FIRST SPRING BBQ

What is it about the chill of a clear-skied Spring evening and the smell of bbq.d meat...?
Caveman calling?

Basic BBQ Rules

• Stay simple.

• Invite the people you love -  the ones who won't shy away from the paper serviettes! BBQ = intimacy.

• Buy good meat. 

• Never buy pre-marinated meats. ( this is especially so in France!)

• Marinate meats yourself, let your mind travel - sweet chilli and soy, grated fresh ginger, sesame oil & soy, lime juice & zest and green tobasco for fish, rub chicken with indian spices, roll in yoghurt and spices...

• Add a variety of salads, stay seasonal - Classic potato salads, green leaves, mixed tomato salads with lashings of garlic, soothing raw veg salsas, grilled veg with quinoa spiced up with Basque pepper and chopped white spring onion.

• Serve good crisp Rosé.My favourite is good quality Italian Bardolino..

• Ask someone to bring dessert...my friend brought Key Lime Pie, I went heavenward!

Best Potato Salad Ever

So many potato salads make me run away..this one has a great allure and better texture as the potatos are small and unpeeled. 

750 gr small potatoes, Ratte, Noirmoitier in France

1 cup chopped celery

1 red capsicum, chopped

2 white spring onions finely minced

2 tomatos finely cubed

1 cup sliced lardons, cooked crisp

Dressing :

mayonnaise (I make my own, its just better...)

zest of half a lemon

salt & pepper

chopped chives

Wash potatos, do NOT peel them. Cut them length wise and boil until cooked. (You know they are cooked when you put a knife in and it slides out by itself.)

Meanwhile chop and mince all other ingredients.

Drain cooked potatos and set aside until cool - when cool, assemble your salad.

Mix lemon zest into mayonnaise plus salt and pepper.

Fold mayonnaise through gently, adding salt and pepper, garnish with lashings of chopped chives.