Five dishes to bring to a summer barbecue, from salad to dessert

Get stuck into these quick and easy favourites - and get fellow backyard chefs talking

These crowd-pleasers are great for any gathering. Picture: iStock

Summer rolls

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

Handheld yumminess; fill your summer rolls with whatever you like - leftover barbecue meat is the perfect addition for carnivores and cooked prawns are always welcome.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the dip:

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

• 2 tsp of runny honey

• 1 medium clove of garlic, crushed

• 1 tsp of crushed black pepper

• For the rolls:

• 50g thin rice noodles

• a handful of lettuce leaves, washed and very roughly chopped

• a small handful of mint, washed and very roughly chopped

• a small handful of coriander, washed and very roughly chopped

• 1 carrot

• 8 rice paper sheets

• a small handful of sesame seeds

Method

1. To make the dip mix the soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, black pepper and garlic and set aside. You can add some sesame seeds or chopped chillies as well if you wish. Set aside to allow the flavours to blend.

2. Soak the rice noodles for 15 minutes in just boiled, slightly salted water.

3. Using a potato peeler slice the carrots into very thin strips.

4. Fill a large flat bowl with just-boiled water and carefully dip a rice paper sheet into the water for about 15 seconds, until translucent and soft. Place it onto a clean tea towel to remove excess water then transfer onto a chopping board.

5. Place a line of noodles, carrot strips, lettuce, mint and coriander along one side of the rice paper disc. Sprinkle the filling with sesame seeds. Lift the other edge over the filling and press it down then roll it up tightly, so it looks like a cigar. You can tuck in each end to make it neater.

6. Repeat with the other rice paper discs and when they are ready to go. Serve with the dip.

Grilled summer salad

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

Full of bold ingredients, add this salad to your summer menu

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Starter

Ingredients

• 2 medium courgette (one green, one yellow)

• 1 medium red onion

• 200g good quality feta

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

• good pinch of sea salt

• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar

• 120ml extra virgin olive oil

• freshly ground black pepper

• handful of basil leaves, torn or shredded

• good pinch of red pepper or chilli flakes

Method

1. Cut the courgette into oblong slices and the red onion into 8 wedges. Make a quick marinade by whisking together 100ml of olive oil, two tablespoons of white wine vinegar and the crushed garlic, along with a small pinch of sea salt.

2. Place a griddle pan on a medium high heat until very hot, add the rest of the olive oil before placing the courgette on the hot griddle and season with salt and pepper. Cook both sides until tender and showing black marks from the grill. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3. Add the red onion to the hot griddle and cook until tender and slightly charred.

4. Arrange the grilled courgette and red onion on a serving platter, crumble the feta over and drizzle with the marinade. Sprinkle the red pepper flakes over, and garnish with freshly torn basil leaves.

Couscous salad with beets, sweet potatoes and halloumi

A rich meal in itself, this salad keeps well in the fridge and should be a staple of any al fresco feast

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 25 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Middle Eastern

Ingredients

• 1 mug couscous

• 1½ mugs boiling water/stock made with ½ stock cube

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• zest ½ orange/lemon

• 1 tbsp cumin

• 1 heaped tsp smoked paprika

• ½ tsp turmeric

• 1 tsp onion and garlic powder

• 1 tin drained chickpeas

• 1 heaped tsp dried herbs (parsley/chives)

• 1 sweet potato (peeled and sprinkled with ½ tsp smoked paprika, ¼ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp honey, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp oil)

• 1 red onion, diced

• 4-6 baby cooked beets, quartered

• 200g block halloumi

• handful of nuts

• chopped fresh herbs (basil, parsley, coriander, chives, mint)

• salad leaves

Method

1. Roast the sweet potato in the oven. Preheat the oven to 180℃. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle over the spices, salt and honey. Bake for 25 minutes until tender on the inside and crisp on the outside.

2. Next, make the couscous salad. Boil the kettle and get the cling film ready. Measure 1 mug couscous into a large bowl. Add in all the spices and dried herbs.

3. Open and drain the chickpeas. Rough up a little to remove the skins. Add these to the dried couscous. Zest in the orange or lemon zest. Stir this all together until well combined. Pop the stock cube into the mug and fill up with boiling water.

4. Now you need to work quickly. Pour the boiling hot stock over the couscous, then add the extra ½ mug. Immediately cover with cling film and allow it to sit for 5 minutes.

5. Dice the red onion and the baby beets.

6. Cut the halloumi into cubes. Pop on a baking tray, drizzle with a little oil and bake while the oven is on with the sweet potato  for about 10 minutes just until golden brown.

7. When all the component ingredients are ready, remove the cling film from the top of the bowl. Using a fork fluff up the couscous. Add in the sweet potato, beets, halloumi and red onion.

8. Add the chopped fresh herbs, season to taste and garnish with some fresh salad leaves.

Easy Peanut Noodle Salad

Quick, easy - and suitable for vegetarians (with honey) and vegans (with maple syrup)

Servings

1

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Asian

Ingredients

• 1 nest of rice or egg noodles

• 1 tsp peanut butter (crunchy or smooth, according to your preference)

• Juice of ½ lime

• ¼ tsp sriracha

• ¼ tsp soy sauce

• ¼ tsp maple syrup or honey

• Peanuts or toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)

• ½ bag of shop-bought stir fry vegetables or 1 scallion, finely chopped

Method

1. Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, drain and refresh immediately in cold water to stop the cooking process.

2. While the noodles are cooking, stir together the peanut butter, lime juice, sriracha, soy sauce and maple syrup or honey. If the sauce is very thick, loosen with a few drops of cold water until it is thin enough to drop off the spoon.

3. Stir the sauce through the noodles and the vegetables, adding peanuts or pumpkin seeds if using.

4. Note: Peanuts or seeds will add protein to this lunch so if you are not using them, consider shredding in some leftover roast chicken or cooked tofu to your salad to keep you sated for longer.

DJ BBQ’s chocolate chip cookies

This recipe is so simple, it’s described as being ‘goofproof’.

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 115g softened butter

• 115g granulated sugar

• 50g soft light brown sugar

• 1 egg

• 1tsp vanilla extract

• 120g plain flour, sifted

• ¼tsp salt

• ½tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 100g chocolate chips

Method

1. The most important instruction for this recipe is: do not eat all the cookie dough before cooking them.

2. Try to make sure all the ingredients are roughly the same temperature, as this will give you a smoother mix. Cream together the butter and sugars until light, pale and fluffy. Then mix in the egg and vanilla, followed by the dry ingredients. Lastly, stir through the chocolate chips. Now refrigerate the cookie dough in the bowl overnight. That’s right, you just made cookie dough and now you have to wait until TOMORROW before you can eat the cookies. I can only apologise. Forgive me. Tomorrow you’ll love me.

3. The next day, get your outdoor cooker going.

4. Roll the cookie dough into balls around 75-100g, depending on how big you like your sweet chocolate-studded frisbees. Next, cut some circles out of baking parchment – double the number of dough balls you have – ensuring they’re slightly bigger than the final size you want your cookies to be. Evenly squish each dough ball between two discs of baking parchment to create a cookie shape.

5. Place the paper-covered cookies directly on the plancha. Cook for five to 10 minutes on each side, flipping with a fish slice. If you like a chewier or crispier cookie, then cook for the shorter time, for crispy cookies cook for longer.

6. Let them cool slightly before peeling off the paper and serving with an ice-cold glass of milk and an episode of Justice League (other cartoons are available, but they’re not as cool).