Charred Green Veg with Feta
For this easy side dish, a simple combo of greens is charred until tender, and takes on an irresistibly smoky flavour. Once done, I drizzle over a herb and mustard dressing, which gives the veggies a lively kick. Don’t forget the crumbled feta – it adds a rich, tangy contrast.
Ingredients
8 baby leeks, halved lengthways
10 baby courgettes, halved lengthways
8 salad onions, trimmed
250g asparagus spears, woody ends snapped off
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
150g freshly podded (or frozen) broad beans
200g feta
30g pumpkin seeds, toasted
Salt and freshly ground pepper
DRESSING
60ml extra virgin olive oil
1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
A small handful of basil leaves
A small handful of parsley leaves
Method
1. Lay the baby leeks, courgettes, salad onions and asparagus spears on a large tray and drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with the chopped garlic and lemon zest and season liberally with salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands so that all the vegetables are evenly coated. Set aside to marinate briefly.
2. Meanwhile, bring a medium pan of water to the boil, add the broad beans and blanch for 2 minutes then drain and refresh in cold water. Gently squeeze the beans out of their skins.
3. For the dressing, put all the ingredients into a small food processor (or nutribullet) and blitz until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
4. When you’re ready to cook, lay the baby leeks on the barbecue over a medium-high heat. After a couple of minutes, add the courgettes and salad onions. After another minute or two, add the asparagus. Cook the veg, turning regularly, until tender and charred in places. The leeks will take 4-6 minutes, the courgettes and salad onions 3-4 minutes and the asparagus 2-3 minutes.
5. As the veg are cooked, transfer them to a serving platter. Scatter over the blanched broad beans and crumble over the feta. Spoon on the dressing and sprinkle with the toasted pumpkin seeds to serve.
Extracts taken from The BBQ Book by Tom Kerridge (Bloomsbury Absolute, £25, Hardback). Photography © Cristian Barnett
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Method
1. Lay the baby leeks, courgettes, salad onions and asparagus spears on a large tray and drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with the chopped garlic and lemon zest and season liberally with salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands so that all the vegetables are evenly coated. Set aside to marinate briefly.
2. Meanwhile, bring a medium pan of water to the boil, add the broad beans and blanch for 2 minutes then drain and refresh in cold water. Gently squeeze the beans out of their skins.
3. For the dressing, put all the ingredients into a small food processor (or nutribullet) and blitz until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
4. When you’re ready to cook, lay the baby leeks on the barbecue over a medium-high heat. After a couple of minutes, add the courgettes and salad onions. After another minute or two, add the asparagus. Cook the veg, turning regularly, until tender and charred in places. The leeks will take 4-6 minutes, the courgettes and salad onions 3-4 minutes and the asparagus 2-3 minutes.
5. As the veg are cooked, transfer them to a serving platter. Scatter over the blanched broad beans and crumble over the feta. Spoon on the dressing and sprinkle with the toasted pumpkin seeds to serve.
Extracts taken from The BBQ Book by Tom Kerridge (Bloomsbury Absolute, £25, Hardback). Photography © Cristian Barnett
