Summer Barbecue

Meal Plan Occasions 2: More Special Occasions

Occasion 5 · Summer Barbecue

Today at a glance. A relaxed summer meal for 4 people, for a bank holiday or any warm weekend. The chicken is marinated in advance and the potato salad is made earlier in the day, so you only need to cook the skewers and corn at the table. No barbecue? Everything works under the grill or in the oven. Quantities are for the whole table, in metric with UK names.

Main meal

Main meal · Serves 4 · Chicken

Honey-Lemon Chicken Skewers with Chilli-Lime Corn and New Potato Salad

Prep: 30 minutes, plus 1 hour's marinatingCooking: about 25 minutesAbout 50 minutes of hands-on workServes 4

Ingredients (4 portions)

  • 700 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3 cm pieces
  • 2 peppers (1 red, 1 yellow), cut into 3 cm pieces
  • 2 red onions, cut into wedges (leaving the root end on holds them together)
  • 3 tbsp olive oil, for the marinade
  • 2 tbsp runny honey
  • 1 lemon (zest and juice)
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 4 corn on the cob, husks removed
  • 50 g butter, softened
  • 1 lime (zest and juice)
  • ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
  • 800 g baby new potatoes
  • 4 spring onions, finely sliced
  • 3 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 3 tbsp plain Greek-style yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint or chives
  • 8 wooden or metal skewers
No barbecue? No problem
Cook the skewers under a hot grill (about 12 to 15 minutes, turning) or on a baking tray in a 220°C (200°C fan) oven (about 20 minutes, turning once). The corn can be boiled for 6 minutes and then blackened under the grill for 5 minutes, or roasted in the oven with the skewers.
Make it ahead
Marinate the chicken in the morning, or the evening before, covered, on the bottom shelf of the fridge. Boil and dress the potato salad earlier in the day and keep it in the fridge. Make the chilli-lime butter and keep it covered.

Method

  1. The marinade: in a large bowl mix the olive oil, honey, lemon zest and juice, garlic, paprika, oregano, a good pinch of salt and pepper. Add the chicken, stir to coat, cover and chill for at least 1 hour (up to 24).
  2. If using wooden skewers, soak them in cold water for 30 minutes so they do not burn.
  3. The potato salad: boil the potatoes in salted water for 12 to 15 minutes, until tender. Drain, halve any large ones and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Mix the mayonnaise, yoghurt and mustard in a large bowl, add the warm potatoes and spring onions, and toss gently. Add the mint or chives and season. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
  4. The butter: mix the soft butter with the lime zest and juice, the chilli flakes and a pinch of salt in a small bowl.
  5. The skewers: thread the chicken, peppers and onions alternately onto the 8 skewers, pressing the pieces close but not packed, so the chicken cooks through.
  6. The corn: boil the corn in a large pan of water for 6 minutes. Drain.
  7. Barbecuing: make sure the coals are covered in grey-white ash, with no flames. Cook the skewers on the grill for 12 to 15 minutes, turning every few minutes, until golden with charred edges and cooked through. Put the corn on the grill for the last 6 minutes, turning, until lightly charred.
  8. Brush the hot corn with the chilli-lime butter. Serve everything together: skewers, corn and potato salad.
Barbecue food safety
Chicken must be cooked right through, white all the way, with no pink and the juices running clear (75°C in the thickest piece). Use separate plates and tongs for raw and cooked meat, and wash your hands after handling raw chicken. Do not put cooked food back on the plate that held raw chicken. Do not leave food out in the sun for more than 1 hour, and chill leftovers within 2 hours.

Swaps

Lamb, beef or halloumi on the skewers. Courgette or mushrooms in place of the peppers. A ready-made coleslaw as a side. Sausages and burgers cooked alongside.

Shopping list for this recipe

Dessert

Dessert · Serves 4

Grilled Peaches with Honey and Mascarpone Cream

10 minutesGrill: 8 minutesAbout 15 minutes of hands-on workServes 4

Ingredients (4 portions)

  • 4 ripe peaches (or nectarines), halved and stoned
  • 1 tbsp butter, melted
  • 3 tbsp runny honey (1 tbsp for brushing, 2 tbsp for the cream)
  • 250 g mascarpone cheese
  • 100 ml double cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 shortbread biscuits, crushed, to top
Make it ahead
Make the mascarpone cream in the morning and keep it covered in the fridge. The peaches take only 8 minutes on the barbecue (while you finish the main course) or under the grill.

Method

  1. Mix the mascarpone, cream, 2 tbsp of the honey and the vanilla in a bowl, beating for 30 seconds until smooth and just thick. Chill.
  2. Heat the barbecue or grill to medium-hot. Brush the cut sides of the peaches with the melted butter and the remaining 1 tbsp of honey.
  3. Put the peaches cut side down on a clean, oiled grill rack (or on a baking tray, under a hot grill). Cook for 4 minutes, until they have golden grill marks. Turn them over and cook for 3 to 4 minutes more, until soft but not collapsing.
  4. Put 2 peach halves on each plate, spoon a big dollop of the mascarpone cream into and beside them, and finish with the crushed shortbread and an extra drizzle of honey.

Swaps

Pineapple rings or halved apricots in place of the peaches (pineapple needs 3 to 4 minutes on each side). Vanilla ice cream in place of the cream. Chopped pistachios or toasted almonds on top.

Shopping list for this recipe
Coming up next
Occasion 6 is Bonfire Night, with sticky honey-mustard sausages, jacket potatoes and smoky beans, followed by sticky parkin with toffee sauce.