I have a confession to make, which is that I only recently learned how to light a barbecue. I can man a barbecue or wo-man one, and whenever we do cook outside it’s me who has get final say on how much char the veg gets and when the chicken is done. But for years I have quietly marinaded and then handed over the goods to the men in my life. They light the coals and govern the timings. It is them who inevitably decides when we will eat. The ‘man-make-fire’ is a rule that I have blindly followed for most of my life which is ridiculous when you think about it. Because in every other aspect of the kitchen it is me who is the boss.

I never really thought about it till recently and it bothered me that this crucial part of cooking and eating outside (two things that I love) was something I lacked the skillset for. So last weekend I taught myself (with the help and patience of my kind and hungry husband). Unsurprisingly it was not difficult and once I got to grips with the wind and the vents I was away.

So in case, like me, you have also spent the last decade watching the surrounding men receive compliments and back slaps for what is essentially your work - lighting a barbecue is not hard - at all.

Which brings me to this week’s menu which is honestly so delicious that I’ve made it two weekends running. THREE HERB CHICKEN WITH CHARRED SPRING ONION, PEA, MINT & ALMOND SALSA + ASPARAGUS ON AJO BLANCO

I served this with last weeks anchovy chive butter potatoes (the best potatoes you will ever eat) which you can also find in my new cookbook, Cooking Made Simple. It’s currently 24% off on Amazon too.

GET YOUR COPY

Note: This post contains a lot of pictures, which means it may appear clipped in an email. If you’re struggling to view it press VIEW IN BROWSER at the top right of the email and you’ll see it in one.

Hi to those of you who are new here too! I am so grateful that you are reading this and hope that you are enjoying the recipes. A reminder that if you are a paid subscriber you have access to the full recipe archive. If you’ve opted for a free subscription you’ll receive one post a month. If you’d like access to my entire recipe archive plus exclusive guides full access is £5.00 per month or £50.00 a year (which works out as just £4.16 a month). You can pause or cancel your subscription at any time.

This one is for paid subscribers. If that’s you already, thank you!! Your support goes right back into my work developing recipes, shooting videos, and writing about all of it. Scroll down for the recipe and scroll all the way down for a printable PDF.

THE RECIPES

I tend to serve the asparagus room temperature so get it on the barbecue first along with the spring onions (for the chicken) whilst the coals are still quite hot as the idea is fast hot cooking here with the aim to get a bit of char. Ideally you want to let the barbecue to about 160 degrees by the time the chicken goes on. If it rains and the barbecue is a no-go cook it in the oven at 200 degrees for 20-25 mins.

THREE HERB CHICKEN WITH CHARRED SPRING ONION PEA, MINT & ALMOND SALSA

Usually I am a skin on bone in thigh girl but I’ve gone for skinless boneless thighs here because they cook quicker which means the herbs won’t burn. There are a lot of herbs in this marinade and too hot or too long on the heat would simply mean they’d frazzle off. Using this cut of chicken means the herbs still have some colour and all their flavour. I tend to marinade overnight sometimes longer. I would say minimum an hour (out of the fridge) OR up to 24 hours.

Read more