Recipes: Sweet and sour beef marinade

Sweet and sour marinade

Ingredients:

4 garlic cloves

20g fresh ginger peeled

1 fresh chilli seeded

20g fresh coriander

Zest and juice of 1 lime

1tsp ground cumin

150mls honey

100mls white wine vinegar

2tbl spoon soy sauce

1tbl spoon tomato puree

Method:

Blend the above ingredients together until smooth. Baste steak cuts of your choice with the marinade. There is no need to let the marinade soak in.

Place directly onto the Barbeque and continue to baste the steaks with the marinade whilst on the grill in order to lock in the flavour.

Grill both sides to your desired cooking preference.

Once ready, remove the steaks from the grill and serve with springs of fresh thyme, a fresh salad and some chunky cut chips.

This simple and versatile marinade can also be used to flavour chicken, pork and is particularly good with tuna steaks. Unused marinade can be kept covered in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Spring leaf salad (insalata di primavera)

large handfuls of salad leaves, such as Little Gem and young cos

handful of fresh pea shoots

small handful of wild rocket

20 leaves of flatleaf parsley

20 leaves of coriander

small handful of asparagus tips

small handful of fresh peas

For the dressing:

sea salt

6–8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon

juice

Place all the salad ingredients in a large salad bowl. Whisk together the dressing ingredients, pour over the salad and toss well.

Barbeque pork belly with grilled pear

Pork belly is cheap and tasty. We use free-range pork from Hill Foot Farm in the Scottish Borders.

1 kg thick end of free-range belly pork

leaves from 2–3 sprigs fresh

thyme

leaves from 2 sprigs fresh

rosemary

2 carrots

2 sticks celery

1 onion, quartered

splash of dry white wine

4 pears

2 tbsp caster sugar

sea salt and freshly ground

black pepper

Method:

Using a very sharp knife, score the skin of the belly pork, but not right through to the fat (or get the butcher to do it foryou). Rub with salt, pepper and the herbs, pushing the seasonings right into the slits. Leave overnight, or at least for a few hours, to absorb the flavours.

Roughly chop the carrots, celery and onion and place on a large piece of kitchen foil, doubles over. Add a splash of and water to make a moist environment. Place the pork on top of the bed of vegetables wrap in the foil and place on the barbeque for about an hour or until the juices run clear when a skewer is inserted in themeat. (Like chicken, pork must be cooked right through so that no red blood remains, but avoid overcooking or it can become dry.)

To finish, remove the pork from the foil and place directly on the barbeque to crisp the skin. Transfer the juices and vegetables from the foil to a platter to serve with the meat.

Cut the pears into quarters, dip in the caster sugar and place on BBQ until coloured and slightly softened.

Remove the pork from BBQ and cover it with foil and allow to rest for 10–15 minutes or so. If you need to crisp the skin further, or the meat is already done when you remove from the foil you can cut it off by sliding a sharp knife under it and pop it on the BBQ on its own for a few minutes. Carve the pork into thick slices and serve with the grilled pear and chargrilled vegetables such as aubergine, courgette and fennel.

Recipes: Sweet and sour beef marinade | BBQ pork belly