Barbecue

An array of salads, breads, meats and nibbles make this perfect for a family or friend get together.

Makes enough for a (hungry!) group of 8

Ingredients:

For the chicken kebabs:

3 large chicken breasts

250g greek yoghurt

2 tbsp tikka curry paste

1 tsp lime juice

1 medium onion

1 red bell pepper

1 orange bell pepper

For the Potato salad:

500g new potatoes

3 tbsp mayonnaise

Handful of chives, chopped

For the Mexican salad:

200g tortilla chips

50g grated cheese

1/2 cucumber, cubed

1 red bell pepper, cubed

2 sticks of celery, chopped into small chunks

100g salad leaves

For the Bread:

400g strong white bread flour

25g unsalted butter

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

7g sachet of fast action yeast

300ml tepid water

For the mini cheese and onion quiches:

150g plain flour

75g butter / lard mixture

6tsp water

Pinch of salt

2 large spring onions

75g grated cheese

1 egg

100ml milk

Seasoning

For the parma ham and mozzarella bites:

10 slices parma ham (to make 10)

Large handful of wild rocket

250g mozzarella

100g sundried tomatoes, chopped

1tbsp balsamic glaze

Method:

To start, make the marinade for the chicken; mix the lime juice, greek yogurt and the tikka curry paste. Chop up the chicken into chunks the size of 2 pound coins. Put them in the marinade and put it in the fridge and let the chicken marinate for at least 5 hours or if you have time, overnight. Chop up the pepper and the onion and alternate putting all the ingredients onto the kebab stick. Cook on a barbecue away from the intense heat, turning frequently for 10 minutes or until beginning to char. Check that it is cooked by cutting into the largest piece of chicken, it should be white all the way through.

To make the potato salad, put the new potatoes in a pan of cold, salt water and cook on a medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Immediately wash the potatoes with cold water (this stops the potatoes overcooking in the residual heat). Add the potatoes into a large bowl with the mayonnaise and chives. Chill until ready to serve.

To make the Mexican salad, put the salad leaves at the bottom of the bowl and then layer up with the rest of the ingredients (except the cheese and the tortilla chips). Just before you are about to serve, crush up the tortilla chips into small pieces and add them with the cheese to the salad.

For the bread, preheat the oven to 210 degrees C. Put the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl and rub in the butter. Next, add the water in, a tiny bit at a time to ensure that the mixtures isn't too wet. Once the mixture resembles a dough, begin to knead the dough with some flour to stop it from getting too sticky. Once you have kneaded the dough for 10 minutes, put it in a greased bowl, cover with cling film and leave somewhere warm to rise. Once the dough has risen (it should be obvious and it should have nearly doubled in size - this takes about an hour), knead again to remove the air bubbles and make the dough into the shapes of your choice. Cover with cling film and leave to rise again, for about an hour. Once it has risen, bake the bread in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Once it is cooked, take out of the oven and serve while still warm.

To make the mini quiches, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C, and lightly grease a mini cupcake tin with oil. Make the pastry by rubbing the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add enough water so the dough just comes together, and chill for 15 minutes. Roll out the pastry and cut out circles big enough to fit in the tin and push down into the different holes. To make the filling, mix all the filling ingredients together and pour into the tart shells and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the filling starts to turn golden brown. Serve while they are still warm.

Finally, to make the parma ham and mozzarella bites, lay a piece of mozzarella on a flat surface, at one end put a few rocket leaves, some chopped sundried tomato and a slice of mozzarella, roll it up and continue in the same way to make the others. Once you have finished, put them all on a plate and drizzle with a balsamic glaze, enjoy!

#barbecue #kebabs #quiche #salad #bread