Dining Delights – delicious recipes to dine for!
Once you’ve decided to have your special night in, you’ll need to decide the timing, ambience, location and most importantly the meal! But where do you start? Well to give you a bit of a helping hand, we’ve put together some exciting, tasty and easy to prepare recipes which should hopefully give you some inspiration.
Starters
Mains
Puds
To Start
Sensational Salt-bath Sardines
Serves 4
Sardines and mackerel are two of the very best fish to grill, although our personal favourite is the sardine! Encased in sea-salt, quickly grilled, (guts-in) then drizzled with a strong green extra virgin olive oil with a hearty squeeze of lime, simply sublime!
What you need
- 12 large sardines
- 1 pack of coarse sea salt
- 25 ml EV olive oil
- Juice of 2 limes
- Sea salt & rainbow peppercorn to taste
What you do
- Wash the sardines and gut or not (adds flavour)
- Sprinkle a good layer of sea salt on foil and place sardines on top, then sprinkle more salt over, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Remove sardines from fridge, brush off most of the salt and place on a fish grill tray
- Mix oil and juice of ½ lime and brush over the fish
- Grill on high heat on grill tray, about 4-5 minutes per side, baste with oil & lime juice.
- Serve with remaining oil & lime juice, season with sea salt & rainbow peppercorn.
Awesome Asparagus with Parmigiano & Lime
Serves 4 (as a starter)
We think this is one of the simplest, yet most impressive starters that you can prepare. We prefer baby or young asparagus with lots of Parmigiano, but please remember to shave, not grate!
What you need
- 16 Asparagus spears
- Juice of 1 lime
- 30ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 15ml Balsamic vinegar
- A small wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano
- 2 tbsp Sea salt
- 1 tsp. Cracked black pepper
What you do
- Mix lime juice, oil and balsamic plus ½ salt & black pepper
- Coat asparagus and grill slowly on medium, turn frequently and baste occasionally.
- Remove asparagus once cooked through, lightly cover with shavings of Parmigianino and drizzle remaining lime, oil & balsamic, season with salt & black pepper to taste.
Marvellous Miso, Mustard & Sesame Aubergines
Serves 4
As if it needed to be proved here is a superb and simple example of a vegetable that’s perfect as a vegetarian starter. Aubergine is in our opinion vastly underrated; the Miso and sesame add a wonderfully oriental flavour, balanced by the Dijon and honey!
What you need
- Ripe aubergines x 2
- 1 tbsp Miso paste
- 1 tbsp honey – runny
- 1 tsp. creamy Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. grated ginger
- 1 x crushed garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp mixed soy sauce & cider vinegar
- 20g toasted sesame seeds
What you do
- Mix Miso paste, honey, mustard, ginger, garlic, soy, vinegar & ½ sesame seeds.
- Cut aubergines length-wise then cross-cut flesh; brush scored side with ½ Miso mix.
- Place on medium grill, cut face-down to sear then turn and baste with remaining Miso mix, turn frequently until charred all over, about 15 minutes.
- Set aside to cool, round 5-10 minutes.
As a main
Charming Chicken, Prosciutto & Sage Skewers
Serves 4
Who said skewers were only for the local kebab shop. This delicious twist on an old theme is remarkably easy to do, combining piquant chicken and prosciutto with stale, olive oil and Balsamic soaked rustic bread. Served with a chilled Sauvignon Gris, perfection!
What you need
- Boneless chicken breast x 4
- Prosciutto x 12 slices
- Bunch sage
- Day old French country style bread
- 30ml lemon juice
- 60ml EV Olive oil
- 10ml aged Balsamic vinegar
- 2 crushed garlic cloves
- Sea salt & black pepper to taste
What you do
- Cut breast lengthwise into 3 strips
- Mix lemon juice, oil, garlic & salt pepper and coat chicken strips
- Cut prosciutto slices in two and place couple of sage leaves on each then place chicken strip and wrap.
- Cut bread into 1” cubes, add balsamic to remaining oil, garlic mix and toss.
- Thread chicken on skewer and grill on medium heat, turn every few minutes and cook through – around 10 mins.
- Do similar with bread and grill all round for 5 mins, serve with chicken.
Spécial Spiced Corsican Côte de Bœuf
Serves 4
A real Corsican ‘pièce de résistance’ this classic French dish was actually inspired by one of the best places in the Med - Corsica. The juicy, spicy meat topped with fragrant Herbs de Maquis is a perfect reminder of a beautiful, unspoilt Island – best with a glass of Nielluciu, or failing that a Pinot Noir!
What you need
- Côte de Bœuf (including bone, if possible) x 4
- 300ml Nielluciu or Pinot Noir
- 75 ml EV olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp. green peppercorns
- 1 tsp. garam masala
- 2 tbsp.’s Herbs de Maquis or failing that dried mixed rosemary/sage/thyme
What you do
- Cut garlic cloves in half and rub over meat
- Mix wine and oil and pour over meat, work in.
- Grind peppercorns and sprinkle half over meat then add mixed garam masala and oregano. Cover refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
- Remove and sear on hi-heat, then remove to medium heat for around 5 mins
- Leave to cool for up to 5 mins then cut grain-wise and serve.
Gorgeous grilled Chili & Pineapple Spare-ribs
Serves 2
Forget the local Chinese; this Asian Delight is a real star of the Orient and we got the idea for this dish at, believe it or not a pub on Lantau Island (Hong Kong). Simple to both prepare and grill, these ribs taste great being, sweet, sour and spicy all at the same time!
What you need
- Pork spare ribs x 6
- Small canned pineapple, finely chopped, plus juice
- Birds Eye chillies - finely chopped/deseeded
- Red onion - finely chopped
- 4 crushed garlic cloves & 30g grated ginger
- 50ml x tomato puree - lime juice - runny honey
- 70g EV olive oil + sea salt, black pepper
What you do
- Separate ribs and simmer in salted water for 30 mins – drain & cool
- Pan-fry garlic, ginger, onion & chillies with oil until soft then add in chopped pineapple. Add pineapple juice, tomato puree & honey. Season to taste and boil till thick – leave to cool.
- Brush mixture over ribs and grill over medium heat for around 15 mins, or until sauce becomes crusty/brown.
Cool Coriander & Ginger Lamb chops
Serves 2
Lamb grills really well and new season lamb best of all. This recipe is a variation on a dish picked up at a small roadhouse on the way out of Bondi, the slightly fusion edge enhances the overall flavour. Serve in an upright triangle, bones to the sky!
What you need
- 6 Best-end lamb chops (bone in)
- 50g ginger, grated
- 1 ripe papaya, peeled and rough chopped
- 30g bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped
- 50ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 or 3 hot green chillies, finely chopped and deseeded
- 100ml thick plain yoghurt
- 30g unsalted butter
What you do
- Mix ginger, papaya, oil and coriander in liquidiser, mix in the chillies and yoghurt
- Take the chops and remove fat/meat from top 2 inches and flatten out meat, removing any extra fat.
- Coat the chops with marinade and refrigerate in sealed bag for at least 4 hours
- Sear on high heat, then grill for around 10 mins on medium heat and then a further 5 minutes on low. Keep turning to prevent burning and baste with melted butter.
- Season with salt & pepper and leave to rest for a few minutes before serving.
& the pud!
Heavenly Honey n’Cream Grill-glazed Nectarines
Serves 4
Finally if you needed to be told that you can grill fruit and don’t want to put on a couple of ounces, don’t try this, simple, but extravagant, self-indulgent, high in fat and definitely not one of your 5-a-Day, but absolutely delicious!
What you need
- Nectarines halved & stoned x 4
- 20ml honey – runny
- 10ml black treacle
- 5g ground cinnamon
- 50gl vanilla ice cream
- 20g clotted cream
What you do
- Mix honey & black treacle and brush over cut surface of nectarines
- Grill cut-face down on medium grill for 5 minutes, or until warmed through.
- Serve with scoop of ice cream and smaller scoop of cream on top.