Topic: Mains / Dinner

This chargrilled chicken recipe which is cooked over a griddle or BBQ is packed full of flavour. The marinating process helps pack in flavour and moisture to the meat. Smoked Maldon Salt is the perfect seasoning for this delicious dish.

  1. In a bowl mix together the olive oil, garlic, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, sumac, and lemon zest. Season well with Maldon Salt and cracked black pepper. Add the chicken legs and thighs to the bowl and mix well, massaging the marinade into the meat to ensure it is evenly coated. Leave to marinade for 2 hours or can be done ahead of this (the day before for example).
  2. When you are ready to cook the chicken, heat the BBQ or a griddle pan. When hot, add the chicken, skin side down, and cook for 5 minutes on each side – you want to achieve nice, charred caramelization to the meat. Once the meat is cooked, remove from the heat and leave covered to rest. Toss the vegetables in a little more oil and then add to the pan. The courgette only needs a couple of minutes each side, but the onions and peppers need a little more – 3 minutes each side, until soft, tender, and deliciously golden. Remove and set aside.
  3. Finally add the lemon halves to the griddle pan and allow them to char slightly on the hot pan. Garnish the chicken and vegetables with rosemary, squeeze over the warm charred lemon and season with a final pinch of Maldon Salt and some cracked black pepper. Serve alongside warm, toasted pitta bread.

Make the spice blend by mixing everything together in a small bowl. Take another bowl and make the dressing by stirring together the mayonnaise, garlic, parsley and gherkins. Stir through a couple of teaspoons of the spices, and set aside. In another little bowl, stir together the lime zest and Maldon, set aside.

Sprinkle the flour on a large plate and stir through the remaining spice blend.

Take a small sharp knife and carefully slice down the back of each prawn – this will allow them to open out on cooking, and mean you get more spicy flavour inside. As you slice the prawns, drop them onto the plate of flour. Once they are all cut toss them about to coat evenly, working a little of the spicy flour into the cut surfaces.

Fire up your barbecue ready for two zone grilling with the charcoal piled to one half so you can cook both directly and indirectly. This allows you to have control over the heat.

Once hot, rest the whole peppers directly over the fire and grill all over until soft and lightly charred. Slide away from the heat to keep warm.

Set a fireproof pan (no wooden or plastic handles) directly over the fire and add the butter. Once its foaming tip in the floured prawns and stir fry over a high heat until they are pink and cooked through and crispy in places.

To serve, slice the baguette though but leave top and bottom hinged together. If you like you can warm them briefly in the barbecue. Add lettuce to the base, followed by a whole pepper – I leave the stem on and just nibble around it! But cut into strips if you prefer…

Spoon a little dressing on top then scatter over the prawns and finish with a sprinkle of the lime salt. Tuck in whilst hot.

To cook inside:

Grill the peppers on a hot griddle pan, fry the prawns on the hob over a high heat, warm the baguette under the grill or in the oven.

Most people think of potato when they envisage gnocchi but adding butternut squash is a great alternative – it gives a nutty sweetness and a beautiful orange colour. Pan fried and then simply served tossed through a fresh cavolo nero and kale pesto – it is a perfect warmer for the colder, Autumn months. Just make sure you have enough pecorino or parmesan to top generously!

  1. To make the gnocchi, cut the butternut squash in half and deseed, then cut into wedges. Place the chopped butternut squash onto a roasting tray. Drizzle and toss in oil, season well with Maldon Salt and add some sprigs of rosemary to the tray before roasting for 40 mins in the oven until soft.
  2. Remove from the oven and allow the squash to cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, pass the pieces through a ricer.
  3. Tip the pureed squash into a pan and cook gently for 30 – 40 mins until the juices evaporate and you are left with a dense, smooth puree. Leave to cool.
  4. Once cooled, add to a bowl and mix in some grated nutmeg, seasoning, egg, flour, a pinch of Maldon Salt and grated parmesan. Mix until you have a soft pliable dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a long, thin sausage and then cut into 3cm pieces. Roll them with a gnocchi board or gently press with the prongs of a fork. Set aside on a lightly floured tray whilst you roll the remaining.
  5. To make the pesto – Add the cavolo nero and kale to a pan of salted boiling water and blanch for a minute or so. Remove from the pan and place straight into a bowl of iced cold water. Squeeze out any excess liquid from the leaves and then place them into a food processor along with the grated parmesan, toasted pine nuts, crushed garlic clove, a pinch of Maldon Salt and olive oil and blitz until it forms a paste. Season well.
  6. Place another large pan of water onto boil and season well with salt. Once boiling pop the gnocchi to boil – they are cooked when they float to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon. Heat a large frying pan with some oil and then add the gnocchi to the pan, tossing them until they are lightly golden.
  7. Finally pour in some of the cavolo nero and kale pesto and toss through the gnocchi. Spoon into bowls and garnish literally with grated parmesan, toasted pine nuts and a final drizzle of olive oil.

This recipe shows you how easy it is to make butternut squash spaghetti by spiralizing the squash, which makes a great and healthy alternative to pasta. You can make different sauces for your squash spaghetti; however, this is a lighter alternative which uses burrata, courgette, mint and lemon.

  1. Begin my peeling and deseeding the butternut squash. Then cut into sections and using a spiralizer, create long ribbons which look like spaghetti. Place a large frying pan on the heat and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil. When the pan is hot, add the butternut squash spaghetti and sauté for 5 – 7 minutes until softened and golden. Remove from the heat.
  2. While the butternut squash is cooking, place a second small frying pan onto the heat and drizzle in 1 tbsp olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the slices of courgette and fry for a few minutes on each side so they are golden and toasty – you made need to do this in batches. Remove them from the heat.
  3. Now you can plate up – pile a golden heap of butternut squash spaghetti onto two plates. Top with some burrata, fried courgette slices, diced chilli, fresh mint leaves and some lemon zest. Finish each plate with a final pinch of Maldon salt, some cracked black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

Parsnips are healthy and good for the body, providing plenty of vitamins, minerals and healthy fibre. They are also low in fat and are packed full of flavour. As a root vegetable they serve themselves well when roasted and this delicious salad is a great way of adding them into your diet.

  1. Begin my preheating the oven to 180C. Prepare the parsnips by simply cutting the larger ones in half lengthways but keeping any small one’s whole. Place them into a roasting tray and drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil, some Maldon salt and cracked black pepper. Toss them so they are well coated and then place in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, turning halfway through. They should be golden brown and crispy on the edges.
  2. While the parsnips are cooking, prepare the couscous. In a saucepan, cook the couscous according to the packet instructions. Once cooked, drain and remove from the heat. Add the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, plenty of Maldon salt and cracked black pepper. Allow the couscous to cool.
  3. Once the couscous has cooled and the parsnips are out of the oven (and also cooled). Stir the finely sliced red onion, chopped parsley, sultanas and crumbled feta into the couscous. Check the season and adjust if needed.
  4. Pile the couscous onto a serving platter and top with the roasted parsnips. Garnish with the pomegranate seeds, a little extra parsley and a drizzle of pomegranate molasses.

FAQ

Let’s give the classic beef wellington a ‘vegetal’ twist this year with our delicious beetroot and chestnut filling!

The traditional beef wellington is a type of beef joint pasty, made out of fillet steak, coated with pate and duxelles and then wrapped in puff pastry before being baked. Many historians believed the dish is named after Arthur Wellesley, who was the 1st Duke of Wellington.

Beetroot is the main component for our wellington, giving it a deliciously sweet and earthy flavour. We pair the beetroot with a bundle of chestnut mushrooms, lentils and butternut squash to give a gloriously nutty undertone to the dish. Once combined and wrapped together with a beautiful crisp pastry, your wellington will be the perfect centrepiece for Christmas.

If you want to take out the beetroot component, we offer a wonderful Butternut and Mushroom Wellington, which both equally looks impressive in colour and flavour! We recommend serving either wellingtons with our mouthwateringly good hasselback potatoes and lemon & honey glazed carrots.

  1. Preheat oven to 180C / 356F / Gas Mark 4
  2. Begin with the butternut squash. Place the diced squash onto a baking tray and drizzle with some oil, Maldon salt and cracked black pepper. Place into the oven and roast for 20 minutes until soft and cooked through.
  3. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan heat 1 tbsp oil. Once the oil is hot, add the diced onion and fry gently for 5 minutes until softened. To the softened onions, add the crushed garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Next add the chopped chestnut mushrooms and continue to cook these for 5 – 8 minutes until the mushrooms have softened and beginning to caramelize.
  4. Once the mushrooms are cooked, add the chopped sage and thyme leaves, followed by the cooked puy lentils and double cream. Allow this to fry and cook for 3 minutes, mixing well so everything is well combined. Remove from the heat and add the crumbled cooked chestnuts, Maldon Salt, cracked black pepper and the cooked butternut squash. Set aside and allow to cool.
  5. Once the mixture has cooled, you are ready to assemble.
  6. On a lightly floured surface roll out the puff pastry block until it is a roughly 30 x 40cm rectangle and 1cm thick. At this stage you want to carefully lift the rolled pastry onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Next spoon on the cooled filling and spread out evenly, leaving a 1-inch boarder along the top and 1cm board round all the rest of the edges. Next take the cooked beetroot and make sure they are dry of any excess liquid. Choose beetroot that are similar in size and place them in a row down the middle.
  7. Take one of the long sides and lift it up and over the beetroot to enclose them. Pinch the pastry together at the seams and rest the whole wellington seam side down. Pinch the pastry at either end of the wellington also, and trim off any excess.
  8. Use the excess pastry to create long strips and decorate the top of the wellington with a lattice pattern (optional). And brush the entire thing with the beaten egg.
  9. Place the wellington into the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes (but the longer, the better) to cool.
  10. When ready to bake, take your chilled wellington from the fridge and place into the preheated oven. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes until the pastry is golden and crisp all over.
  11. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

How to avoid your wellington becoming soggy?

The pastry base of your wellington may become soggy from the juices of the beetroots and mushrooms dripping down to the base when cooking.

To avoid this from happening, make sure that the beetroots and chestnut mushrooms are cooked until all of the liquid has evaporated. You can do this by chopping the vegetables finely and fry until dry. Equally, you can blot the veg with kitchen paper to ensure any further water is taken out.

What sauce goes well with a wellington?

A red wine sauce goes beautifully well with a wellington! You should add a handful of minced shallots to a red wine, slowly cooking on low heat until it is reduced by two thirds. Once reduced to a desired consistency, you can strain and discard of the shallots, leaving a beautiful red wine sauce to be served.

Porchetta makes a wonderful alternative to Turkey for your festive centrepiece. Porchetta originates from Italy and is a rolled joint of pork belly stuffed full of fragrant herbs. It is slow cooked for soft tender meat but still with beautiful crispy crackling on the outside. Serve this Porchetta alongside rosemary roast potatoes and fresh sautéed greens.

Begin by prepping your pork. Score the skin of the pork belly with a knife in lines at an angle across the whole skin, then place in the fridge uncovered overnight – this will help dry out the moisture in the skin and ensure you have super crispy crackling.

Meanwhile you can make the stuffing for the porchetta. In the olive oil lightly fry the onion with a pinch of Maldon salt for 5 minutes until softened. Then add the crushed garlic and fennel seeds and fry for another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and tip into a bowl to cool. Once cooled add the lemon zest, chopped pistachios, sage, parsley, breadcrumbs and season with Maldon salt and cracked black pepper. Mix well and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Once you are ready to cook your pork remove from the fridge. Place it on a board skin side down, and then cover the flesh with your stuffing mixture. Using butchers string carefully roll your meat and bind together in 3 or 4 places tightly to keep it in a roll.

Place the rolled joint onto a baking tray and drizzle the skin with olive oil, rubbing it in and then sprinkle liberally with Maldon salt. Place the tray into your preheated oven for 30 minutes until the crackling is crispy and golden. Then turn your oven down to 180C and cook for a further 2 hours. If the crackling begins to look a little too dark, then you might want to cover it with some foil.

After the cooking time remove your porchetta from the oven and rest for 20 minutes until ready to serve!

This is a recipe for a delicious Rum spiced Ham, perfect for the festive period – this could be served on Christmas eve or New Year’s Eve and would be perfect alongside slow cooked red cabbage and dauphinoise potatoes. It is surprisingly easy to prepare and any leftovers make the best sandwiches!

Traditionally, a gammon joint would often require soaking overnight to remove some of the strong salt from the cure. However, more often these days the butchers use cures which don’t require this – check with your butcher first if you are unsure.

Take a large pan, big enough to hold your ham and to the pan fill it up halfway with water. To the water add the black treacle and mix in well. Then add your gammon joint and top up the pan with some more cold water until it just covers the ham. Then add the bay leaves, half an orange, cinnamon stick, star anise, black peppercorns and cloves. Then place on the hob and bring the liquid up the boil and then reduce to a low simmer and let it simmer for 2 hours 30 mins. Keep topping up the water level if necessary, to ensure the ham is evenly covered.

Preheat oven to 180C.

After 2 hours 30 mins remove the ham from the heat and allow to cool slightly before removing carefully from the pan of water.

Place the ham on a large baking tray and using a sharp knife, score the skin in a diamond pattern. In small bowl mix together the spiced rum, 2 tbsp black treacle, Dijon mustard, Maldon salt and 1 tbsp olive oil. Use a pastry brush to rub this glaze all over the ham. Then place into the oven for 15 – 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush again with any remaining glaze.

Let the ham rest for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

This risotto is a wonderful combination of earthy beetroot, salty blue cheese and nutty walnuts. The beetroot dyes the whole dish a beautiful pink colour making it a treat for the eyes as well as the tastebuds.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Place each beetroot onto a piece of foil, drizzle with oil and wrap each individually. Then place them onto a baking tray and into the preheated oven, roast them for 30 minutes until soft and tender.

Whilst the beetroot is roasting you can start the risotto. In a large wide frying pan heat the olive oil and 30g of butter. When the butter is melted and foaming add the finely chopped onions along with a pinch of Maldon salt. Allow the onions to cook over a gently heat until soft and translucent. After they have softened, add the garlic and fry for an additional 2 minutes.

Next add the arborio rice and stir so all the grains are well coated in the onions. Fry for 2 minutes and then add the red wine, allowing the wine to bubble and be absorbed by the rice. Once the wine is absorbed begin adding the hot vegetable stock a ladle at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed by the rice before adding the next. The rice should be tender but still with a little bite.

Once the beetroot has roasted, remove from the oven and unwrap the foil to allow them to cool slightly. Once cool enough to handle carefully peel away the skins (you might want to wear gloves for this as they can stain your hands). Once peeled, roughly chop 3 of the beetroot and place in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and pureed. Chop the other two beetroot into a small dice.

Pour the pureed beetroot into the risotto and stir through, it will turn it a brilliant pink colour. Next add the diced beetroot and stir through. Check the seasoning of the risotto and add a generous pinch of Maldon salt and some cracked black pepper. Finally add the 10g butter at the end and melt through to give a creamy and glossy texture.

Divide the risotto among 4 plates and then top with the crumbled blue cheese, toasted walnuts and thyme leaves. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a final sprinkle of Maldon salt.

Cooking a large piece of salmon feels like a celebratory treat, I like to use a couple of thick 1kg salmon fillets, with the stuffing sandwiched between them for ease of ‘carving’, and I make sure my fishmonger cuts them so they are the same size and fit together neatly. However, you could also adapt this recipe to use a 2kg whole salmon if you like, using the stuffing in the gut cavity – the cooking time should be pretty similar.

You also need baking paper, a whole newspaper and some string to tie it up.
Begin by making the stuffing. You can do this several hours in advance if you want to get ahead.
Set a large frying pan over a high heat, tip in the pine nuts, and let them toast to a golden brown.
Transfer to a bowl and stir through the capers, garlic, parsley, chives and olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle a little salt on the skin side of both salmon filets, rubbing it in well in the cuts through the skin. Rest one of the salmon fillets, skin side down, on a large sheet of baking paper. Spoon the filling on top of the fillet, pressing it down firmly all the way to the edges.
Lay the second fillet, skin side up, over the filling to make a salmon ‘sandwich’. Bring up the sides of the baking paper to wrap and cover the fish completely. Then spread out the newspaper and lift the fish on to it, wrapping it up in a bundle. Use string to tie and secure the newspaper in several places – you might want to enlist a second pair of hands so you can get the knots good and tight.
Now lift the fish parcel and hold it under a gently running cold tap to dampen the newspaper all over. This will create a steamy environment for the fish to cook in.
When you are ready to cook, fire up your barbecue ready for indirect grilling. Rest the fish parcel on the grill bars away from the fire. Insert the Weber Connect probe deep into the centre of the fish and shut the lid. Leave to cook until the internal temperature is 60C. This may take and hour or so, depending on the heat of the barbecue.
Whilst the fish is cooking, make the lemon yogurt dressing by simply mixing together the yogurt, lemon juice and zest and a good seasoning of salt and pepper.
Rest the parcel on a serving platter, then cut through the top of the newspaper and peel back the layers to reveal the fish below. Cut into chunky slices and serve with lemon yogurt on the side.