Great BBQ recipes for accompanying the meat..... ie pasta salads etc....

[HeinzSight]

things you could make in advance that keep for a day or so would be great!!!

fantastic looking recipe cyteen, thanks for coming back and posting it

Stuffed courgettes

Slice courgettes nearly in half, stuff with goats cheese and raisins or blue cheese and walnuts, whatever you fancy really, close back together and brush with olive oil. Wrap up in tin foil and bung directly on to the coals, takes about 20 minutes.

Salsa - finely slice some red onions, a few green chillies, and tomatoes. Chuck them in a bowl and add lime juice and cumin and half a teaspoon of sugar. cover and leave in fridge overnight.

Tsatsiki - well my version. Greek yoghurt, grated cucumber, sprinkle of salt and lemon juice.

I like mixed bean salad with peppers.

Rice is nicer than pasta IMO.

Heinz - if you have some lovely jersey royals it seems a shame to slather them in mayo. DP did a potato salad a couple of weeks ago based on something he used to eat when he lived in germany, basically boil the potatoes, and whilst they are still warm dress them in a dijon vinaigrette (olive oil, whitre wine vinegar or lemon juice, a good spoonful of Dijon and salt and pepper). It was lovely and made a change from my normal potato salad, hwich is like yours, potatoes, mayo and chives.

I don't like pasta salads at all - to me cold pasta is slimy and horrible, however I think that the couscous recipes here keep far better. I make mine and add chickpeas, diced cucumber, diced red onion and mint, and serve with a mint and yoghurt sauce on the side (natural yoghurt with a spoonful of mint sauce).

I always like serving up slices of peppers (red, yellow and orange ones), along with celery, bread sticks and flat bread, to go with taramasalata, hoummous and tzatiki.

I usually do:
*Pasta with chargrilled vegetables
*home-made coleslaw
*potato salad with spring onions/red onion
*Chargrilled peppers cut and skewered
*mini jacket potatoes with butter individually wrapped in foil - always goes down well!
Am looking forward to a BBQ tonight! Long may the weather continue!!

I find tomatos are NOT happy after a day of being chopped. I would add them rigth at the end. I do love bean salads - Nigella does a great brown lentil one with goats cheese, tomatos, I'd add cubed cucumber for the crunch, and LOTS of lovely fresh mint. Mix all togeather with a nice lemon/olive oil vinegarette. My neighbour does a KILLER mint yogurt raita which I just drink when she serves it. Sooo nice with BBQ meats too. Or a salad of chickpeas, tumeric, mustard seads and both fresh and sundried tomatoes, and a hint of cayenne pepper. In a lemon/oil dressing too. Actually, I think that's an Avoca recipe - Irish, but v scrummy. God Almighty, I wish I had good enough weather to have a BBQ in. I'm back to wearing my effing winter coat.

i buy a potato salad from waitrose, then boil up another whole bag of charlotte potatoes and add them to the bought potato salad, much better with a higher ratio of potato to mayonnaise, plus could add some extra spring onions/chives too.

i did a lovely asparagus dish last bank holiday - get a pack of cherry tomatoes, prick each one and put in a roasting dish with a drizzle of olive oil and some black pepper. roast at 180deg for 15-20 minutes. meanwhile put the asparagus in a hot griddle pan with some olive oil and turn in the oil until all covered and hot (don't need to cook). remove tomatoes from oven, drain off the juice, push to one side of the roasting tray, add the asparagus to the empty side, add a jar of drained pitted black olives, and cook for another 15 minutes. absoutely gorgeous... (from good food website if anyone wants to look it up)

and another i do is bulgar wheat (or quinoa) with mango, red chilli, coriander and lime.

cook the bulghur wheat or quinoa
chop up a mango saving all the juice
chop up a pack of coriander (good handful)
chop up a chilli
add the coriander and chilli to the mango
put some olive oil and the juice of a lime in a dish, plus any mango juice
pour the juice over the bulghur wheat/quinoa
then when the bulghur wheat/quinoa is completely cool add the mango/chilli/coriander.

a dip i used to make, sounds gross, but really yummy is:
jar of good quality mango chutney, tip into a bowl and cut up any big chunks of chutney
add juice of 2 limes (stop adding the juice if it is getting too watery)
add a big bunch of finely chopped coriander
add finely chopped red onion and a finely chopped red chilli.
perfect as a dip with those walkers poppadom crisps.

I did a sort of greek salad (I don't like olives so i didn't add them).

6 large ripe on the vine tomatoes roughly chopped.
1 med red onion finely chopped
1 cuecumber chopped roughly
1 small ciabatta type bread roughly cut into small bits tossed in a little olive oil and salt and pepper and lightly toasted.
200g feta cut into small cubes.
small bag of basil leaves finely chopped.
dressing of 3tbps oilve oil and 1 11/2tbps balsamic vinager.

all tossed together.

You can add oilve if you like them.