Parsley Oil

• 100g parsley
• 8 Anchovy Fillets
• 2 Cloves of Garlic
• A couple of peppercorns
• A tsp of Sherry Vinegar
• 200ml Olive Oil
• A pinch of salt

Pound together in a pestle and mortar or blend in a food processor. I use it to bast fish for the BBQ.

Originally printed in Times.

From the Casa Moro Cookbook, I made a cumin and paprika salt to make Lamb Mechoui tonight. The recipe was easy.

The seasoning was freshly ground cumin, sweet paprika, hot paprika and sea salt in a 12:2:1:6 ratio. The lamb is only dipped in melted butter and lightly sprinkled with the salt before being grilled.

What I like about the recipe is that it tastes great off the BBQ but is so quick to prepare. I have started to keep extra cumin and paprika salt in my spice drawer to make it faster still to prepare.

I used Jamie's Italy for guidance on my pesto last night.

The ingredient list was nothing special: Pine nuts, basil and Parmesan cheese in a 1:3:1 ratio with a clove of garlic and some olive oil. The technique was good, though. It recommends a three-step process:

My basil plant has done well. Time to make some pesto.

I have been peeling beetroot, wrapping them in foil and placing them directly the heating element of my BBQ.

I am still trying to work out the cooking times but the results are nice. I might try to wrap the beetroots in wet newspaper to see if that improves the results.

Try wrapping corn on the cob in aluminum foil with a dash of olive oil and tabasco sauce before grilling it on the top shelf of my BBQ.

Somehow, the tabasco seems to make the corn sweeter.

I finally got time to make a new recipe from David Thompson's Thai Food book. I have had this cookbook for year but it is not an easy book to use. All the recipes require some exotic ingredients and careful preparation. It's not a cookbook that you take off your shelf on a whim for a quick dinner.

Several weeks ago, I posted a picture of some tomato plants I am growing from seed. Here is an update:

Despite planting the seeds late in the season, I have about 7 plants doing quite well.

From the Food from Fire Cookbook.

Malai Chicken Tikka had several interesting aspects. First, the recipe has two marinades:

• The pineapple marinade: Combine a pineapple, 8 cardomam pods, 3 tbsp of olive oil in a blender. Season with salt and pepper. Marinade the chicken in the resulting mush for 30 minutes.
• The creamy marinade: Blend together 50g of ginger, a garlic clove and some chillies. Mix together with 60ml of double cream, 50g of cream cheese and 120ml of yoghurt. Use 1 tbsp of cornflour to thicken if required. Put the tikkas on skewers and pour the creamy marinade over the top. Marinade for 6 hours.

The second interesting part of the recipe was the cooking technique.