Outdoor dining recipes

recipes OUTDOORS The Great

As lockdown lifts hopefully we will all be able to enjoy BBQs and meals with friends again. With this in mind, FRAN STEVENS, aka The Food Wife offers up some great recipes that are perfect for serving up outdoors.

As the weather gets warmer, substantial salads are great as a main meal. This Thai-inspired noodle and mince salad ticks the box. The dressing has the unmistakable saltiness from pungent fish sauce and the mince is fragrant with ginger, lemongrass and, if you can get them, lime leaves.

Lime leaves come in pairs, so the four stipulated in the ingredients will actually look like eight leaves. These can be tricky to get hold of regularly. I buy a box from the frozen section of the Asian supermarket. Kept in the freezer these last a long time and are on hand for whenever a recipe calls for them.

Ingredients For the mince: 1 tbsp (coconut) oil 750g lean mince (turkey or pork both work well) 2 inches of ginger, peeled and grated 3 sticks of lemon grass, finely chopped 4 lime leaves, finely chopped 3 tbsp soy sauce (gluten-free if required) For the salad: 200g glass noodles, soaked until soft and then drained 1 carrot, peeled into ribbons 1/2 red pepper, cut into strips 2 spring onions, finely sliced Lettuce, shredded For the dressing: 3 tbsp fish sauce 1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar 2 limes, juiced 2 tsp chilli flakes

Method Melt the coconut oil in a frying pan over a medium high heat. Add the mince and fry until browned and dry (there should be no liquid left in the pan). Add the ginger and lemongrass and cook for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Add the lime leaves and soy sauce and stir through until the pan is dry again. Remove from the heat.

Combine the dressing ingredients together.

In a large bowl, toss the noodles, salad ingredients and dressing together. Serve.

Thai-inspired Glass Noodle & Mince Salad Serves 4

Chickpea & Carrot Burgers Makes 4

I love a good veggie burger. Making your own is easy and these are made with ingredients you probably have in your store cupboard or fridge. Crushing half of the chickpeas provides texture, whilst blitzing the other half creates what you need to bind these together. These contain no flour, egg or dairy and so are suitable for a gluten-free, dairy-free or vegan diet.

Ingredients 2 tins of chickpeas, drained (reserve 1 tbsp of liquid) 2 medium/1 large carrot, grated 2 spring onions, finely sliced 2 heaped tsp ground cumin 1 heaped tsp smoked paprika ½ tsp dried oregano 1 tsp garlic powder Salt and Pepper

Method Take half the chickpeas and use a potato masher to roughly crush them (some will remain practically whole, others will squish a little). This will give the texture in the burgers.

With the other half of the chickpeas, along with the tablespoon of reserved liquid, blitz into a smooth paste.

Now combine both types of chickpeas along with the grated carrot, sliced spring onions, spices, garlic (use two crushed cloves if you don’t have any powder) and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Taste a little of the mix to check the seasoning.

Use your hands to divide into four and shape into patties. They should be about an inch thick and about four inches wide.

Place on a non-stick baking sheet and cover before placing in the fridge until needed (this will help them to firm up).

When ready to cook, spray or wipe a little oil in the tops of them (I also put a spritz on their bottoms) and bake in a 200°C fan oven for 25 minutes.

Serve in a fluffy bun with lettuce and slices of tomato, along with a sauce of your choice for a full on burger experience. Or go for a skinny burger by serving without the bun (in which case I serve two patties!) These are lovely with sweet potato wedges and a side salad.

Roasted Peppers Makes 4 These are such a joy to eat in the summer, they are great as part of a lunch with salads and also make an excellent filling for a sandwich (although don’t make it too far in advance as it can go soggy, and no-one likes a soggy sandwich). I quarter the peppers and would suggest this quantity would serve 2-4 people. They’ll keep a few days in the fridge too so perfect to make in advance. These are both vegan and gluten-free.

Ingredients 2 large bell peppers (any colour but green) 8 cherry tomatoes, halved 16 small basil leaves (Garlic-infused) oil Salt and pepper

Method Preheat your oven to 175°C fan. Prepare the peppers by slicing each in half down the stalk. Carefully remove the stalk and seeds. With a knife carefully cut out any fleshy white pith. Slice each half in half again (top to bottom) and lie on a baking tray.

Put two tomato halves in each piece of pepper along with two basil leaves.

Drizzle a tiny amount of (garlic) oil over each pepper and a little salt and pepper.

Carefully transfer the baking tray to the oven (make sure nothing falls off the peppers!) and roast for 45-55 minutes. They should be soft with a slight char at the edges. Delicious hot or cold.

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OPEN GARDEN

The Hall, home to the late Dr Alex Moulton, is reopening for visitors this spring.

The Hall is reopening from 16 April

The Alex Moulton Charitable Trust are pleased to announce plans to re-open the historic grounds of The Hall, home to the late Dr. Alex Moulton, to visitors once again as lockdown restrictions ease. Open Garden events will take place on Fridays from 2pm to 5pm, beginning on 16 April, running weekly until the end of September. Details of other exciting events, including the reopening of The Hall itself for tours, will be announced in the coming months.

The Hall is a hidden gem located in central Bradford on Avon with a historic Jacobean house and beautiful grounds to explore, the Trust’s Open Garden events give visitors the chance to learn about the unique history of the estate and the Moulton family, and provides a beautiful and tranquil setting for relaxation, picnics and leisurely ambles – plus, dogs on leads are welcome too!

To ensure visitors’ safety, staff at the Trust have been working hard to ensure social distancing and sanitation measures are in place ready for re-opening. Visitors are encouraged to book in advance via moultontrust.org/whats-on, but can also purchase tickets on the gate via contactless payment.

Steve Missen, Chairman of the Trust says “Visitors to the Open Gardens can expect to see mature Redwoods, manicured Yews, fascinating architecture and winding pathways. Left to explore the gardens at their leisure, visitors can learn about The Hall and the Moulton family. We can’t wait to share the grounds and their stories with the public and to offer a lovely space for visitors to enjoy in Bradford on Avon once again”.

The Alex Moulton Charitable Trust are committed to the ongoing conservation of The Hall estate and to restoring the grounds to their former glory with the help of their loyal group of volunteers and the support of visitors – every ticket for an Open Grounds event and donation goes to help the Trust maintain this beautiful place for future visitors to enjoy.

As for so many, the pandemic created many challenges for the Trust severely reducing its annual income, and it has created a number of opportunities for visitors to contribute to the continued care of The Hall and grounds, including volunteering, donating and a new plant sponsorship scheme. For more information on ways to support, please visit moultontrust.org.

The Trust is responsible for the upkeep, conservation and promotion of The Hall, its grounds, wider estate and collection. Home of the late Dr Alex Moulton (famed for creating the Moulton Bicycle and innovative car suspension systems), The Hall is of great importance to Britain’s industrial and engineering heritage. Alex’s great-grandfather, Stephen Moulton was responsible for bringing rubber manufacture to the small Wiltshire town of Bradford on Avon in the 1840s from America, instigating Britain’s booming rubber industry.

• moultontrust.org

"The Hall is a hidden gem located in central Bradford on Avon with a historic Jacobean house and beautiful grounds to explore"