food to glow

A mouthful to say, and a big, flavour-jammed mouthful to eat. I have used in-its-prime sweetcorn, as well as always-in-season sweet potatoes as the base, but you could use anything that you care to throw on a barbecue: aubergines (eggplant), courgettes (zucchini), peppers, jicama, mushrooms – your call. Do be sure to cram in the colours for max taste, nutrients and wow-factor.

Oh, you will have no doubt noticed the kale leaves on the grill. I impulsively pinched some from the garden and laid them on as a bit of an experiment. It worked. Delish: no oil, no salt, just hot puffs of air towards the end of cooking time to dry and crisp the delicate new leaves. Not necessary, but these serendipitously-made crisps add a wispy, crunchy texture to the finished dish.

2 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into ¼ inch-thick rounds

2 ears of sweetcorn, de-silked (brined or blanched if you like, but I don’t bother)

1-2 tbsp oil, such as non-virgin olive oil, organic non-virgin rapeseed/canola or melted coconut oil

juice of ½ small lime and ½ clementine/small orange

Good pinch salt

Toppings: chopped tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese, torn leaf coriander/cilantro, cooked black beans (not shown), extra pomegranate seeds

1. Sort your grill for hot, direct heat. I use charcoal and wait until the flames die down. I also keep a little extra oil handy in case things look a bit dry, painting the oil on with a silicone brush as needed.

2. Whisk together the oil, citrus and salt in a small bowl. Paint the sliced sweet potatoes and the sweetcorn with the flavoured oil and lay on the grill. Cover the grill with the lid, if you have one. Cook until the potatoes are softened and marked, and the corn actually starts popping in places. Timings are tricky to give but it took my veggies about 15 minutes in total, and I was turning and checking frequently. Have a tray and some foil to cover handy.

3. Everyone has their own favourite methods and likes for barbecuing veggies/meats. I am no expert so you can read up on sweetcorn advice at Serious Eats (and it carries on into the comment section), and turn to Elise at Simply Recipes for advice on sweet potatoes. Americans seem to know their stuff on bbq grilled veggies, so do have a scan if you aren’t sure.

4. Once the vegetables are cooked to your liking wrap loosely in foil to keep warm and juicy while you get your serving platter and toppings together. Once cool enough, scrape the corn off the cobs, standing the corn vertically on a chopping board and carefully pushing a heavy knife down the cob towards the board, turning to strip the cob. Make the guacamole either just before or just after grilling the vegetables.

5. To serve, layer up the barbecued vegetables with chopped tomatoes, coriander, black beans (if using) and some of the pomegranate seeds. Top with big fat dollops of pea-spiked guacamole, more pomegranate seeds and a hefty scattering of crumbled best feta cheese. Obviously if you are vegan just leave that last bit out, but squeeze on some extra lime and a little more salt to make up for the piquant feta’s absence.

A twist on regular guacamole, the peas add protein while the sweet-tart pomegranates and the salty, creamy cheese are a party in your mouth. This shouldn’t go together, but rest assured that it does. I wouldn’t steer you wrong. This will make more than you probably will eat in this salad but it is delicious on toast, or with eggs the following day. It goes without saying that tortilla chips or pitta chips go perfectly well, too.

75g/2.7 oz/rounded ½ cup fresh small peas, blanched for 2 minutes then refreshed with cold water – optional

2 ripe avocados (medium size)

1 garlic clove

Good pinch of sea salt

½ green chili (or whole), deseeded and chopped

2 spring onions/scallions, roughly chopped

Juice of 1 lime

Method: For the best result pound the garlic, salt and chilli in a pestle and mortar before adding everything to a food processor or blender. Of course you can mash with a fork for a pleasingly low-tech and mega-chunky result. I like my guacamole with some texture so I use the Pulse button on my Optimum 9400 Froothie blender until I get it the way I like it, using the curved spatula/scraper to sort things in between blitzes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, heat and tang as required.

Here is my ‘regular’ guacamole, with advice on how to choose the perfect avocado.

Serve warm/room temperature, on its own or with a variety of companion salads, such as my Moroccan Carrot Salad (one of my favourites), this very tangy and savoury Roasted Aubergine and Onion Salad with Tahini-Garlic Dressing and Homemade Za’atar, and maybe this Lebanese Freekeh and Fig Salad. This Beetroot and Cashew Hummus would be an interesting and colourful addition to the guacamole. I have loads more salads here.