Ever since I moved to Shoreditch a year ago, my flatmates and I have been talking about having a BBQ.
We all take our food (very) seriously…Andre is from Brazil and cooks the best steak (I’ll also be eternally grateful for him introducing me to cassava). Sol’s originally from Cyprus and, from what I’ve heard, her family dinners are legendary.
Sadly, I’m moving out in a few weeks because of my new job. And with the skies gradually darkening and the temperatures falling, we realised we were fast running out of time.
On Sunday I was woken up by the sunshine creeping through my blind. It was perfect BBQ weather. We decided what to buy and set off for ingredients.
A couple of hours later, the inevitable had occurred:
And then it rained.
I arrived back from the supermarket, cold, shivering and a little bit grumpy.
I pulled on my boyfriend’s jumper and (for the first time in months) switched on the heating and began preparing our salads with typical British stoicism…
Potato Salad (recipe below)
Quinoa with roasted veg
Beetroot Salad
Houmous
Luckily, an hour later when Andre returned from Waitrose with half the meat counter, the rain had stopped…I was feeling a bit cheerier, too (thanks to a can of Red Stripe).
He sharpened the knives…
Andre, the BBQ king
…fired up the BBQ, and started grilling the meat.
We had pork ribs and chicken…
Pork Ribs and Chicken
…steak (fillet, rib eye and rump)…
Fillet steak
…and king prawns with garlic, chilli and lemon.
King Prawns
And then the sunshine came out…
Completely stuffed, we squished onto our tiny balcony with our drinks and enjoyed the weather (while it lasted).
And decided we still had room for pudding…
Plantain
…and a bottle or two of Montepulciano.
You know you’ve had a great BBQ when you collapse into bed at midnight, questioning whether you’ll ever be hungry again…
Recipe: The best potato salad
This recipe is inspired by the Whole Foods potato salad which incorporates egg and mustard to make it really creamy and rich. I love the vibrant yellow colour – ideally add some fresh herbs (basil, parsley or dill), too.
Ingredients
- 1 kg new potatoes, halved
- 4 eggs
- 1 shallot, roughly chopped
- 1 bunch of spring onions, finely chopped
- 4 heaped tablespoons of mayo
- 1 small tub of sour cream
- 1 tablespoon of English mustard
- 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
- Salt & pepper, to taste
Method
- Bring your new potatoes to boil in a large saucepan of lightly salted water. Simmer until tender (about 15-20 minutes), drain and allow to cool.
- Hard boil your eggs (around 6 minutes). Mash the egg yolks with the mayo, sour cream and mustard until well blended. Roughly chop the egg whites and set aside.
- Add the egg yolk mixture to the potatoes and mix until the potatoes are well coated
- Add the shallot, onions and egg white to the potatoes and mix.
- Season to taste.
lo eats london 