Sides and salads

When we sit high up on our terrace in the evening looking across the bay to Xemxija, watching the flickering barbecues on the water’s edge, we thank our lucky stars that we live in such a benevolentclimate.

Outdoor cooking for us is a treat we never tire of – and if we ever need reminding how lucky we are, we only have to switch the television on and watch those wind-blown Sky News reporters sheltering under umbrellas – in July!

We’ve abandoned our gas grill after many years, and finally gone back to what the purists call ‘proper’ barbecuing.

Although it takes nearly an hour to heat the coals instead of fiveminutes with gas, I have to say everything tastes delicious. We barbecue anything and everything – sausages, hamburgers, pork, steak, chicken, quail, swordfish and tuna. My husband has one of those wire contraptions for cooking a whole fish which is fine, but the novelty soon wears off when he comes to clean it.

Cooking meat or fish is easily done, but then you have to think about vegetables or salads to accompany them. I have a couple of potato recipes which seem to work quite well. The one with sweet potatoes is fairly labour-intensive for the cook in that they have to be watched and turned frequently so they cook evenly and don’t char, but with their cheesy dressing they are well worth the effort.

Alternatively, you can cook them in the oven. Incidentally, the dressing also makes a good dip for sticks of raw vegetables. The new potato one is no problem – just put the dishes on the barbecue and turn the potatoes occasionally.

As for salads: canned beans, chickpeas, lentils, couscous, pasta or whatever, together with a large selection of salad leaves and fresh herbs can all be mixed and matched, so we should never be short of ideas. I adore rocket and I’m afraid it turns up more frequently in my recipes than it probably should.

The one place I found that served the best and simplest rocket salad was the late lamented Magic Kiosk in Sliema – just toasted Maltese bread, drizzled with oil and topped with a big handful of rocket and a pile of diced tomatoes – delicious. My bruschetta and artichoke salad is a slightly more elaborate tribute to that. It’s also perfect for ladies who lunch.

When the main course is over, the coals are usually still hot enough for cooking something sweet. Slices of fresh ripe pineapple brushed with honey, grilled until browned and served with ice-cream are good, as are chunks of pineapple, banana and peach made up into fruit kebabs on bamboo sticks.

Or try S’mores, the American campfire treat. Spear a large marshmallow on a bamboo stick, then toast it over hot coals until slightly squidgy and brown all round. Put two thin squares of chocolate on to a digestive biscuit and carefully top with the hot marshmallow. Add another biscuit to make a sandwich, wait a few seconds for the marshmallow to melt the chocolate, then enjoy. The little people will love them – so will the big ones.