Father’s day bbq

Helen Graves is a food writer who specialises in cooking over fire. She co-founded an indie magazine and writes the Serious Sandwiches newsletter. Her newest book, BBQ Days, BBQ Nights was released in May.

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Chicken wings or long-stem broccoli with a grapefruit, tamarind & lime leaf dressing

Makrut lime leaves are key to the flavour of this aromatic dressing, and they do need to be fresh rather than dried. Buy them in Southeast Asian grocery shops in the freezer section, in larger supermarkets or online, then stash them in your own freezer where they’ll keep for yonks. This dish really pings around your palate – perfumed lime, sweet honey and sour tamarind, plus plenty of vibrant herbs. It’s very much ‘my kind of food’ and should have people licking their fingers after they’ve swooped them across the plate.

SERVES 4 PREP 15 mins plus at least 15 mins infusing COOK 1 hr MORE EFFORT

15 chicken wings, jointed to make
30 pieces, or 400g long-stem
broccoli
neutral oil, for cooking
1 red chilli, very thinly sliced
handful of mint leaves, roughly
chopped
handful of coriander leaves

For the dressing

200ml pink grapefruit juice (from
about 2 pink grapefruits)
10 fresh lime leaves, torn
3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
with the side of a knife
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp tamarind paste
3 tsp honey

For the quick pickled shallots

50ml rice vinegar
2 tsp caster sugar
2 small shallots, peeled and sliced
into thin rings

1First make the dressing. Put the grapefruit juice, lime leaves and garlic in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, then set aside to infuse for at least 15 mins or up to 1 hr, if possible. Strain to remove the lime leaves and garlic.

2For the quick pickled shallots, combine the rice vinegar, sugar and 1 tsp sea salt with 120ml hot water and stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Add the shallot rings and set aside.

3Add the fish sauce, tamarind and honey to the grapefruit juice mixture and return to a high heat until reduced by half. Pour a quarter of the dressing into a separate bowl.

4When you’re ready to cook, prepare a barbecue with the coals positioned in the centre, or if using broccoli, you can just bank the coals to one side.

5If using chicken, rub the wings with a little oil and season with plenty of salt. Put on the barbecue in a ring around the coals – they should be close to the coals so that they