baking the salmon, resulting in a juicy dish to enjoyed amongst a bed of crisp veg.
When Should You Salt Your Salmon?
You should add a pinch of Maldon Salt no more than 15 minutes before cooking. This is because if you add salt too early, it will dry out the fish when you cook it. As a result, you should always sprinkle a generous pinch of Maldon Salt just when you are about to bake your salmon. This will result in the fish to maintain beautiful succulency and flavour…delicious!
How to Make Nordic Baked Salmon, Stir Fried Greens, Radicchio & Asparagus
Preheat the oven to 180C.
On a foil lined baking tray place the two salmon fillets, skin side down. Drizzle over 1 tbsp olive oil and season with cracked black pepper and a pinch of Maldon Salt.
Place into the preheated oven for 15 minutes until cooked through.
Remove from the oven.
Whilst the fish is cooking, prepare the stir-fried vegetables. In a large frying pan heat up the other 1 tbsp olive oil. When hot add the asparagus, spring greens and radicchio. Stir fry the vegetables for 3 minutes until they are just wilted and cooked through.
Season the vegetables with cracked black pepper, a pinch of Maldon Salt and a squeeze of lemon juice.
On two plates divide the vegetables. Place the fish fillet on top and then garnish with sprigs of dill and lemon wedges to squeeze over.
@thehonestgrazer
Pre-heat oven to 180ºC and grease a square baking tin.
In a large mixing bowl: mash the bananas and then add remaining wet ingredients and combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients except for the pecans.
Then add dry mix to the wet ingredients, it will be a thick batter.
Pour the batter into the baking tin and then cover with chopped pecan nuts.
In another bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients until coconut sugar is dissolved.
Poke holes into the batter with a fork.
Pour the sauce (it will be very runny) over the batter until it completely covers the batter.
Bake for 30-35min until golden brown and serve immediately with dairy free ice cream, a drizzle of olive oil and more salt if desired.
