Summer barbecue: chicken, lamb and ribs

One of my favourite things about summer is barbecued food. Thanks to my local butcher (James Elliot on 96 Essex Road N1 8LU) and our new barbecue Mr. Sprinkle and I have enjoyed some excellent meals this summer.

Yesterday I picked up some chicken thighs, pork ribs and lamb chops; I marinated them 4 hours before whacking them on the grill.   

I marinated the chicken using soy sauce, white onion, garlic, fresh ginger, lemon, groundnut oil, sesame oil, dried chilli, salt and pepper. 

For the lamb I used olive oil, rosemary, white onion, garlic, salt and pepper. 

We soaked the ribs in Jamie Oliver's absolutely incredible marinade which we regularly use for chicken and pork.  It has become a staple at our barbecues and, so far, we have never had any leftovers.

I served the meat with a big salad and rice cooked in chicken stock with onion and fresh ginger (another staple when we barbecue).

Rice recipe:

1/2 a white onion

a thumb of fresh ginger

1 chicken stock cube

1 cup of rice

2 cups of water

1 tbsp of olive oil

1. Chop the onion into small pieces, grate the ginger and chop the stock cube into small pieces.  

2.  Heat the oil in a pot.  Fry the onion until it's nearly translucent, then add the ginger.  Fry for a minute then add the rice, water and stock.  Stir until the stock has dissolved. 

3.  Boil until the all water is gone.  Leave it to stand with the lid on for at least 10 minutes or preferably a bit longer. 

Easy Thursday dinner: bangers, beets, oranges, spuds, spinach

I like week night dinners that are tasty, healthy and quick to make.  From prep to finish, I don't want to be spending much more than 30 minutes.  This evening I put together a meal for Mr. Sprinkle and I that ticked all the boxes (score!): sausages with potatoes and a salad consisting of spinach leaves, orange, feta, beets, and sunflower seeds. 

Salad for 2-4 people:

4 diced cooked beet roots

1 peeled and diced orange

100g spinach leaves

feta cheese

sunflower seeds

salt & pepper

1. Mix together the diced beet roots, orange and spinach leaves.  Sprinkle with feta, seeds, salt and pepper to your liking.

I served the salad with sausages and boiled potatoes.  I bought the sausages from the Stocks Farm stall at the wonderful Organic Farmers' Market in Stoke Newington.  I highly recommend the sausages - they were delicious!

The Organic Farmers' Market in Stoke Newington is on every Saturday from 10am to 2.30pm at William Patten School on Stoke Newington Church Street, N16 0NX.

Pork Chop Stew

This morning I took out some pork chops from the freezer without the faintest idea or inspiration about how to prepare them for dinner.  The cold weather helped.  By early afternoon I had come to crave a warm, hearty stew though I wasn't quite sure about the suitability of pork chops for this.  I decided to give it a go using some cellery hearts and beans.  The result was excellent. Try it out for yourself! 

To feed 4 friends:
4 pork chops
1 can of tomatos
1 can of Cannellini beans
2 washed and chopped cellery hearts
sage
smoked paprika
2 peeled and chopped red onions
2 peeled and chopped cloves of garlic
0.4L water
olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Heat some oil in a big pot.  Add the onions and fry till golden.  Add the pork chops and garlic.  Sprinkle with 2 tablespoonfuls of sage and 1 tablespoonful of paprika. Fry for a few minutes.

2.  Add the chopped celery hearts.  Fry for another couple of minutes.  Drain the beans and add together with the canned tomatos.

3. Bring it to a boil then reduce the heat and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes with a lid on.

I served the stew with boiled potatos, but this dish would go well with rice, bread or maybe even couscous.

Pork Cutlets with Mustard and Sage

I recently re-discovered pork.  Growing up in Denmark I  ate pork nearly every day in some shape or form.  Go to a traditional Danish Christmas lunch and you will find pork prepared in 100 different ways (some better than others!).  Anyways, I am thrilled to have re-discovered this wonderful meat - ultra-easy to prepare and very tasty, especially when seasoned with sage.  I tell you, sage exists to be sprinkled all over pork!

For these pork cutlets you will need:
pork cutlets (1 per person)
dried sage
French mustard
salt & pepper
olive oil



1. Pre-heat the oven to 175 degrees.

2. Rub a teaspoonful of mustard on to each pork cutlet then sprinkle with sage, salt and pepper.  Fry them for a few minutes on a pan with oil.

3. Transfer the cutlets to a slightly oiled oven-proof tray.  Place them in the pre-heated oven for aprox. 15 - 20 minutes depending on how thick the cutlets are.

These cutlets go well with most sides. Try with a salad or roast potatoes.  Tonight I served them with brown rice, beans, and sautéed mushrooms and red onions.  Feedback was good!