It’s not quite spring yet, but the weather is starting to get milder and the first green shoots are just starting to show. While this isn’t the traditional time to fire up the barbecue, you can make the most of your chiminea by using it as a patio heater and a barbecue in one and thrill your friends with an impromptu late-winter alfresco lunch.
BBQ chimineas are guaranteed to add the WOW factor to your garden.
We all love soups or stews, but sometimes you want a break from warming, filling meals, and at this time of the year it seems like everyone is looking forward to spending more time outside and preparing lighter, fresher meals with seasonal produce. Grilling is one of the best ways to cook fresh vegetables and fruit, allowing you to experiment with accompaniments, dressings and marinades while retaining the full flavour and character of the food, making it a good solution if you’re racking your brains over an indulgent but healthy meal with friends. There aren’t many of the traditional barbecue vegetables in season in January and February, but you can still experiment with what’s on offer at your local farm shop or farmer’s market. Try to buy organic if you can – you can often find good-quality, locally-produced organic fruit and vegetables much fresher and cheaper from the farmers themselves than at your supermarket, and organic farming is kinder to the environment and often produces higher-quality food. And if you buy local, you also decrease food miles, packaging, and storage time.
Remember to buy clean, recycled fuel for your barbecue, such as heat logs made from recycled sawdust, or make your own fuel using a log-maker. Heat logs are especially good for cooking, since they contain no binding agents, are perfectly clean and safe, don’t spark, and burn hotter and for longer than wood.
Vegetarian Barbecue Ideas
Why not make a winter salad with thinly-sliced red cabbage, walnuts, apples, and your favourite dressing or flavoured oil? While traditional salad vegetables aren’t available, you can use less conventional salad ingredients, such as oranges, cooked beetroot, cabbage, and carrots.
Grilling is one of the best ways to cook fresh vegetables and fruit, allowing you to experiment with accompaniments, dressings and marinades while retaining the full flavour and character of the food
Roasting or baking potatoes, sweet potatoes, and parsnips over an open fire or wrapped in foil and nestled in the coals, is surprisingly fulfilling. Make the most of the natural sweetness of sweet potato and parsnips by brushing them with olive oil and ground black pepper or a warming spice, such as garam masala, cumin, or serve with a sweet chilli sauce.
Even the humble vegetable kebab can be brightened up with a marinade. Mix olive oil with a little lemon juice, chilli, or crushed garlic. Soy sauce, harissa, and balsamic vinegar are all good additions, or try flavoured oils.
Good vegetables for grilling include pepper, tomato, mushroom, red onion, and sweet potato. Chunks of sweetcorn are good if you can find it out of season, but it tends to be less flavourful than its seasonal counterparts.
Large field (or portobello) mushrooms can be spread with a little pesto, garlic butter, or olive or tomato tapenade before grilling. Serve them in warmed buns just like a burger, and offer a choice of accompaniments and extra fillings.
Stuff peppers, mushrooms or onions with your favourite seasonal filling. Rice cooked in vegetable stock with chopped vegetables is always a winner, and arrange the stuffed vegetables around the edge of the grill.
Alternatively, make a pizza base, enriched with quality olive oil, dried herbs, and ground black pepper, smother with home-made tomato sauce, and top with chopped organic mushrooms, sweet or spicy peppers, and other toppings of your choice, and lay the pizza on a warmed pizza stone on the grill. It might be a good idea to partially cook the pizza in the oven first to speed up the cooking but still get that authentic wood-fired taste.
If you want a dessert after all that, stuff some large apples with chopped walnuts and raisins and soft brown sugar, wrap in foil, and bake them in the embers. Exotic fruits are not at their best at this time of year, so why not make a rhubarb cobbler or apple pie ahead of time and serve it warm with custard, or ask your friends to bring a warm pudding. Make it a time to take time away from work and the pressures of everyday life and spend the afternoon on a long, slow lunch and a few drinks with friends.