Jeff's BBQ pork belly

Stabbed worked belly a whole lot. Stuffed holes with chopped rosemary & thyme. Rubbed with sea salt. Sit at room temp covered with paper towels to absorb any moisture. Rub the bottom with oil & place on a BBQ with lid down on low. After approx an hour, when fat is bubbling out the top, turn heat to high and flip to crackle.

Served with apple & green beans.

Roast lamb racks with peperonata

2 racks of lamb, each with 8 bones

sea salt

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 bunch thyme

1/2 garlic bulb, horizontally cut in half, skin left on

For the peperonata (fried peppers or capsicum)

2 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 red onion, cut into 1cm slices

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp chopped oregano

2 tsp salted baby capers, rinsed well

2 anchovy fillets, roughly chopped

1 red capsicum, cut into 1cm strips

1 yellow capsicum, cut into 1cm strips

200g tinned cherry tomatoes

1/3 cup de-seeded Ligurian olives

1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tsp brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 90°C. Trim fat from the lamb and season with salt.

For the lamb, heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan on a medium-high heat. Gently fry the racks until golden brown all over.

Remove from pan and place on a bed of thyme along with the unpeeled garlic cloves in a baking tray. Put in oven for one hour, or until a meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of 55°C.

Remove from oven and allow to rest somewhere warm for 10 minutes. Check garlic and, if needed, return to the oven and continue to cook until very soft.

For the peperonata, heat 2½ tbsp oil in a large, heavy-based pan over a low flame. Add onion, garlic and oregano, and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring often, until onion is soft.

Add capers and anchovy fillets and stir over heat for 2 minutes. Add capsicums and cherry tomatoes and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, until capsicum strips are soft and tender. Add olives, vinegar and sugar and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened.

Cut each rack into portions and serve with a large spoonful of the peperonata and slow-cooked garlic.

Tip: You can make peperonata from scratch by blackening whole capsicums on the stove top, then putting them in a bowl and covering with plastic wrap. When cool, they should have steamed to a soft texture. Peel and slice them, then make the sauce without the peppers and fold them through at the end. The result is concentrated flavour and a slight smokiness.

Harissa citrus chicken

• 1 whole orange, sliced into ½ cm rounds crosswise
• 1 whole lemon, sliced into ½ cm rounds crosswise
• 1 whole chicken (about 1.5kg), halved or spatchcocked
• MARINADE:
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• finely grated zest of 1 orange
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1½ tbsp. fresh orange juice
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1½ - 2 tbsp. harissa paste
• 1 tbsp. honey/maple syrup
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ tsp. ground cumin
•  1 tsp. salt

1. In a suitable baking dish, arrange the orange and lemon slices in one layer on the bottom. Place the chicken, skin-side-up, on top. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl or jug, whisk together all the ingredients for the marinade. Pour it all over the chicken in the pan. Cover and leave it to marinate in the fridge for half an hour up to overnight.
3. Half an hour before you are ready to cook the chicken, take it out of the fridge to rest and preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
4. Roast the chicken in the oven for 30-35 minutes until cooked through and skin is golden. If at 25 minutes the skin is still not browning, turn on the broiler (upper grill in the oven) for the final 10 minutes or so. If your broiler is separate from your oven, finish cooking the chicken normally in the oven, then transfer to your preheated broiler just for 5-10 minutes or until skin is brown. Serve on bed if cos lettuce & shredded red cabbage with slices of bread for the juice.

Chinese black beer chicken

4 ppl:

8 chicken thighs w bone & skin

1 Tbsp sesame oil

150ml stout

100 ml soy sauce

100 ml Shaoxing wine

40g coconut (or brown) sugar

20gm piece of ginger, thinly sliced

6 garlic cloves, crushed

1 star anise

2 long red chillis, split lengthways

3 spring onions, cut into 5cm batons

1/2 bunch garlic chives, chopped

1/2 cup coriander

Fry chicken in sesame oil until brown. Add remaining ingredients except spring onions, chives & coriander, bring to simmer on low, cover & cook 25 minutes. Remove lid, add spring onion & simmer on low about 50 to an hour. Turn off heat & sprinkle in chives & coriander.

Jeff's chicken shawarma

2 lemons, juiced
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed and minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
½ teaspoon turmeric
A pinch ground cinnamon
Red-pepper flakes, to taste
900g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 large red onion, peeled and quartered
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Prepare a marinade for the chicken. Combine the lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon and red-pepper flakes in a large bowl, then whisk to combine. Add the chicken, and toss well to coat. Cover, and store in refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 220. Use the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to grease a rimmed sheet pan. Add the quartered onion to the chicken and marinade, and toss once to combine. Remove the chicken and onion from the marinade, and place on the pan, spreading everything evenly across it.

Put the chicken in the oven, and roast until it is browned, crisp at the edges and cooked through, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to rest 2 minutes, then slice into bits. Scatter the parsley over the top and serve with tomatoes, cucumbers, pita, hot sauce, olives, fried eggplant, feta, rice, anything you desire.

Jeff's herbed BBQ lamb leg

Leg of lamb, roughly 2.75kg (6lbs)

For the herb oil:
150ml olive oil
2tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1tsp ground cumin
Few sprigs each fresh thyme, rosemary and marjoram leaves
2tbsp chilli powder (optional)

For the baste:
2tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2tbsp honey
Small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

For the dressing:
6tbsp olive oil
Small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD
Score the top side of the lamb leg in a criss-cross pattern at 1cm (½in) intervals, 1cm (½in) deep.
Mix and crush the herb oil ingredients in a large bowl.
Add the meat and leave for at least 3 hours, or up to 24 hours in the fridge.

Prepare the barbecue for indirect cooking: food should be away from the heat source and the temperature, if your barbecue has a thermometer, should be a steady medium heat of 150°C-160°C.
Put the meat on the well-oiled heated grill and cook, covered, for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, combine the baste ingredients. Baste the meat every 15 minutes, cooking for a further 30 for blushing meat, or until done to your liking.
Combine the dressing on a board. Turn the lamb in it to coat and rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Jeff's BBQ spiced lamb leg

1 leg lamb
6 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked
3 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp baharat
4 lemons, halved crosswise

Combine rosemary, garlic, spices and oil and season well. Rub marinade over the surface of the lamb and place in a ceramic bowl and cover. Marinate at room temp for 2 hours or as long as you’ve got (if longer than 2 hours best to refrigerate and remove a couple of hours before cooking).

Heat a BBQ until very hot. Cook lamb for 3mins each side and place lemon halves cut side down. Reduce heat to medium low and continue to cook for 10 to 15 mins or until cooked to your liking. Remove lemons when slightly charred and keep warm. When meat is cooked, wrap in foil and allow to rest for at least 15 mins before carving. Serve with bbq lemon halves alongside.

Amazeballs meatballs

For the balls:

2 slices white bread, soaked in

60ml milk

Grated rind of 1 lemon

1 small onion finely diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

3 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped

1 egg

60g grated Parmesan

For the sauce:
Passata
Black olives
Capers

Vietnamese beef curry with lemongrass and star anise

For 6 people:

Peanut, sesame and shallot dust:

6 tbsp unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts

4 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted in a dry pan (watch carefully, they burn quickly)

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt flakes

2 tbsp crispy fried shallots

1.2kg beef chuck, in 2cm-3cm dice

Salt flakes

2 generous pinches saffron

Coconut oil

4 sticks lemongrass, white part only

4 long red chillies

4 small red chillies

8cm piece ginger

5 purple eschalots

6 garlic cloves

3 star anise

1 tsp five-spice powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tin tomatoes, drained and crushed

4 tbsp fish sauce

3 tbsp sugar

1 large daikon (white radish), peeled and cut in 4cm rounds

Rice, to serve

Coriander leaves, to serve

Limes, to serve

1. Season the beef and toss with the saffron and a little oil.

2. Roughly chop the lemongrass, chillies, ginger, eschalots and garlic, add to a food processor and process to a paste.

3. In a large pot, fry the paste in a little oil about 3 minutes or till fragrant, add the beef and stir. Seal the meat, add the star anise, five spice, cinnamon, tomatoes, fish sauce, sugar and half a teaspoon of salt. Stir. Add two litres of water.

4. Simmer gently for about two hours or until the beef is tender. Add the daikon and cook for a further 30 minutes, until the daikon is tender and the sauce reduced.

5. To make the dust, in a mortar and pestle or small food processor, grind the peanuts, sesame seeds, sugar and salt together, then stir through the crispy shallots.

6. Serve with rice, coriander and lime. Sprinkle with crispy shallot and peanut dust.

Eat with lager

Baked eggplant & ricotta

For 4 people:
• 3 medium eggplants, sliced 1cm thick
• olive oil
• 500g fresh ricotta
• 100g grated Parmesan
• black pepper

Tomato sauce:
• brown onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 800g tinned tomato
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Degorge eggplant & grill in batches, brushed with oil.

Meanwhile, fry onion & garlic, 12-15mins till soft. Add tomatoes, paste & sugar. Boil, reduce heat & simmer uncovered 30 mins. Season. Stir in basil.

Combine ricotta with 40g Parmesan & pepper.

Preheat oven to 220C & grease small lasagna dish.

Layer 1/2 eggplant, 1/2 tomato, ricotta, remaining eggplant, remaining tomato, remaining Parmesan.

Bake 20 minutes or until golden & warm through.

Served with lemony rocket salad & fresh bread.