Perfect summer BBQ

* Chilled Lemonade

Yields a generous 2½ quarts, serving 10–12 10–12 medium lemons, scrubbed well, halved pole to pole, all halves sliced thin 2½ cups of sugar
(500g) 2 litres of water

Method

Mash the thinly sliced lemons and sugar in a large, deep bowl or saucepan with a potato masher or wooden spoon until the lemon slices give up their juice, the sugar is dissolved, and the juice is thickened to a syrup consistency (about four minutes). Add the water and leave to marinate for two hours. Discard the solids and transfer the liquid to a serving pitcher. Chill and stir to blend before serving.

* Scallops with garlic and lemon Serves four

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12 scallops, cleaned, in the shell with coral removed Juice and zest of two lemons Thyme leaves 4 garlic cloves finely chopped 2g sea salt 12 turns of black pepper 150ml olive oil

Method

Make sure that the shells and scallops are thoroughly clean, then put the olive oil, thyme, juice, zest, garlic, salt, and pepper into a bowl and mix. Tip all of this over the scallops and cook under the grill for 6–8 minutes, before finishing with a little lemon juice.

* Marinated spiced chicken wings

For the wings 1½kg chicken wings 60g sliced ginger 2cm piece galangal 2 small green chillies (4g) 3 lime leaves bashed 2 lemongrass pieces, bashed and chopped 1½g coarse sea salt (may not need, as soy sauce is salty) 3 cloves garlic (approx 15g) 2 banana shallots, chopped (320g) Coriander stalks for garnish

Method

Place the wings into a pan and cover with water, bring to the boil then turn down to simmer, skim off any scum, then add the galangal, lime leaves, lemongrass, whole ginger sliced shallots, small green chilli, coriander stalks, garlic and salt to taste. Simmer for approximately 45 minutes until tender. Remove them from the stock and place into a colander to drain well.

For the spiced chicken-wing marinade 66ml sesame oil 33ml vegetable oil 3 cloves garlic, cut in half (approx 15g) 40g finely chopped fresh ginger 1 large red chilli, chopped finely (5g) 130ml dark soy sauce 130ml light soy sauce 85g palm sugar 300g light Demerara sugar 135ml rice vinegar Cornflour to thicken (8g) To finish 35ml sesame oil ¼ bunch of fresh chopped coriander 30g toasted sesame seeds

Method

Sauté the garlic, chilli, and ginger in the vegetable oil on a medium heat. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes until reduced by approximately half, thicken with a little cornflour, pass through a sieve, then cool in the fridge. Add the sesame oil to the marinade. Pour the marinade over the chicken wings and mix thoroughly. Put onto a roasting tray and into the oven on a high heat (180˚C for 15–20 minutes). As they’re cooking, baste them frequently with the sauce so they’re caramelised but not burnt, as they’ll go bitter. Remove wings from the oven once they’re ready, then sprinkle on the toasted sesame seeds and fresh chopped coriander.

* Strawberries with mint and Champagne sabayon Best served with shortbread biscuits

1kg washed and trimmed strawberries, cut in half 1 small bunch mint 2 vanilla beans, split and scraped 600ml water 200g caster sugar Juice of 1 lemon

Method

Place all the ingredients, except for the mint and strawberries, onto heat. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for five minutes. Add the strawberries. Bring back to a simmer and then remove from the heat to cool in a metal bowl. Put in the fridge to chill. After a couple of hours, chop the mint finely and stir into the strawberry mixture.

* Champagne sabayon

8 yolks 150g sugar 160ml Champagne 500g lightly whipped cream

Method

Put the sugar, Champagne and yolks in a metal bowl and place over a bain-marie which is slowly simmering, then whisk the mixture for about 8–12 minutes so it starts to thicken and has cooked out. Keep whisking until it cools, then add the whipped cream.