4 Deceptively Healthy BBQ Recipes
Four low-carb, healthy barbecue recipes, with less stodge and sugar but packed with tons of flavour. Excellent. Now bring on the sunshine…
Steak Salad with Chimichurri Salsa
It’s not often we’ll stick a steak on the barbecue, let’s be honest - but for a special occasion it’s perfect. The smoke from the coals give the meat flavour as it cooks, and it goes beautifully with salad and salsa alongside.
Serves 4 (with two larger steaks).
Ingredients:
1 garlic clove
1 small bunch of fresh parsley
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt
1 tsp white wine vinegar
pinch of smoked paprika
2 large rib-eye steaks
salt and pepper
1 red onion, peeled
3 little gem lettuces, washed and the leaves separated
1 large slicing tomato
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp white wine vinegar
Method
First, make the chimichurri. Peel the garlic clove and place in a processor or blender with the parsley (stalks included), olive oil, salt, white wine vinegar and smoked paprika. Blitz until smooth (or chop the garlic and parsley very finely by hand and then stir in the vinegar, oil and paprika). Put to one side.
Season the steaks with salt and pepper on both sides and place on the heated barbecue. Keep an eye on them, cooking to your preference - for medium-well done (depending on thickness) cook for about 4-5 minutes per side and reduce for rarer tastes.
While the steaks are cooking, make the salad. Peel the red onion and then cut in half, slicing thinly into half-moons. Chop the little gem leaves and the tomato and mix everything together. Add the olive oil and white wine vinegar and season with a pinch of salt. Slice up the cooked steaks and serve with the chimichurri and the salad.
Bacon Wrapped Hot Dog Lettuce Cups
Hot dogs are delish, but you can end up filling up on loads of bread and feeling bloated. Instead, use little gem lettuce leaves to hold these bacon-wrapped sausages and serve with red onions and mustard. Perfect. Makes 6.
Ingredients
6 chipolata pork sausages
6 thin rashers smoked streaky bacon
6 little gem lettuce leaves, washed and dried
1 tsp olive or mild (flavourless) coconut oil
1 medium red onion
mustard, to serve
Method
First, wrap the bacon around the sausages and place on the barbecue to cook - about 5 minutes or so per side. They’re thin, so they’ll cook quite quickly. Turn them often to brown evenly.
Wash your hands and arrange the lettuce leaves on a serving plate or board.
Peel and slice the onion and fry in the oil on the hob until golden and beginning to turn crisp around the edges. Turn of the heat once done and put to one side.
Once the sausages are cooked serve them in the lettuce cups, top with a pile of the onion slices and a spoonful of mustard.
Crunchy Coleslaw Salad with Balsamic Dressing
A pile of crunchy coleslaw is a BBQ favourite, piled up in a burger or as a side dish. This one’s dairy-free and instead of the mayo, has a tangy balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. It’s colourful and you get lots of different veggies in there, too. The recipe makes a lot, but you can cover it with cling film and it’ll keep in the fridge for a couple of days. Serves 8.
Ingredients
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
pinch of salt
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 large carrots, peeled and grated
half small white cabbage
half a small red cabbage
3 spring onions, washed, trimmed and chopped
handful of cherry tomatoes
handful of radishes, trimmed
Method
First, make the dressing. Mix together the olive oil, mustard, salt and balsamic vinegar and set to one side.
Get out a large serving bowl and grate in the carrot. Finely shred (by hand or in a processor) both cabbage halves and add to the bowl, with the chopped spring onions. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and slice the radishes, adding them all to the bowl. Give it a good mix and pour in the dark, speckled dressing. Mix well before serving.
Raspberry, Coconut and Vanilla Ice Lollies
These home-made ice lollies contain fresh berries and no refined sugar - just a dash of maple syrup. The ‘cream’ is vanilla-flavoured coconut cream. If you want a more uniform flavour and appearance then just mix or swirl the two liquids together before freezing them in the lolly moulds. Best make these the day before your barbecue so they’re ready in the freezer. Makes 6 lollies.
Ingredients
220g fresh raspberries
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
160ml coconut cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or use vanilla extract if you like)
Method
Wash the raspberries and place in a small saucepan with 1 tbsp of the maple syrup and the vanilla extract. Heat gently, stirring, for a few minutes until the raspberries start to break up, mashing them as you stir. Once they’re softened, turn off the heat and leave to cool completely.
Tip the coconut cream into a separate bowl and stir in the remaining 1 tbsp maple syrup and the vanilla bean paste.
Once the raspberries are cooled, pour the mixture into each lolly mould, so it comes up halfway. Don’t put the lolly sticks in yet. Freeze until set - about one hour.
Once the raspberry mixture is set, pour the coconut cream on top, to finish filling up each lolly mould, and place the lid with the stick on top. Return to the freezer and freeze for another hour or two until set completely. Run the moulds under a warm tap for a few minutes to loosen the lollies, and enjoy.
[PHOTO CREDITS: JO ROMERO]
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