Zen and the Art of Barbecuing Everything!

Grilling Bliss


*** GUEST POST BY MR WHITEPLATES ***


Barbecue season is my time. Nothing cries summer like the burning smell of eyebrows after a good fight with the electric ignition button.

After a leisurely stroll through the Farmer's Market, Ms WP and I found ourselves with some amazing picks, from beautiful sweet carrots (the yellow ones) to fresh chicken, smooth quark and rhubarb!


Fresh Chicken
Rhubarb
Root Veggies (beets and sweet carrots are nice)
Pak Choi (bigger leaf than bok choi, a little sweeter)
Quark (or chevre, if you prefer)
Onion
A Lemon
Sea Salt, Spices
Oil

So, just smack your chicken with some sea salt, cornmeal, onion powder, garlic powder and perhaps a little chopped rosemary, if you'd like. Throw it right on the hot barbecue, with a couple of washed sweet carrots, (or peeled if they're not no-spray or organic) and a few peeled, salted beets.

Veggies on the barbecue are simple and fab; it's all about the oil. Just put a splash or two of olive oil in a small dish with sea salt, perhaps lemon juice and whatever spices you desire, and brush the veggies with the mix as they cook. Because I wanted some serious colour on my carrots, I also put sugar in my oil mix to both taunt the fire, and to crust the carrots in a thin layer of burnt caramel.
If you follow suit, take care not to brush them in oil until just a minute before they're done, to give them a nice crisp char, but not blacken them completely.

As for the Pak Choi, spread a leaf with a little quark, salt, pepper and thinly-sliced onions, and roll like maki. Roll another leaf of pak choi around it, and you're ready for grilling! They burn easily, so keep them away from flames, on the coolest bart of the barbie.
Pak Choi Rolls

As for the Rhubarb Chutney, just light the side-burner (if you're fortunate enough to have one), and sear some chopped rhubarb in a hot pan with olive oil. Add salt and white pepper, and when the rhubarb starts to char a bit, add a good spoon of sugar and reduce the heat. Just before the rhubarb turns to mush, it's done! Put it on the plate in anticipation of chicken!

Just before the chicken is done, squeeze a little lemon juice over.


The rhubarb chutney provides a fresh, sharp sweetness that compliments both the salty and sour tones of the chicken, and the earthiness of the root veggies. Your pak choi rolls should be toasted crisp on the outside and soft and sweet inside.

mmmmm.