Summer BBQ - Recipe

After recently moving into a new house we invited some friends around for a BBQ on Saturday afternoon. While the boys went and bought a big pile of pre-cooked sausages and a ready-made salad, I decided the girls and I could do slightly better...

But first things first, we started off with some cocktails made up with gin, lime, cucumber, mint and ginger beer. This is a fantastic and refreshing cocktail that is dangerously easy to drink.

After a few drinks in the sun (note the sunburn lines), we were ready to cook up some Argentinian inspired BBQ food. First up I made some flatbreads using Jamie Oliver's recipe for Navajo Flatbead. As far as bread goes, this recipe is super easy; no yeast, no rising, and not a lot of technique to be honest! But they are very delicious, especially when cooked on a BBQ.

Next up was the salsa verde, the perfect accompaniment to this dish.

Salsa Verde

• A few handfuls of flat leaf parsley
• A couple of mint sprigs
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon capers
• 1 anchovy fillet (or half of one if you're not so keen on them)
• A few good glugs of olive oil, or as much as needed

Either put all of the above ingredients in a food processor, and drizzle in olive oil until it reaches the desired consistency (like pesto), or chop everything up with a small amount of olive oil until very fine, then add to your serving dish with the remaining oil.

For the steak, I used rump, which I gave a little punch up to tenderise. However, for this kind of dish I would actually usually use a cut like skirt or hanger steak- a little tougher, but when tenderised, cooked to rare, then sliced up, it is very delicious. 

Either way, make sure you punch down the steak to tenderise, season very well, then cook on a smoking hot BBQ or stove for only a few minutes on each side. Leave to rest for about 5 minutes, and slice up to serve.

I like putting a dollop of salsa verde on a flatbread, along with a few slices of steak, to make little wraps. That, washed down with a beer or a cocktail in the warm summer sun and you have your afternoon BBQ sorted. 

Spicy Steak Tacos

I love chilli. I love it so much that I'm leading a one man battle campaigning to sneak chilli into every dinner (shh, don't tell).

Luckily, Mexican food and chilli are best friends. So join my campaign and grab a few friends, a few margaritas, your sombrero (compulsory) and cook up my Spicy Steak Tacos- Ole!

There are quite a few processes here so as with any recipe feel free to chop and change it where you like. If you're short of time or just plain can't be bothered you don't have to pickle your onions, or on the other hand if you want to be a hero you could make your own soft tacos. Up to you!

Pickled Pink Onions

• 1 red onion sliced finely
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds

Put all of the above ingredients into a small saucepan and cook for a few minutes until the onion softens. Cool, and put the onions with the liquid into a jar. First step complete!

Salsa Verde

Don't be scared off by the tomatillos in this, they're just green tomatoes! You can buy the tins from specialty Mexican food stores or places like Farro- and it's worth the effort.

• 1 tin of tomatillos (approx 380 grams)
• 3 green chillies
• 3 pickled chillies
• 1 Garlic clove
• Handful of coriander (leave some over to garnish your tacos though)
• Juice of 1 lime

Also don't be scared off by the amount of chilli, I would recommend starting with less and adding them as you go depending on how hot you like it and also how hot the chillies are. 

Put all of the above ingredients into a food processor and give it a good whiz. Taste it, add more chilli if needed and a sprinkle of sea salt to taste. Step 2 done! (You can have a sip of your margarita now, you've earned it).

Lime Crema

• 1 tub of creme fraiche (approx 250 grams)
• 2 Limes
• 1 Garlic clove, crushed
• sea salt

Using a fork, whip together the creme fraiche with the zest and juice of one of the limes. Add in the garlic and sea salt to taste. Put the creme fraiche into your serving bowl and grate the zest of the second lime over the top to garnish.  Well ain't that pretty.

The Rest

• Rump steak
• Cajun seasoning
• Ground cumin
• Veges to serve
• Lime wedges
• Small soft tacos

Rub the beef in an even quantity of cajun and cumin. If you have a griddle pan or a BBQ handy that would be perfect but any pan will do. Either way, get it smoking hot and cook the steaks rare to medium rare. Let them rest for 5 minutes.

While your beef is resting get your veges sorted. I chose red cabbage, carrot, and coriander with  lime wedges to serve and it was deeeelish, but this bit is totally up to you. Whatever you choose, slice it, dice it and chuck 'em on a big plate with your warm tortillas so everyone can help themselves.

Sadly we didn't have margaritas, but aside from that the meal was pretty damn good. You can prep the condiments well in advance, and because of that it's perfect for feeding a hungry crowd without having to resort to sausages in white bread.

Load up your taco with a bit of everything, and with a tip of your sombrero and a twirl of your Mexican moustache take a huge bite and let the Mexi deliciousness sink in.