Nov 13

Cookbook 164: Grilled

I bought The Australian Women’s Weekly Grilled cookbook a while ago, looking for more interesting things to cook on the BBQ beyond the standard sausages, chops, onions and halloumi (not that I mind any of that). This book covers all that and more, with sections on grilling, roasting, using the wok burner, using a smoker (if you have one) as well as sides and desserts.

Because I was ambitous, I cooked 4 different things, including one dessert. The meal was a success and I am curious to try more from this book. There aren’t a huge range of vegetarian options in the book and there are a lot of seafood options I will never make, but still overall I give this 4 out of 5 stars.

Miso and Beer Lamb Chops (serves 4)

Ingredients:

  • 330ml bottle Japanese beer (we used Asahi)
  • 1/4 cup white (shiro) miso
  • 1/4 cup caster sugar
  • 12 lamb loin chops
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Purple Pickle Slaw

  • 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 1 clove garlic, bruised
  • 200g baby purple carrots with tops
  • 4 cups shredded red cabbage
  • 1 tbsp pickled ginger

Method:

  1. Whisk beer, miso and sugar in a large bowl until combined. Secure “tail” ends of the lam onto chops with toothpics. Add lamb; turn to coat in marinade. Cover; refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight, turning once.
  2. Just before cooking lamb, make purple pickle slaw (see below)
  3. Remove lamb from marinade. Place marinade in a small saucepan over medium heat: simmer for 3 minutes.
  4. Heat an oiled bbq flat place (or grill plate or grill) over medium-high heat. Cook lamb, brushing occasionally with marinade for 3 minutes on each side or until cooked to your liking. If not on a grill, add 1/2 cup heated marinade to bbq in last minute of lamb cooking time. Remove from heat, cover loosley with foil, rest for 10 minutes (or just serve it up)
  5. Drizzle lamb with reduced marinade, serve with slaw.

Purple pickle slaw:

  1. Stir vinegar, sugar and garlic in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved; season to taste. Trim carrots using a vegetable peeler, peel carrots into long thin ribbons. Add to bowl with 1/4 cup carrot tops, the cabbage and ginger. Massage ingredients into vinegar mixture.

Notes on this recipe:

  • I used lamb chump chops (I think) because that is what I had in the freezer that needed to be used. Really you can use whatever lamb you enjoy BBQing for this dish, it will all taste good at the end.
  • We couldn’t find any purple carrots, so used regular carrots, which also worked – except no green tops. I’m not experienced in making slaw, so I think it was cut a bit thick. It was ok, but nothing special – unlike the lamb.

Smoky eggplant with lentil, walnut and pomegranate (serves 4)

Ingredients:

  • 4 small eggplants
  • 2 tbsp tahini
  • 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt flakes

Lentil, walnut and pomegranat salad

  • 1 medium lemon
  • 400g can lentils, drained, rinsed
  • 3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, roasted
  • 2 cups fresh, flat leaf parsley
  • 1/2 medium pomegranate, seeds removed

Green yoghurt

  • 1.5 cups greek-style yoghurt
  • 1 cup baby spinach leaves
  • 1 cup fresh coriander leaves

Method:

  1. Perheat a covered BBQ with all burners on low and hood closed until temperature reaches 240C (or follow manufacturer’s instructions). Line a disposable foil roasting pan with baking paper.
  2. Halve eggplant lengthways. Score deep diagonal lines 2cm apart in a criss cross patter into eggplant flesh, using a small knife (do not pierce the skin). Place eggplant skin-side down, in pan; drizzle with oil and season. Cover with foil, place pan in the centre of the BBQ. Turn burners off underneath the eggplant, leaving other burners on low. COok with the hood closed for 10 minutes, or until tender. Turn eggplant; cook, cut-side down, for a further 5 minutes or so until flesh if very soft.
  3. Preheat BBQ grill plate to medium heat (or flat plate – which is what we did).
  4. Stir tahini, pomegranate molasses, olive oil, salt and 2 tbsp water in a small bowl until combined. Brush each eggplant half with 1.5 tbsp of the tahini marinade. BBQ for 10 minutes or until dark golden and starting to caramelise.
  5. Meanwhilte make lentil, walnut and pomegranate salad, then green yoghurt.
  6. Top eggplants with lentil salad, drizzle with green yoghurt; serve.

Lentil, walnut and pomegranate salad

  1. Finely grate lemon rind from lemon into a bowl. Add remaining ingredients; mix well, season

Green yoghurt

  1. Process ingredients in a small food processor until smooth. Season

Notes on this recipe:

  • This was really tasty and I loved the salad. It sounds a lot more fiddly than it is, so I would recommend this to BBQ for your vegetarian friends and family.
  • As we were cooking the eggplants on the flat plate and not the grill, it was easier to manage the marinade. Overall, very delicious.

Zucchini, Feta & Corn Wedges (makes 6)

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 trimmed corn cob (or drained 125g can of corn kernals)
  • 1 small zucchini, grated coarsely
  • 150g getta, crumbled
  • 2/3 cup finely grated parmesan
  • 1.5 tsp dried greek oregano leaves
  • 3 cups self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 1 cup milk, approximately, plus extra for brushing

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 220C. Grease and line a 22cm ovenproof frying pan (or a baking sheet if you don’t have one of those).
  2. Cut corn kernals from cob (if doing it that way). Combine corn, zucchini, feta, parmesan and half the oregano in a medium bowl.
  3. Stir flour and sugar into a large bowl; stir in zucchini mixture. Make a well in the centre and add most of the milk. Using a butter knife, cut the milk through the flour mixture to mix into a soft, sticky dough. Add more milk if required. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently until smooth. Shape dough into a 22cm round. Place the dough onto the baking-paper lined thing of your choice. Cut the dough into 6 wedges. Brush tops with a little extra milk; scatter with remaining oregano.
  4. Bake for 30 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped. Cool in pan/on tray. Break into wedges when cool.

Notes on this recipe:

  • I just realised why I was confused when cooking this recipe. I’ve modified it now, but originally in step one the recipe talks about an oven tray and then in step 3 it talks about an ovenproof frying pan. That is confusing.
  • The soda bread/damper is delicious and it did not last long. The flavours are good, the bread is moist and I would definitely cook this again. Mine took a little longer than 30 minutes, which is because all ovens are different and yours may be quicker or longer depending on how it manages heat.

Chocolate mousse cake with orange syrup (serves 12)

Ingredients:

  • 200g dark chocolate, chopped coarsely
  • 60g butter, chopped
  • 6 eggs, separated
  • 2/3 cup caster sugar
  • 75g dark chocoloate, extra, chopped coarsely

Chocolate mousse

  • 400g dark chocolate, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 600ml thickened cream (suitable for whipping)

Orange syrup

  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 1/4 orange juice
  • 1 medium orange, sliced thinly

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 170C. Grease a 22cm round springform pan; line base and side with baking paper
  2. Place chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over low heat; stir until smooth and melted. Cool
  3. Beat egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixter until thick and creamy. Beat in chocolate mixture. Transfer to a large bowl.
  4. Beat egg whites and remaining sugar in a clean large bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form; fold into chocolate mixture, in two batches. Spoon chocolate mixture into pan.
  5. Bake cake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool in pan.
  6. Make chocolate mousse, then orange syrup (once the base is cooled).
  7. Pour mousse over cake in pan. Cover; refridgerate for 6 hours or until firm. Just before serving, top with orange slicves, extra chocolate and drizzle with syrup.

Chocolate mousse:

  1. Place chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl; stir over a medium saucepan of simmering water until smooth (don’t let water toucht he base of the bowl). Stir in spices. Beat cream in a large bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Fold in chocolate mixture until just combined.

Orange syrup:

  1. Stir sugar and juice in a small saucepan over medium heat without boiling until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil. Remove pan from heat; stir in orange slices, stir to coat in syrup; cool. Refridgerate until required.

Notes on this recipe:

  • Despite everyone else loving this, I think it was the most disappointing dish of the night. The “mousse” made of chocolate and cream was a solid mass, not at all fluffy as I wanted. The spices provided no flavour at all, you’d need to increase the quantity substantially to actually taste them.
  • The base was interesting and nice (gluten free too).
  • If I make this again, I will use the mousse recipe from the VERY FIRST cookbook I reviewed on this blog. That was a good chocolate mousse.
  • I’d stick with the orange syrup though – and make the mousse as I did in that previous recipe, with cointreau, so the whole thing is a lot more orangy.