Grilled Fruit Kebabs with Honey glaze and Coconut & Lime Yogurt Dip

A playful take on dessert by piecing cubed fruit onto sticks and grilling on the BBQ. Towards the end of grilling brush with honey to caramelize. Serve on a large wooden board with a coconut and lime dip providing the perfect sweet and zesty dip.

---

My grilled fruit kebabs with honey glaze coconut lime yogurt dip

serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small Pineapple peeled, cored and cut into 2cm cubes
• 1 mango de-stoned and cut into 2cm cubes
• 2 peaches de-stoned and cut into 2cm cubes
• 1/4 watermelon peeled, cored and cut into 2cm cubes
• honey for glazing

For the Yogurt dip:

• desiccated coconut
• juice and zest of one lime
• 500ml yogurt

METHOD

Peel, prep and cut all the fruit into roughly 2cm cubes. Thread the fruit onto to wooden skewers alternating pieces in any order until full but leaving enough space for a ‘handle’ at the bottom.

Grill on the BBQ for 5-6 minutes turning frequently until the fruit starts to caramelize. With a pastry brush, brush the kebabs all over with honey and cook for a further 2 minutes. Rest on serving board.

In a bowl mix the coconut, lime juice, zest and yogurt together, then transfer to a small serving bowl. Serve next to the fruit kebabs on a board or large plate.

Rhubarb & Custard Shortcake Pots

What to do with all this rhubarb?

So I have been chosen to make a hamper for next week's cricket for the chaps (ENG vs NZ ODI at the Oval for those of you interested) and after years of taking food to sporting events, festivals, picnics, etc. I think I’ve finally worked out a few things…

• Chop and slice everything before you go, no matter how good it looks! 
• Separate and portion into individual boxes
• Hand held and bowl food is the way forward

See the thing is that although a big spread looks the business, passing plates and dishes around amongst each other in small rows of seats with one hand already taken up with a beer is not exactly ideal. And I’ve not even mentioned the weather yet.

I’ve got a recipe here that looks the part, travels well and all you have to do is stick a spoon in it. Perfect for a summer hamper and is also a great dinner party dessert served fresh from the oven. The pastry is a cross between shortbread biscuit and a sponge cake, crispy on the outside and dense in the middle. The rhubarb filling can be swapped with any seasonal fruit to your liking.

---

My Rhubarb & Custard Shortcake Pots

makes 4

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE PASTRY:

• 200g butter
• 200g golden caster sugar
• 325g self-raising flour
• 1 egg
• 1 yolk
• more sugar for sprinkling

FOR THE FILLING:

• 300g rhubarb
• 50g sugar
• 150g tinned custard (Yes, use the best quality you can find!)
• 1tsp vanilla paste

METHOD

In a food processor, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. add the egg and yolk. Gently fold in the flour and mix to a sticky dough. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 1 hour. The pastry will make enough for 8 ramekins or one large pie. Wrap and freeze any leftover.

Pre-heat oven to 180C or gas mark 4.

Chop the rhubarb into 2cm chunks, place into a baking tray cover with the sugar and bake for 8-10 minutes or until softened. Mix with the custard and vanilla paste and allow to cool.

Grease the ramekins, take a piece of the dough big enough to cover the base and gently push in. Repeat with the sides so that even thickness of dough covers the base and sides. Fill each ramekin just to the top with the rhubarb and custard mix, then take larger piece of dough to be used as the lid and flatten to 1cm thick and cut around with the ramekin as a guide. Place on top and crimp the edges.

Brush with milk, sprinkle with golden caster sugar and bake for 35 minutes.

Either eat after 10 minutes or chill for the next day. A dollop of creme fraiche works as treat on the side :)

Slow Cooker Apple, Pear and Peanut Butter Crumble

For my first adventure as the roving reporter for BBC's new series of Food and Drink... I was sent to meet Miss South, a slow cooker expert. Many of us have slow cookers but they do tend to spend a lot of time kept away in the cupboard. So this was the perfect opportunity to show me that there’s much more than stews and curries with a slow cooker but also ribs, bread, brownies, puddings and jams to name a few. Intrigued by a challenge and a sucker for a dessert I have come up with a sweet recipe for you to try.

This apple, pear & peanut butter crumble could not be any simpler with 10 minutes of preparation time then just leave and let your slow cooker do all the work. The crust (to my surprise) comes out great with a dense cake like texture and the fruit holds its shape does not ‘mush’ up even with 4-5 hours of cooking. As with that all crumbles, serve with cream, custard or like me both!

---

My Apple, Pear and Peanut Butter Crumble 

Ingredients

• 2 apples (peeled & roughly chopped) 
• 2 pears (peeled & roughly chopped)
• 50g golden caster sugar
• 1tsp vanilla paste
• 50ml apple juice
• 1/2tsp cinnamon

For the crumble topping:

• 50g peanut butter
• 75g butter
• 150g oats
• 150g plain flour
• 200g caster sugar 

Method

Place the apples, pears and apple juice directly into the slow cooker. Add the vanilla paste, cinnamon and golden caster sugar and stir until well mixed. 

Now for the crumble topping, in a saucepan gently melt the butter and peanut butter and take off the heat. Grab a large bowl and add the oats, flour and sugar mix through then slowly add the peanut butter mixture till combined. 

Scatter the crumble topping over the fruit in the slow cooker and gently pat down. 

Cover and cook for approximately 5 hours. 

Serve warm with cream or ice cream. 

Pineapple, Prawn and Okra Salad

Mariana guides me to a market in Salvador where you can find the best selection of raw ingredients, the Feira de Sao Joaquim. The market takes place every day in Salvador's lower city and was established in 1960. It is the biggest free market in Salvador boasting the best local products coming from all over the state. 

Mariana walks me thru the market and takes me to try a few of the most used ingredients in this region. I tried cashew fruit, the nut is actually above the fruit, you would never believe it was from the same plant. Okra called quiabo in Brazil, is used in some of the most traditional dishes and dried smoked shrimps are an absolute local delicacy. And lastly, palm oil is the base of many Bahian dishes and it is often used to fry or flavour stews, giving them their authentic orange colour.  

Well, there was certainly no shortage of inspiration in the market in Salvador and just being around this fantastic produce has inspired this dish - Pineapple, Prawn & Okra Salad. 

---

My Pineapple, Prawn and Okra Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large pineapple
• 100g bulgur wheat
• 200ml hot chicken stock
• olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
• 125g okra, trimmed
• 125ml dry white wine
• Juice of 1 lime
• Small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• Small bunch basil, finely chopped
• Small bunch coriander, chopped
• 150g raw tiger prawns shelled and deveined
• Sea salt and black pepper
• 50g parmesan cheese, finely grated

METHOD

Preheat your oven to 200C or 400F.

Cut the pineapple in half lengthways, cut out the core and discard. Scoop out most of the flesh, leaving some inside, then cut into small dice and drain off any excess juice.

Put the pineapple halves onto a baking tray, cut side up, and roast for 10 minutes until softened. Meanwhile bring the stock to the boil, pour over the bulgar wheat and cover with clingfilm.

Leave to stand for 15 minutes then remove the cling film and fluff the grains with a fork. While the bulgar wheat is soaking, heat a little olive oil in a saucepan, add the onion, garlic and chilli and sweat gently for 5 minutes until soft. Increase the heat, add the okra and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the wine, bring to the boil and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes. Add the prawns, cook quickly until just pink then remove from the heat.

Stir in the pineapple, bulgar wheat, lime juice and herbs then divide the mixture between the pineapple halves. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and place under a hot grill for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.

Leave to cool for a minute before serving.