I can promise that my bread is delicious, and it’s well worth taking the time to let the chilli and garlic flavours infuse into the oil – possibly overnight. I left mine for a couple of hours and I got a quite mild taste but could see potential for flavour development.

This bread’s a bit of a mixture of ideas and recipes. I really love making Steph from Clockwork Lemon’s focaccia but looked around for some possible other olive oil recipes to use and found this one for Pompe à l’Huile and make hybrid mixture of the two; that is to say I used more of the ingredient make up of the pompe recipe but more of the technique of the focaccia, leaving it to develop in the fridge overnight rather than making a poolish. I found the dough very very slippery, so I added more flour than was specified in the pompe recipe.

The resultant bread is sweet with a hint of spicy flavour and gentle garlic overtones. I took it to work where it was dipped in balsamic and (more!) olive oil but Mr Lay the table made some delicious salami sandwiches with it.

{Makes one loaf}

Ingredients

• 500g white bread flour
• 250ml water
• 9g fresh yeast
• 70g granulated sugar
• 175ml olive oil
• 2tsp salt
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 long chillies (2 red, 1 green)

Instructions

1. To make the chilli and garlic oil, take one of the chillies and slice lengthways. Peel the garlic and press gently with the side of a knife. Place in a small saucepan with the olive oil. Warm VERY gently for a couple of minutes and then take off the heat. Leave to infuse for an hour or two, or overnight in a container in the fridge. If you leave it overnight, remember to get it out of the fridge and let the oil get to room temperature before using it.
2. In a large bowl (or mixer) add the flour, water and sugar together and crumble in the yeast.
3. Strain the olive oil to remove the chilli and any seeds plus the garlic. Then add a couple of tablespoons at a time into the dough, ensuring it’s well mixed before adding more.
4. Once it’s all well mixed, knead by hand (ok, you can use the mixer but I think you should put some love into this!) for about 10 minutes.
5. Place in a bowl and cover with cling film. Leave for an hour to rise and then gently press down into the dough with your knuckles to flatten.
6. Make dough ball and then press into a flattish circle and place on a baking tray. Peel and thinly slice the garlic and chop the two chillies. Decorate the top of the dough with the garlic and chilli slices and brush with olive oil.
7. Leave for 2 hours at room temparature, then cover loosely (to allow rise) with cling film and leave overnight in the fridge.
8. One hour before cooking, remove from the fridge and allow dough to come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 400°F/205°C and bake for around 25 minutes. To check whether it’s cooked, gently turn upside down and check the base to see whether it’s squishy or not. If it’s too squishy, it’s not cooked!
9. Leave to cool on a cooling rack

So nice I had to name them twice. (Sorry Levi Roots!) These have long been a BBQ staple in my house. I remember the long lazy weekends after I graduated, sitting on Southsea Common with my friends eating these. They’re so easy to make, but they key to the flavour is the overnight marination.

This recipe calls for overnight marination, to maximise the flavours absorbed by the chicken. If you only do it for an hour or so the taste tends to get overpowered by the flavours of the BBQ.

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts
• 1 clove garlic
• 1tbsp english mustard
• 4tbsp dark soy sauce
• 3tbsp honey
• 1tbsp oil
• Small handful fresh coriander
• Kebabs skewers

Instructions

1. Slice the chicken into strips in the direction of the grain.
2. Crush the garlic clove and chop the coriander finely.
3. Combine all the marination ingredients into a large bowl and mix well, then add the chicken. Leave to marinate at least overnight, I try to make it 24 hours.
4. If using wooden kebab skewers, soak them in water before use to prevent them burning on the BBQ.
5. Carefully thread the chicken onto the skewers. I spread out the meat so that it cooks quite quickly and ensures even cooking.
6. Depending on how hot your BBQ is and how much meat is on each st, the chicken should take 5-10 minutes to cook. Always check they are cooked through before serving!

I remember trying samphire last year on my summer visit to Norfolk and I haven’t got it out of my brain since. I got mine from the little fish hut on the quay at Wells-Next-The-Sea – it came in a huge bag for a bargainous £2. Samphire has a very short season, which is around late June until the end of July. I can’t find any nutritional information about samphire, but I think it’s quite high in iron.

If you haven’t tried it before, I can only describe the texture as like spaghetti, it’s very smooth and salty to boot. Here’s my recipe with a pinch more flavour, but it’s still good with plain ol’ butter.

17mins – Prep time: 5mins – Cooking time: 12mins

{Serves 2 as a sidedish}

Ingredients

• 200g samphire
• 4 rashers bacon
• 1 clove garlic, pressed or finely chopped
• 3tbsp butter
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 1tbsp fresh lemon juice
• Black pepper to taste

You’ll need a steamer for this!

Ingredients

1. Cut roots from samphire and any brown looking stalks as these are hard to chew once cooked.
2. Cut the excess fat from the bacon rashers and then cut into small pieces.
3. Steam the samphire for 8 minutes. Whilst it’s cooking, heat 1tbsp butter with the olive oil on a high heat and fry the bacon for a couple of minutes, then add in the garlic. Continue frying until the bacon starts to become crispy.
4. Once the samphire is cooked, add it to the pan with the remaining butter and fry for a couple of minutes.
5. Finally, add the lemon juice and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.