Summer Barbecue Recipes

Barbecue season is upon us! Be the King/Queen of the summer barbecue with these amazing recipes from Neven Maguire, Rosanna Davison and Finn Ní Fhaoláin.

 

Smokey Falafel Burgers from Eat Yourself Fit by Rosanna Davison

 

These healthy falafel-style burgers are delicious enjoyed with a dollop of sun-dried tomato hummus (recipe on page 227 of Eat Yourself Fit) in a gluten-free pitta bread or I love them with an iceberg lettuce or red cabbage wrap for a lower-carb version. The smoked paprika and metabolism-boosting cayenne pepper deliver a double dose of antioxidants, while the chickpeas, grated carrot, and gram flour add to this meal’s protein, fibre and slow-energy release.

 

 

 

(low-calorie, Muscle-building, energy, good mood food, antioxidants)

 

(Makes 6-8) Per burger: 97 calories, 5.6g protein, 15.8g carbs, 1.4g fat

 

Ingredients

 

coconut oil, to grease

1 can or carton of cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed (230g drained weight)

1 medium carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 a red onion, roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 tsp fresh root ginger

2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander or a small handful fresh coriander

pinch of cayenne pepper to dried chilli flakes (optional)

sea salt and black pepper, to taste

4 tbsp chickpea flour (gram flour)

2-3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk or any other plant milk

 

Directions

 

Preheat the oven to 200C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper or lightly grease with coconut oil.

Place the chickpeas in a food processor and add the carrot, onion, garlic and ginger. Process until a coarsely ground mixture is formed.

 

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the nutritional yeast, spices and seasoning. Mix well.

 

Add the flour and almond milk, stirring until the mixture thickens up. Taste and adjust seasoning, as needed.

Use the palms of your hands to roll the mixture into 6-8 individual burger patties, and place on the baking tray.

Bake them at 200C for 18-20 minutes, until they begin to crisp up and turn golden-brown on the outside. Remove from heat and allow them to cool.

 

Serve with a dollop of hummus in a gluten-free pitta bread or an iceberg lettuce or red cabbage shell.

 

Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.

 

Notes:

To cook dried chickpeas, you will first have to soak them. Place chickpeas in a large bowl and cover completely with cold water. Allow to soak overnight, for about 12 hours. Once chickpeas have soaked, drain and transfer to a large cooking pot. Cover with water twice the amount of chickpeas and bring to a boil. Cover and allow to simmer for approximately one hour. Do a taste test at this point to make sure they are tender enough for your liking. Drain and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

 

Eat Yourself Fit is available on our website, Eason, Amazon and in all good bookstores.

 

Keep up to date with Rosanna on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and on her website Rosanna Davison Nutrition.

 

Tangy barbecue beef burgers from Neven Maguire’s Complete Family Cookbook

 

What better way to celebrate the 4th of July than with a barbecue, whether it’s just with the family or you invite a group of friends over? This recipe is for a beef burger that’s just a little bit different than the regular burgers you expect to be served up and it isn’t going to cost too much if you’re catering for large numbers.

 

 

 

Serves 4

 

Ingredients

 

75g (3oz) fresh white breadcrumbs

2 tbsp buttermilk

500g (1lb 2oz) minced beef

1 tbsp apple barbecue sauce (page 349 of Neven Maguire’s Complete Family Cookbook) or shop-bought barbecue sauce)

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

4 ciabatta bread rolls, split in half

4 large slices of vintage

Cheddar cheese

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp Dijon mustard

12 Little Gem lettuce leaves

1 large ripe tomato, sliced

4 heaped tbsp red onion marmalade (page 445 or shop-bought)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

roasted sweet potato wedges (page 140), to serve

 

Directions

 

Place the breadcrumbs in a large bowl, sprinkle over the buttermilk and leave to stand for 5 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed.

 

Add the minced beef to the breadcrumb mixture with the barbecue sauce, thyme and seasoning. Mix well to combine, then divide into 4 even pieces and shape into patties. Put on a flat plate and chill until needed.

Heat the coals of the barbecue to medium-hot. Cook the beef burgers for 4–5 minutes on each side, until cooked through and lightly golden. Add the split ciabatta rolls for the last minute or so to toast. Once the beef burgers are cooked, transfer them to a warm part of the barbecue to rest and lay a slice of the vintage Cheddar cheese on each one so that it starts to melt.

 

4 Mix the mayonnaise with the mustard, then season to taste. Place the bottom of the toasted ciabatta rolls on warmed plates and add a good smear of the mustard mayonnaise to each one, then add a small pile of the lettuce leaves and a couple tomato slices. Top each one with a beef burger topped with the melted vintage Cheddar cheese and add a dollop of the red onion marmalade.

 

Finally, cover with the ciabatta roll top. Serve at once with the sweet potato wedges alongside.

 

VARIATIONS

 

Pork burgers

 

Replace the beef with pork. Replace the apple barbecue sauce with apple sauce and the thyme with rosemary. Use slices of Cashel Blue cheese instead of vintage Cheddar cheese.

 

Turkey burgers

 

Replace the beef with turkey. Replace the apple barbecue sauce with a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and a teaspoon of creamed horseradish and use sage instead of the thyme. Once they’ve been shaped into patties, stretch out rindless streaky bacon rashers and wrap 2 pieces around each one in a criss-cross pattern. Omit the cheese altogether.

 

Lamb and mint burgers

 

Replace the beef with lamb and mix in a couple teaspoons of chopped fresh mint along with a tablespoon of harissa paste instead of the apple barbecue sauce. Make slightly smaller patties, just large enough to stuff into pitta bread with some nice salad.

 

Neven Maguire’s Complete Family Cookbook is available on our website, Eason, Amazon and in all good bookstores.

 

Keep up to date with Neven on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 

Sunny Summer Quinoa Salad from Finn’s World by Finn Ní Fhaoláin

 

There are lots of little bits to this salad – but, oh my God, it’s so good. I use this quantity either as a main event at a summer lunch or I keep it portioned in the fridge to take out with me.

 

 

Ingredients

 

SERVES 3 OR 2 RAVENOUS HUMANS

1 cup (185g) uncooked quinoa
2 cups (470ml) GF vegetable stock
1 fresh or 2 dried bay leaves
½ red onion
1 tbsp lemon juice more if you like extra zip!
2 bell peppers, sliced I use yellow mostly, for some reason I can’t stand the green ones
1 cup (170g) green seedless grapes
300g cooked tikka masala chicken I get Green Farm as it uses certified GF seasoning!
½ cup (25g) fresh coriander leaves, chopped
3 tbsp craisins dried cranberries, not crazy raisins
4 tbsp toasted seeds I use sunflower and pumpkin
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions

 

Give the quinoa a good rinse with cold water to stop it getting a bitter taste as it cooks (due to a coating on the outside of the grain). I do this in a sieve, since the quinoa grains are itty-bitty and they fall out of a colander.

 

Add the quinoa, stock and bay leaf or leaves to a pot and bring to the boil. I don’t tend to add salt as I find the stock is usually salty enough by itself. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes with the lid on. I find my stove works best on a lower setting with the lid on – if it’s too high the quinoa can bubble over. After this, I take a teeny bit out and have a nibble. If it’s done (cooked through and no gritty feeling) I take the quinoa off the heat and
let it stand for 5 minutes with the lid on to fluffy-ise itself. In theory, you would let this cool down, go off on your merry way and come back later when it was cool to complete the salad. But I’m usually hungry, so that doesn’t tend to happen.

Slice the onion into super-thin strips and soak them in the lemon juice. This takes the raw-onion-esque whack off them (and colours the lemon juice pink, which looks cool in the salad). Slice the peppers into long thin strips. Cut he grapes in half lengthways.

Find a lovely big salad bowl – I love the turned wooden ones – and layer up the salad: quinoa first (don’t forget to take out the bay leaf), then chicken, grapes and veggies. Chuck the lemon juice on with the onions and sprinkle over the coriander, dried cranberries and toasted seeds. Follow with the olive oil and a little salt and pepper to taste.

 

Get your copy of Finn’s World online with Eason, Dubray, Gill Books and Amazon or in all good bookshops nationwide.

 

Follow Finn’s daily adventures on www.finsfitfood.com. Follow @finsfitfood on Instagram, @finsfitfood on Facebook, @fins_fit_food on Twitter, or search for Finns World on snapchat.

 

Happy Eating and enjoy barbecue season while you can from all of us at Gill Books!

 

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