Hello! It’s the end of July and the weather has certainly hotted up, with many parts of the country basking in heat of 30C+! I gathered my family together to try out my yummy trio of BBQ skewers and they went down a storm along with a favourite Summer Couscous recipe. You could, like me, make the skewers the star of the show and make all three, or just try one recipe to liven up the usual barbecue fare of sausages and burgers!
A tip when using bamboo skewers is to soak them overnight in a baking tray of water. I used to soak them for just an hour or so and they nearly always burnt on the barbeque but I’ve found the longer soaking time really works.
Garlicky Prawn Skewers
Only marinate for a short time as they can become tough if left for too long.
Ingredients (Makes about 8)
3 finely chopped garlic cloves
1 red chilli, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice of half a lime
Salt and black pepper
About 750g raw king prawns, peeled and deveined ( I used frozen prawns, defrosted thoroughly, as I couldn’t get fresh)
Lime wedges and garlic mayonnaise, to serve
Method
Put the garlic, chilli, oil and lime juice into a bowl with a little salt and pepper. Whisk well. Add the prawns and stir to coat. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 15 mins,
Thread the prawns onto skewers, (you’ll see from my photo that I just stuck the skewer through once on each prawn which makes the skewers hard to turn, so you may be better to keep the prawns flat and thread in through one end and out the other, although you will get fewer on each skewer).
Heat the BBQ to high and grill for a few minutes each side until the prawns are pink. Serve with lime wedges and some garlic or plain mayo on the side.
Harissa Halloumi Skewers
Make sure you cut the halloumi into decent chunks. If you cut it too small it breaks up when you try to spear it!
Ingredients (Makes about 8)
250g halloumi cut into cubes
1 red pepper, cut into 1.5cm squares
1 yellow pepper, cut into 1.5cm squares
8 small shallots, peeled and halved (cut down through the root)
1 tbsp harissa paste
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
150ml Greek yogurt
½ cucumber, deseeded and finely chopped
Handful of chopped fresh mint
Method
Combine the halloumi, peppers and shallots in a large bowl. In a small bowl mix the harissa, garlic and olive oil and pour over the cheese and veg. Stir well until coated. Marinate for about 30 minutes.
Thread the halloumi, peppers and onions onto skewers and cook over medium coals for 5 -6 minutes until the peppers start to char at the edges.
For a dressing, mix together the yogurt, cucumber and mint and season to taste. Don’t make this up too soon or it will go watery. You could grate the cucumber onto a clean tea towel and squeeze out the juice if you wanted to be sure.
Gently Curried Chicken Skewers
This is so easy and tasty. It really is worthwhile marinating overnight in the fridge, which means one less thing to do on the day too!
Ingredients (Makes 8)
150ml natural or Greek yogurt
2tbsp tikka masala curry paste
About 700g boneless chicken breast, cut roughly into 1.5cm cubes
Salt and pepper
Method
Mix the yogurt with the curry paste in a bowl and add the chicken. Season and stir well. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight. Push the chicken onto skewers and cook over medium coals for 8 – 10 minutes turning frequently.
Summer Couscous
Don’t stint on the herbs with this one, it’s what makes it so summery!
Ingredients (Serves 8)
225g couscous
6 spring onions, chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
6 sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained and diced
100g black olives, pitted
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
I tbsp each chopped fresh coriander and parsley
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and black pepper
Method
Put the cousous into a large bowl and pour in 450ml cold water. Leave to soak until the liquid had been absorbed.Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix well. Serve either straight away or make the night before!
I always like have to have a green salad and a tomato salad when we are having a barbeque. My favourite tomato salad is just sliced tomatoes and red onions layered up on a plate with basil leaves, drizzled with some extra virgin olive oil and some black pepper. Add crumbled feta cheese and black olives for a Greek salad.
There we have it, the Sturt family BBQ on the hottest day of the year so far! Enjoy!
Melody x