grills

Grilling (broiling) is an excellent way of quick-cooking fish, poultry and tender cuts of meat. For best results, always preheat the grill (broiler) on high until it is glowing red before you start to cook.

sausage and mash

with onion and carrot gravy

serves 4

storecupboard ingredients

shopping list

extra equipment

1 Boil a kettle of water. Dissolve the stock cube in 450 ml/¾ pt/2 cups boiling water in a measuring jug.

2 Peel and boil the potatoes.

3 While the potatoes are cooking, slice the onions. Peel and grate the carrots on the coarse side of a grater.

4 Put the onions and carrots in a small saucepan and add a small knob of butter or margarine. Cook over a high heat, stirring, for 2 minutes.

5 Pour in the stock, cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes.

6 Turn on the grill (broiler) to preheat. Snip between the sausages with scissors, to separate, and place on the rack. Grill (broil) for about 10 minutes, until brown all over, giving the sausages a quarter turn every few minutes. Put four plates to warm in the oven at the lowest setting.

7 Put 3 tbsp flour in a measuring jug. Add 5 tbsp cold water and stir until the mixture is smooth. Add to the stock, onion and carrots, stirring all the time until thickened. Turn the heat down really low. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

8 Put the colander in the sink and pour the potatoes into it. Shake the colander to drain off all the water, then tip the potatoes back in the pan.

9 Add a knob of butter or margarine and mash thoroughly with a potato masher. Add a dash of milk and mash again. Add more milk if you like your mashed potato softer.

10 Pile the potato on to the warm plates. Top with the sausages and spoon some onion and carrot gravy over. Serve with mustard.

kofta kebabs

with cucumber rice and spicy tomato sauce

serves 4

storecupboard ingredients

shopping list

extra equipment

1 Break the slices of bread into pieces. Drop into a food processor with the machine running to make breadcrumbs. Alternatively, rub the bread on the coarse side of a grater to make the crumbs.

2 Chop a small handful of parsley.

3 Put the crumbs in a bowl with the parsley, minced meat, ½ tsp mixed spice and a small squeeze of garlic purée and mix together well.

4 Break the egg into a cup and beat lightly with a fork until blended. Add to the meat mixture and mix well with your hands.

5 With wet hands, take handfuls of the mixture and shape in sausages around kebab skewers. Lay on foil on the grill (broiler) rack.

6 Dice the cucumber.

7 Cook the rice, adding the cucumber and 1 tsp dried mint after 10 minutes.

8 Chop the onion.

9 Heat 2 tbsp oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 3 tbsp caster sugar, 3 tbsp tomato ketchup, 1 tbsp tomato purée and a few drops each of Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Cook over a moderate heat, stirring until boiling, then leave it to bubble for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat.

10 Turn on the grill (broiler) to preheat, turn on the oven at the lowest setting and put in plates to warm.

11 Grill (broil) the kebabs under the hot grill for 6 minutes on each side until cooked through and browned.

12 Spoon the rice on to the warm plates, top with the kebabs and spoon the sauce over.

top tip!

greek-style lamb kebabs

with pitta bread and village salad

serves 4

storecupboard ingredients

shopping list

extra equipment

1 Cut the lamb into bite-sized cubes, cutting off any fat or gristle.

2 Pour enough oil into a shallow dish to coat the base. Add a good splash of vinegar, a good sprinkling of dried oregano, a small squeeze of garlic purée and a little salt and pepper. Mix with a balloon whisk until thoroughly blended.

3 Add the meat to the dish and turn over using your fingers until every piece is coated and glistening. Cover with foil and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours – the longer, the better.

4 Prepare your village salad. First, make a mixed salad, using the lettuce, tomatoes, onion and cucumber.

5 Cut the Feta cheese into chunks or roughly crumble and sprinkle over the surface of the mixed salad. Dot with a few olives. Trickle some olive oil over the surface, then sprinkle with a little vinegar (quantities are not vital, but use less vinegar than oil), pepper (preferably freshly ground) and a pinch of dried oregano. Leave to stand while cooking the kebabs.

6 Turn on the grill (broiler) to preheat. Cut the ends off the courgettes, then cut them into chunks about 1 cm/½ in long. Thread the meat on the skewers, interspersed with pieces of courgette.

7 Lay the kebabs on the grill rack and brush with any marinade left in the dish. Grill for 10 minutes, turning once or twice and brushing with the marinade from time to time.

8 While the kebabs are cooking, turn on the oven at the lowest setting. Wrap four pitta breads in foil and pop them in to warm briefly. When the kebabs are cooked, make a slit the length of one edge of each pitta bread and gently open to form a pocket. Slide a kebab off its skewer and put into the pitta pocket. Repeat with the remaining kebabs and pittas. You can eat these in your fingers, but don’t forget to put out forks for the village salad!

top tip!

grilled steaks

with mushrooms and french fries

serves 4

storecupboard ingredients

shopping list

extra equipment

1 Make the chips (fries).

2 While they are cooking, wipe the mushrooms. Put enough water in a medium saucepan to cover the base, add the mushrooms, a good knob of butter or margarine and some salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and cook over a moderate heat while preparing the rest of the meal. When steam starts to come from the saucepan, turn the heat down low.

3 Turn on the grill (broiler) to preheat. Put 1 cm/½ in water in a small saucepan with a pinch of salt and place over a moderate heat to come to the boil. Meanwhile, smear a little oil over the steaks, season with pepper and place on the grill rack. Grill (broil) until brown and cooked to your liking; this will take at least 4 minutes each side for medium rare or about 6 minutes a side for well-done (depending on the thickness of the steak).

4 When the steaks are cooking, turn on the oven at the lowest setting and put in plates and a shallow dish to warm. Add a small handful of peas per person to the boiling water in the small saucepan and cook for 5 minutes.

5 The chips should now be cooked. Line the warmed serving dish with a double thickness of kitchen paper (paper towels). Remove the chips from the pan with a fish slice or draining spoon and pile in the dish. Remove the paper and place the chips in the oven to keep warm.

6 Cut the tomatoes into halves. Drain the peas in a colander in the sink. Transfer the steaks to the warm plates. Add the mushrooms, chips and peas and garnish each plate with half a tomato. Serve with Dijon or English mustard.

steak chasseur

with sauté potatoes and mixed salad

serves 4

storecupboard ingredients

shopping list

extra equipment

1 Dice the potatoes.

2 Heat about 5 mm/¼ in oil in a large frying pan.

3 While the oil is heating, turn on the grill (broiler) to preheat. Turn on the oven at the lowest setting and put in plates and a shallow serving dish to warm. Put the steaks on the grill rack. Smear with a little sunflower oil and season with pepper. Grill for 8–12 minutes, turning once, until cooked to your liking.

4 While the steaks are cooking, slide the potatoes into the hot oil and fry (sauté) until golden brown all over, turning occasionally with a fish slice.

5 Put 150 ml/¼ pt/2/3 cup water and the same amount of red wine in a saucepan with the stock cube. Bring to the boil and stir until the cube has dissolved.

6 Stir a large squeeze of tomato purée and a very small squeeze of garlic purée into the wine and stock. Stir until blended and the mixture is bubbling. Add about 2 tsp caster sugar, a sprinkling of dried mixed herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Let the sauce bubble rapidly until it thickens and has reduced in quantity.

7 Make a mixed salad and French dressing.

8 When the potatoes are cooked, put a double thickness of kitchen paper (paper towels) in the warmed serving dish. Remove the potatoes with a fish slice or draining spoon and drain on the paper. Remove the paper and put the potatoes in the oven to keep warm.

9 Transfer the cooked steaks to the warmed plates. Spoon the sauce over, garnish each with a sprig of parsley and add the sauté potatoes. Serve the salad separately.

top tip!

gammon steaks

with fresh kiwi slices, golden scallops and peas

serves 4

storecupboard ingredients

shopping list

extra equipment

1 Prepare and cook the golden scallops like chips (fries), but cut the potatoes into 5 mm/¼ in thick slices and cook them whole.

2 Meanwhile, turn on the grill (broiler) to preheat. Turn on the oven at the lowest setting and put in plates and a serving dish for the potatoes to warm. Put about 1 cm/½ in water in a small saucepan with a pinch of salt and put on to heat.

3 Cut both ends off the kiwi fruit and peel off the skin. Cut each fruit into four thick slices.

4 Snip all round the edges of the gammon steaks with scissors to prevent the edges from curling up while they cook. Place on the grill rack. Grill (broil) for 4 minutes.

5 Put a handful of peas per person in the small saucepan of water, which should now be boiling, cover with a lid and boil for 5 minutes. Check the potatoes, and if browned all over, put a double thickness of kitchen paper (paper towels) in the warmed serving dish. Lift the potatoes out of the oil with a fish slice and drain on the paper. Remove the paper, then put the potatoes in the oven to keep warm. If the potatoes are not ready, leave them until you have turned the gammon over (see step 6).

6 Cut the tomatoes into halves. Turn the gammon steaks over and put the tomato halves on the grill rack too. Put two slices of kiwi fruit on top of each gammon steak. Return to the grill and cook for about 3 minutes until browned and cooked through.

7 Drain the peas into a colander in the sink.

8 Transfer the gammon, topped with kiwi fruit, and the tomato halves to the warm plates. Add the golden scallops and peas and serve straight away.

grilled pork chops

with peaches, new potatoes and green beans

serves 4

storecupboard ingredients

shopping list

extra equipment

1 Prepare the new potatoes and put them on to boil.

2 As soon as you have put them on, cut the tops and tails off the French beans and place in a colander. Put the colander over the pan of boiling potatoes, cover with the saucepan lid and leave them to steam.

3 Turn on the grill (broiler) to preheat. Put the pork chops on the grill rack. Sprinkle with pepper and a fine dusting of dried sage. Turn over and repeat on the other sides. Grill (broil) for 8 minutes until golden brown. Turn the chops over and grill for another 8 minutes.

4 Meanwhile, lift the peach halves out of their juice and drain on kitchen paper (paper towels). Turn on the oven at the lowest setting and put in plates and two serving dishes to warm. When the chops have been cooking for 5 minutes on the second side, add the peach halves to the grill rack and put a halved glacé cherry in the centre of each. Grill for a further 3 minutes.

5 Cut the ends of the feathery stalks off the watercress, rinse the sprigs of leaves and dry on kitchen paper. Lift the colander off the top of the potatoes and check that the beans are cooked. Turn them into a warmed serving dish and keep warm. Drain the potatoes into the colander, then transfer to the other warmed serving dish.

6 Put the chops on the warmed plates with the grilled peach halves. Garnish with sprigs of watercress and serve with the new potatoes and beans.

top tip!

mighty mixed grill

with french-style peas

serves 4

storecupboard ingredients

shopping list

extra equipment

1 Peel and chop the onion.

2 Rinse the lettuce and cut into fairly thin shreds.

3 Melt a knob of butter in a saucepan, add the onion and cook over a fairly gentle heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the onion is soft but not brown.

4 Add a good handful of peas per person, the lettuce, a good sprinkling of mint and some salt and pepper. Add 2 tbsp water. Cover with a lid, keep the heat low and leave to cook very gently while you prepare the mixed grill.

5 Trim any fat from the lamb cutlets. Cut the kidneys into halves with scissors and snip out the white central cores. Arrange the kidneys on a grill (broiler) rack with the sausages, but don’t start to cook them yet.

6 Turn on the grill to preheat. Melt a good knob of butter in a small saucepan and brush over the lamb and kidneys. Put under the grill and cook for 3 minutes. Put a shallow ovenproof serving dish to warm under the grill if there is room. If not, put it in the oven at the lowest setting.

7 Stir the peas. Put plates to warm over the saucepan, with the lid on top, or in the oven. Turn the meat over. Cut the tomatoes into halves and add to the grill with the bacon. Brush all the ingredients with butter and continue cooking for a further 4 minutes until everything is cooked through.

8 Trim the stalks off the watercress. Rinse the sprigs of leaves and pat dry on kitchen paper (paper towels).

9 Spoon the peas into the warmed serving dish. Transfer the mixed grill to the warm plates, garnish with watercress and potato crisps and serve with the peas.

top tip!

oregano lemon chicken

on a vegetable platter

serves 4

storecupboard ingredients

shopping list

extra equipment

1 Peel and cut all the vegetables into small dice.

2 Place in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and sprinkle with salt. Put over a high heat, cover with a lid and wait until it boils rapidly. Reduce the heat and let it bubble gently for about 8 minutes.

3 While the vegetables are cooking, turn on the grill (broiler) to preheat. Rub the chicken all over with a little oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on the grill rack, skin-side down and cook for 7 minutes. Put the plates to warm under the grill if there is room, or in the oven at the lowest setting.

4 While the chicken is cooking, add two handfuls of frozen peas to the vegetables and continue cooking until all the vegetables are just tender.

5 Turn the chicken over and cook for a further 5 minutes. Put 3 tbsp oil in a small bowl. Add 3 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tsp dried oregano and 1 tsp caster sugar. Whisk together well. Brush all over the chicken and return to the grill for a further 2 minutes. Brush again and cook for about 2 minutes more until crisp, brown and cooked right through.

6 While the chicken is finishing cooking, drain the vegetables into a colander in the sink.

7 Spoon the vegetables on to the warm plates and top with the chicken.

grilled salmon fillets

with hollandaise sauce, new potatoes and salad

serves 4

storecupboard ingredients

shopping list

extra equipment

1 Prepare and boil the potatoes.

2 Prepare a green salad and French dressing.

3 Cut the avocado in half, remove the stone (pit), then pull off the skin. If it is very ripe it should come away easily, if not, use a sharp knife to peel it. Cut the flesh into slices, put in a small bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent browning, then add to the salad.

4 Arrange the salmon steaks on the grill (broiler) rack, dot with butter and season with pepper. Turn on the grill to preheat but don’t put the fish under yet.

5 To make the Hollandaise sauce, melt 25 g/1 oz/2 tbsp butter in a small saucepan over a gentle heat. When the butter has melted, turn the heat down very low and whisk in 8 tbsp mayonnaise, using a balloon whisk. Continue to whisk until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Add a dash of lemon juice and whisk again. Turn off the heat but leave the pan on the cooker.

6 Turn on the oven at the lowest setting and put in plates to warm.

7 Grill (broil) the fish steaks for 5–6 minutes until lightly golden and cooked through. Don’t turn them over.

8 Carefully transfer the steaks to the warm plates, add a spoonful of the Hollandaise sauce to each and serve with the new potatoes and dressed green avocado salad.

top tip!

thai-style whiting

with fragrant rice

serves 4

storecupboard ingredients

shopping list

extra equipment

1 Cook 175 g/6 oz/¾ cup rice, adding two good handfuls of peas halfway through cooking.

2 While the rice is cooking, put a sheet of foil on the grill (broiler) rack. Lay the fish on the foil. Grate the rind off the lime on the coarse side of a grater, then cut the lime in half and squeeze out the juice.

3 Sprinkle the fish fillets with a little salt and half the lime juice and leave to stand for 10 minutes.

4 Turn on the grill and put plates under to warm if there is room. If not, put in the oven at the lowest setting. Sprinkle the fish with 2 tbsp brown sugar and grill (broil) for 5 minutes until the sugar is bubbling and caramelised.

5 Sprinkle a good pinch of ginger and chilli powder over the drained rice and gently stir in.

6 Pile on to the warm plates and top with a fish fillet. Sprinkle with the remaining lime juice and the lime rind.