Watermelon, halloumi, lime-pickled red onions

There have been a lot of great veggie cookbooks this summer but one of the most useful is Genevieve Taylor's Charred which finally empowers vegetarians to enjoy barbecues as much as meat eaters. That said this isn't the recipe in the book that makes the most extensive use of the grill but it's such a sublime combination of ingredients it's really summer on a plate.

Gen writes: OK, I’ll admit that no actual vegetables were grilled in the making of this salad but I hope you agree it is worthy of inclusion. And, after all, grilled halloumi with almost anything is very much worth eating. You cangrill watermelon (useful to know if your melon is a little underripe), but I do prefer its texture when eaten raw.

Serves 6–8

1 small red onion, very thinly sliced

zest and juice of 2 limes

2 tsp caster sugar

1kg (2lb 3oz) watermelon, about ½ medium-sized one

4 tbsp olive oil

3 x 250g (9oz) blocks of halloumi, cut into 1cm (½ inch) thick slices

a small bunch of coriander (cilantro), leaves roughly chopped

a small bunch of mint, leaves roughly chopped

50g (½ cup) pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped

Put the onion into a small bowl with the lime zest and juice and the sugar, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside for about 30 minutes while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Cut the watermelon into 1cm (½ inch) thick wedges, trimming off the rind as you go. Spread over a large platter.

Fire up your barbecue ready for direct grilling, or heat up a griddle pan on the hob.

Drizzle a little of the oil over the halloumi (save the rest for the salad), then place directly over the heat on the grill bars. Cook for 2–3 minutes, until seared, then turn over with a fish slice and cook the other side. Once the halloumi is cooked, cut each slice in half on the diagonal and scatter over the watermelon.

Sprinkle over the coriander, mint and pickled onion slices, drizzling over the lime juice from the bowl too. Scatter thechopped pistachios over the salad Finish with a generous drizzle of olive oil and a grind of salt and pepper and serve immediately,while the halloumi is still warm.

What to drink: Any crisp fresh white would be great with this from an albarino to a sauvignon blanc.

Extracted from Charred by Genevieve Taylor, published by Quadrille at £16.99. Photograph © Jason Ingram.

Doughnuts and hot chocolate sauce

If you like churros you're going to LOVE this recipe for doughnuts with chocolate sauce from chef Nieves Barragan's new book Sabor*: Flavours from a Spanish Kitchen.

"If you don’t have a mixer to knead the dough you can knead it by hand" she advises. (Note the dough needs an overnight rise)

Makes 20 doughnuts

rapeseed or sunflower oil, enough to fill your pan to about 3cm

For the doughnuts

60g cold but malleable butter

450g plain flour, plus extra to dust

60g caster sugar

60ml whole milk

12g fresh yeast or 4g quick yeast

4 medium eggs

For the hot chocolate sauce

300ml water

150g caster sugar

160ml single cream

50g cocoa powder

300g dark chocolate (70%)

For the cinnamon sugar

150g caster sugar

5-6g ground cinnamon

Take the butter out of the fridge 15 minutes before starting and chop into small cubes

Put the flour and sugar into a large bowl and mix together with your hands

Heat the milk until almost boiling then remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly. Mix into the yeast stirring with a whisk to dissolve

Put the flour and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and slowly add the butter - it will look like crumble. Add the eggs one by one then dribble in the milk/yeast mixture until everything comes together in a sticky dough.

Lightly flour a large container or bowl, turn the dough out into it and lightly flour the top. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight.

In the morning turn out the dough onto a floured surface - it will have almost doubled. Take a piece (approximately 30g) and roll it in your hands then squeeze down until it’s about 2 1/2 cm thick.

Use the top of a miniature bottle to press out the dough in the middle, leaving a hole. The doughnuts should be around 25g each. Repeat until you’ve used all the dough.

Stick two fingers through the middle of each doughnut and move them around to push out the dough a bit more and double the size of the hole otherwise it will close up when the doughnut is fried and expands.

To make the hot chocolate sauce put the water, sugar and cream into a pan on a low heat and dissolve the sugar. Put the cocoa powder and chocolate into a bowl and place over a pan of simmering water to melt the chocolate (this keeps it smooth). When the chocolate has melted add it to the cream with a spatula. Continue mixing until it becomes dense and thick and perfect for dipping. Keep warm.

Mix together the sugar and cinnamon.

Pour the oil into a shallow pan on a medium heat. When it’s hot (about 180°C) fry the doughnuts until golden brown then remove and drain on kitchen paper. Dust with the cinnamon sugar while still warm and serve with the chocolate sauce for dipping.

What to drink: I'd honestly rather have coffee than wine with these delicious doughnuts (because you're going to have them for breakfast, right?) but a glass of sweet sherry would be pretty tasty too.

*Nieves is opening a new restaurant of the same name in London this autumn (2017)

Extracted from Sabor by Nieves Barragan Monacho which is published by Penguin Fig Tree at £25. Photo © Chris Terry.

Duckstrami

Last weekend our cooking group cooked up an American barbecue of which this brilliant recipe from the Hang Fire Cookbook was the standout dish so I really wanted to share it with you.

As Sam and Shauna say you can serve it cold but we had it hot and it was utterly delicious so I wouldn't hesitate to double the quantity.

NOTE - just to reiterate you need to start it two days in advance

Duckstrami

SERVES 2–4

Cooking methods: Curing, Indirect Grilling/Smoking

Wood: Apple, Pear, Cherry

What’s not to like about duck pastrami? This is a great recipe that we’ve been making for the past couple of years and it really isn’t as complex as you might think. You can eat it cold, shave it over salad served with a nice punchy blackberry reduction, have it as part of a charcuterie board, or make the most awesome duck Reuben. As with all cured meats, this is gonna take patience, you’re looking at starting the recipe two days in advance.

4 good-quality duck breasts (about 250g each)

For the Cure

100g fine sea salt

2 tsp cracked black pepper

2 tsp soft dark brown sugar

1 tbsp garlic powder

8 juniper berries, ground

3 bay leaves, ground

1 tsp mixed spice

2 tsp ground coriander

For the Rub

4 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper

2 tbsp coarsely ground coriander seeds

1 tbsp garlic granules

½ tsp mixed spice

First make the cure. In a small bowl, thoroughly combine the cure ingredients. Coat the duck breasts entirely with cure and place in a large ziplock bag. Place in the coldest part of the refrigerator and cure for 48 hours, flipping the bag twice a day.

Place the duck breasts in a large container and fill with water. Allow to soak for 1 hour. Drain and pat them dry with kitchen towel.

Next, combine the ingredients for the rub in a small bowl.Coat the duck breasts entirely with the rub.

Fire up your smoker or grill to 110°C/225°F. Add chunks of cherry wood (or other fruit wood). When the wood is ignited and starts to smoke, put in the duck breasts, skin side down. Smoke for 1 hour, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 74°C/165°F when inserted into the centre of the breasts. (We cooked this on a gas barbecue for a shorter time (see below) and it was still delicious)

Remove from the smoker/barbecue and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

We prefer to wrap the duck breasts in cling film for at least 24 hours before we eat them, giving the flavours a chance to settle. If you want to reheat the duckstrami, we find that steaming it using a bamboo steamer is best. This warms the pastrami gently without direct heat which could cause it to dry out. Any meat you’re not using can be frozen for up to 3 months, or will keep for up to 1 week in the fridge. It’s a really versatile meat, and not as gamey as regular duck.

What to drink: This is unlikely to be the only dish you're serving - we had an array of other dishes including salads, pickles and ketchups so look to a full-flavoured red to cope with them all. Given the rub I'd favour a good cru Beaujolais like a Morgon rather than the usual pinot noir but a bright fruity syrah or syrah/grenache/mourvedre (GSM) blend would work well too. Or a amber ale.

From The Hang Fire Cookbook: Recipes and Adventures in American BBQ by Samantha Evans & Shauna Guinn (Quadrille, £20) Photography © Paul Winch-Furness

Cherry, herb and freekeh tabule

You might not think of putting cherries in a salad but it can work wonderfully well as Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich of Honey & Co demonstrate in this clever twist on a tabbouleh from their most recent book Honey & Co: At Home.

You can buy freekeh from their deli in Warren Street, Honey & Spice or from specialist middle eastern shops.

Cherry, herb and freekeh tabule

Throughout the Middle East, freekeh is prepared in the spring.The wheat is picked while the sheaves are still green and the wheat kernels are still soft. The crops are harvested and arranged in piles to dry, and then are carefully set on fire to burn away the chaff and straw. The moisture in the wheat kernels prevents them from burning; they just take on a very subtle smokiness. Once cooled, the wheat is rubbed by hand (hence the name: farik means rubbed in Arabic), then dried and stored for use throughout the year.

Makes enough salad for a party or for 8–10 as part of a spread

For the freekeh

250g/9oz/12⁄3cups dried freekeh

2 celery sticks

1 carrot, peeled and halved lengthways

1 bayleaf

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

For the salad

juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 small bunch of parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped

1 small bunch of tarragon, leaves picked and roughly chopped

1 small bunch of mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped

60g/2 1⁄4oz/1⁄2 cup roasted pistachios, chopped

60g/2 1⁄4oz/scant 1⁄2 cup roasted almonds, chopped

300g/10 1⁄2oz/2 cups cherries, pitted and quartered

1 celery heart, stalks finely chopped

1 tsp seasalt

3 tbsp olive oil

Rinse the freekeh under cold water, then place in a large pan and cover with 1litre/1 3⁄4 pints/4 1⁄3 cups of fresh water. Add the celery, carrot and bay leaf, and bring to the boil over a high heat. Remove any foam that comes to the top and reduce the heat to medium. Add the olive oil and salt, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the freekeh is just al dente. The timing may vary as there are different grades of grain.

Drain the freekeh and use tongs or a fork to remove the vegetables and bay leaf. Taste to see if you need to add a little more olive oil and salt. Best to do this when the freekeh is hot, as it will absorb the flavours better.

Transfer to a serving bowl and allow to cool before mixing in all the salad ingredients. Toss with a light hand to combine, and taste for seasoning again before serving.

What to drink: I imagine most likely be having this as part of a bigger spread. If it accompanies grilled meat I'd go for a light red like a cinsault or mencia. If it's part of a veggie feast - and at this time of year - I'd pick a dry rosé.

Recipe from Honey & Co at home: Recipes from our Middle Eastern kitchen by Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich (£26, Pavilion). Photography by Patricia Niven.