Top Five Alfresco Food Ideas For Spring

Here are five simple yet sensational garden food ideas for spring and the coming months.

Stay seasonal

As with any great meal, serving ingredients that are in season is essential and it is even more important when dining alfresco – why open your eyes, nose and ears to the surroundings and not your mouth?

A great little recipe for this time of year is grilled artichokes. The secret to tender and succulent grilled artichokes is to steam them before whacking them on the BBQ for the perfect finish.

Serve them with a briny green olive dip that’s easily whipped up from a mix of half a cup of chopped flat-leaf parsley, five tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, two tablespoons chopped green olives, one tablespoon of drained capers, one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, Dijon mustard to taste, ground black pepper and seas salt.

Classic burgers

No alfresco feast is complete without a good burger option.

In order to get the perfect burger you need a good grill. A Weber BBQ is ideal for this as these are barbecues designed to last and produce great food time and time again.

To get the best out of your burgers you should really try making them yourself. For a simple and tasty six-patte mix use 1.5kg of non-lean minced beef, one tablespoon of olive oil, two finely chopped red onions, five crushed garlic cloves, a handful of parsley, a 75ml squirt of ketchup and two eggs to bind it all together. If you wanna really make them stand out from the crowd add about 50ml of oyster sauce.

Once you have your not-so-basic burger on the BBQ you can think about the topping. Stay classic with a gourmet twist by adding Stilton and red onion marmalade, or complement the warm weather vibe with a slice of pineapple and beetroot.

Get the steak right

The key to cooking a good steak is trust and with a high quality grill like a Weber BBQ this is easy.

Allow your meat 20 minutes or so out of the fridge before splashing some olive oil on and placing it on the BBQ. A gas barbecue is really handy as after it is sealed you can turn the heat down slightly, while a charcoal product will give you a lovely smoky taste.

While it is cooking, resist the urge to move it all the time, turning it over once to ensure both sides are to your liking.

A spring twist can be added by serving with fresh asparagus.

Don’t forget the salad

Nothing captures the colour and smell of alfresco dining better than a vibrant and rustic salad.

Forget pre-packed lettuce leaves and throw together watermelon chunks, heirloom tomatoes and pieces of feta. Add any herbs you like, but leafy basil, mint, parsley and chives work well.

Something for dessert

Don’t pack away the BBQ just yet! For a quick and tasty outdoors dessert cut a banana skin, force in some chocolate buttons, close the skin then wrap it all up in foil. Place on the grill for five minutes and serve.