Earn your stripes. Chef slarder

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1 Chef slarder Earn your stripes At the height of summer, your griddle pan is the key to achieving deliciously chargrilled dishes on the hob or barbecue, says Rachel Demuth, and these mezze-style ideas are adaptable for everyday meals or special feasts. The griddle pan is my essential piece of summer cooking equipment and it can be used in the kitchen or on the barbecue. The bonus of griddling with the ridges rather than on a flat frying pan is that you get those gorgeous char-lines, and the food is raised a little from the heat so it cooks more gently and burns less too. The key to successful griddling is to be very sparing with oil just brush a little on the ingredients, because excessive oil will make your food burn and smoke. The best griddles are thick and made of cast iron. Non-stick griddles are fine for the kitchen but can t stand the intense heat of a barbecue. Looking after a cast-iron griddle is crucial as they will rust if left wet, so after use, brush off any charred bits, wash with just water, then dry by putting back on the stove until there is absolutely no dampness left. ABOUT RACHEL Chef-proprietor of the awardwinning Demuths restaurant in Bath for 25 years, Rachel is now dedicated to running the Demuths Vegetarian Cookery School, which offers a range of themed workshops, guest chef events, cookery holidays in France and Italy, and the Demuths Vegetarian and Vegan Diplomas for professional chefs and keen cooks. As a well-travelled foodie, Rachel loves to combine her passion for global cuisine with the best of locally grown produce. The best vegetables to griddle are those that are whole or can be cut into large substantial pieces, as thin slices or fragile veg will burn easily. My favourites are aubergines, corn on the cob, red and green peppers, portobello or shiitake mushrooms, onions, beetroot, squash, sweet potatoes and surprisingly little gem lettuces. Halloumi is always a winner for kebabs or burgers, as it keeps its shape, although it can crumble when skewered. Tofu puffs ready-made deep-fried tofu are another good choice as they absorb flavours and don t disintegrate. Be generous with your flavourings, as the smokiness from griddling will overpower any subtle tastes. Don t forget you can use your griddle for breads. Cook flatbreads directly on the pan or buy ready-made pitta, chapattis or tortillas and heat them up. Warm through your burger buns too simply slice, heat and pack with filling hardly any need for a plate! With griddled food, I like to serve tangy, colourful sides, such as chopped salads with herby dressings, plus chutneys and salsas to balance the smokiness and bring freshness to the dishes. The recipes I ve chosen this month take inspiration from the Middle East, India and Indonesia. Each dish has a number of recipes which all come together into a mezze-style meal, but each recipe is also delicious on its own so feel free to cook elements of each dish or all of them. They all have a bread component, which can be freshly baked or easily bought in. Middle Eastern griddled beetroot and onion flatbreads with spiced chickpeas An adaptable meal with a quick yogurt flatbread, you can serve all the elements in separate dishes so everyone at the table can assemble their own toppings. Serves 4 Prep 40 mins + soaking Cook 1 hr 10 mins For the griddled veg: 2 medium beetroots 4 small onions, halved 2 tsp sunflower oil For the roast garlic yogurt sauce: 1 whole garlic bulb 50ml hot water 40g ground almonds 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp white wine vinegar 1 tbsp lemon juice 50ml plain dairy or soya yogurt For the spiced chickpeas: 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp sumac 1 tsp paprika 2 tbsp olive oil To serve: yogurt flatbreads and ezme green salad (see recipes, opposite) 1 Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Peel the beetroot, wrap each one in foil and roast for 1 hour until soft. 2 For the roast garlic yogurt sauce, bake the garlic bulb in the oven for 30 minutes until _VL97[RD_BBQ]NTSJLH.indd 38 28/06/ :41

2 ALL IMAGES ROB WICKS/EAT PICTURES UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE. FOOD STYLING BY HELEN LAWRENCE MIDDLE EASTERN GRIDDLED BEETROOT AND ONION FLATBREADS WITH SPICED CHICKPEAS soft. Allow to cool. Pour the hot water over the ground almonds and leave to soak for 10 minutes. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins and mash with the olive oil in a pestle and mortar. Add the soaked ground almonds and keep mashing as you add the vinegar, lemon juice and then the yogurt. Add salt to taste and set aside. EZME GREEN SALAD 150g spinach, chopped handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped ½ red pepper, deseeded and diced ½ green pepper, deseeded and diced 3 spring onions, sliced 100g cherry tomatoes, halved 2 tsp sherry vinegar 1 tbsp pomegranate syrup 2 tbsp olive oil Mix all the vegetables together in a large bowl and mix in the sherry vinegar, pomegranate syrup, olive oil and salt. 3 Place the chickpeas in a roasting tin and mix with the spices, oil and salt. Roast for 20 minutes until golden brown and crunchy. 4 Heat a griddle pan. Cut each baked beetroot into six wedges. Brush the beetroot and onions with a drop of oil and sprinkle with salt. Place them on the griddle pan and cook to create some black lines, making sure the onion is soft and cooked through. 5 Serve the griddled beetroot and onions on the flatbread together with the spiced chickpeas and a drizzle of the roast garlic yogurt sauce. Serve the ezme green salad on the side. PER SERVING 307 cals, fat 17g, sat fat 2g, carbs 23g, sugars 11g, protein 10g, salt 0.89g, fibre 8g YOGURT FLATBREADS Makes 4 flatbreads 250g self-raising flour, plus a little extra for dusting ½ tsp fine salt 2 tsp baking powder 2 tbsp olive oil 200g plain dairy or soya yogurt Put the flour, salt, baking powder and olive oil into a bowl. Pour in the yogurt and mix well with a spoon until you have a smooth, sticky dough. Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and dust with a little flour. Divide it into four and roll each piece out into 0.5cm-thick oval shapes. Heat up a griddle pan until hot, then cook each flatbread for a couple of minutes each side, until slightly puffy and lightly charred. You ll need to do this in batches. COOK S TIP You can freeze any leftover flatbreads. Simply defrost thoroughly, wrap in foil and warm through in the oven, or lightly re-toast them under a grill _VL97[RD_BBQ]NTSJLH.indd 39 39

3 Chef slarder TANDOORI SPICE MIX 2 tsp coriander seeds 2 tsp cumin seeds ½ tsp cardamom seeds 1 tsp turmeric 2 tsp paprika ½ tsp chilli powder ½ tsp garam masala In a small frying pan, dry-fry the coriander, cumin and cardamom seeds until they smell fragrant. Finely grind the roasted spices in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar. Mix in the ground turmeric, paprika, chilli powder and garam masala. MINT, CORIANDER AND TAMARIND CHUTNEY 75g fresh mint leaves 50g fresh coriander leaves 2 small green chillies, deseeded and chopped 1 tbsp tamarind paste 1 tsp jaggery or soft brown sugar 2 tbsp lime juice 2 tbsp water Place all the ingredients together in a blender or food processor and whizz to a smooth thick dip, adding more water if necessary. Taste for seasoning. You may need a little more tamarind paste, lime juice, salt or jaggery to taste. CHAPATTIS Makes 12 chapattis 300g chapatti flour (see cook s tip) ½ tsp salt 200ml water Mix the flour and salt together in a big mixing bowl and add the water. With your hands, mix into a soft dough and knead for about 10 minutes. Cover and leave for 30 minutes. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll each one into an even, round ball. Dust the dough balls with flour. Roll out each dough ball into a circle, about 15cm in diameter. Heat a griddle pan on a medium-high heat. Place each chapatti onto the hot pan and dryfry for 45 seconds, flip over and cook on other side, pushing it down with a spatula which helps it to puff up. Put the cooked chapattis onto a plate and cover while you make the others. Wipe the chapatti pan with some kitchen towel and then dry-fry the next one. Serve straight away. COOK S TIP Instead of chapatti flour use 50% wholemeal and 50% white. Tandoori vegetable kebabs Traditionally tandoori dishes are cooked in a tandoor oven, but our simple kebabs just need a bit of time to marinate before popping on the griddle. Serve with chapattis and a fresh green chutney made with mint, coriander and tamarind. Serves 4 Prep 40 mins + marinating Cook 15 mins 12 tofu puffs (see cook s tip) ½ green pepper, deseeded and cut into bite-sized pieces ½ red pepper, deseeded and cut into bite-sized pieces 1 leek, cut into small discs ½ head broccoli, cut into florets For the spiced yogurt: 1 tbsp sunflower oil 4 cloves garlic, chopped thumb of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped 2 red chillies, deseeded and chopped 2 tbsp tandoori spice mix (see recipe, left) 1 tbsp gram flour ½ lemon, juiced 250g dairy or non-dairy yogurt To serve: chapattis and mint, coriander and tamarind chutney (see recipes, left) 1 To make the spiced yogurt, heat the oil and fry the garlic, ginger and chillies for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the tandoori spice mix and fry for another minute. Remove from the heat, stir in the gram flour, lemon and yogurt. Add salt to taste. 2 Mix the tofu puffs into the spiced yogurt so they are evenly coated. Cover and leave to marinate for 1 hour. 3 Lightly brush some of the spiced yogurt over the vegetables. Thread the tofu puffs and vegetables onto metal kebab sticks (wooden ones will burn) and place onto a hot griddle pan. Grill until black lines have appeared and the vegetables are tender. 4 Serve the kebabs with the chapattis and mint, coriander and tamarind chutney. COOK S TIP Tofu puffs are deep-fried tofu that you can buy ready-fried and frozen from Asian stores. Alternatively, use cubes of firm tofu. PER SERVING 214 cals, fat 10g, sat fat 2g, carbs 11g, sugars 8g, protein 18g, salt 1.09g, fibre 4g _VL97[RD_BBQ]NTSJLH.indd 40

4 TANDOORI VEGETABLE KEBABS _VL97[RD_BBQ]NTSJLH.indd 41 41

5 Griddled Indonesian vegetables with tomato sambal These chargrilled veg are coated in a delicious sweet and zesty coconut lemongrass glaze, then served in a classic bun with an Indonesian tomato sambal on the side. Serves 4 Prep 15 mins Cook 30 mins 2 medium aubergines 2 corn on the cob 100g shiitake mushrooms 1 tbsp sunflower oil 2 baby gem lettuce, quartered For the coconut lemongrass glaze: 1 stick lemongrass, bruised 5cm fresh turmeric, sliced 200ml apple juice juice and zest of 1 lime 1 tsp mild chilli flakes 2 tsp brown sugar 200ml coconut milk To serve: tomato sambal (see recipe, right) burger buns 1 lime, quartered 1 To make the coconut lemongrass glaze, simmer the lemongrass and turmeric in the apple juice for 10 minutes until reduced by half. Add the rest of the glaze ingredients and simmer gently for a further 10 minutes to reduce again by half. Strain out the lemongrass and turmeric. 2 Preheat the griddle pan. Cut the aubergines in half lengthways and score a crisscross pattern into the flesh, avoiding cutting through the skin. Rub with a drizzle of oil and place them on the hot griddle pan, cut-side down, to create charred lines. Turn to cook the other side. 3 Place the corn on the cob on the griddle pan, turning until you have charred sections all over. When the corn is done and the aubergines have been turned to the cut-side up, place the shiitake mushrooms on the griddle pan and cook for 1 minute. 4 Baste all the vegetables with the coconut glaze and continue cooking for 1 minute. The corn will need turning, but keep the aubergine cut-side up and allow the glaze to sink into the flesh. When the vegetables are all well charred, remove and keep warm. 5 Brush the quartered lettuce with the coconut lemongrass glaze, place on the griddle pan and turn over quickly with tongs, as they don t take long to cook. 6 Slice the corn from the cobs and serve with the rest of the griddled vegetables in a warm bun, with the tomato sambal and fresh lime to squeeze over. PER SERVING (WITHOUT BUN OR SAMBAL) 233 cals, fat 14g, sat fat 8g, carbs 19g, sugars 13g, protein 6g, salt 0.02g, fibre 7g TOMATO SAMBAL 2 tomatoes, diced 2 tbsp chopped mint 2 tbsp chopped basil 2 tbsp peanuts, roasted and chopped 2 red chilli, deseeded and chopped 2 shallots, finely diced juice of 1 lime Mix all the ingredients together and add salt to taste _VL97[RD_BBQ]NTSJLH.indd 42

6 Chef slarder GRIDDLED INDONESIAN VEGETABLES WITH TOMATO SAMBAL _VL97[RD_BBQ]NTSJLH.indd 43