One Easy Barbecue Menu

One Easy Barbecue Menu popped in my head as a free style of dinner gathering. Beautiful appetizers – Marinated Feta Cheese with Zucchini and Creamy Ham Salad, followed by Curry Pork Loin Skewers with Parmesan Baked Potatoes, finishing with Cinnamon Grilled Pineapple and Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. Yummy and yummy, everyone was satisfied. Success!

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes + few hours for the ice cream and meat marinade sit

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream to serve with:

200ml of double cream
1 vanilla pod, scraped of its seeds
2 egg yolks
30g of icing sugar, sifted
Pinch of orange zest

Curry Pork Loin Skewers:

500g of good quality pork loin, cleaned and diced
2 splashes of olive oil
1 teaspoon of sea salt, ginger, Provencal Herbs, satureja
1 tablespoon of quality Heinz Ketchup and curry powder
Pinch of ground black pepper

Creamy Ham Salad:

100g of quality ham, finely chopped
Few tablespoons of peas (fresh of jarred)
2 medium carrots, peeled, washed and cooked in hot boiling water until soft, finely chopped (canned optional)
2 anchovies, finely chopped
2 large pickles, finely chopped
1 large apple, washed, peeled, cleaned and diced
3 splashes of quality mayonnaise
Pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper

Parmesan Baked Potatoes:

5 medium potatoes, washed, peeled and diced
2 splashes of olive oil
1 teaspoon of sea salt, Provencal Herbs, smoked sweet paprika, parsley
Pinch of chili flakes and ground black pepper
2 handfuls of Parmesan Cheese, grated

Marinated Feta Cheese:

4-5 slices of good quality Feta Cheese, sliced
1 small zucchini, washed, cleaned and peeled
Pinch of dried oregano
Pinch of smoked sweet paprika powder

Cinnamon Grilled Pineapple:

4 large slices of ripe sweet pineapple
A knob of butter, melted
1 tablespoon of cane sugar and honey
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

You can, of course, do with any good quality ice cream from a store. However, there isn’t a comparison, let me be honest. The only problem you will have, it is never enough.
Follow the instructions as per my recipe My Appeltaart with Crème Anglaise.
Heat up double cream with vanilla pod and seeds in a small pot on medium heat.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with icing sugar until foamy white texture, for about 4 minutes on high-speed.
Take the pod out and very slowly start pouring the cream into the egg mix. Constantly whisk and pour it through a sieve.
Back on the heat. Add pinch of orange zest and mix until boiling point. Continue for about 2-3 minutes until it thickens.
Mold the mix into a plastic box through a sieve once again. This way you get a very smooth texture.
Freeze for about 4 hours. Mix from time to time with a metal spoon (after one hour, then repeat one more time). Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream, done.

Curry Pork Loin Skewers

Next, marinate the meat. In a metal bowl place olive oil, salt, ginger, Provencal Herbs, satureja, ketchup, curry powder and black pepper. Mix well with a balloon whisk and taste. Add pork loin and gently mix with a metal spoon until rubbed all over. Cover with a lid and refrigerate for couple of hours.

Creamy Ham Salad

Place all ingredients into a serving dish (ham, peas, carrots, anchovies, pickles and apple).
Stir in the mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper. Taste and taste. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Done.

Parmesan Baked Potatoes

You can also prepare them in advance. Place potatoes in a large bowl and sprinkle with olive oil, salt, Provencal Herbs, smoked paprika, parsley, chili flakes and black pepper. Mix with hands and stir in grated Parmesan Cheese. Refrigerate or bake immediately in preheated oven or a grill (180 degrees) for about 40 minutes. Done.

The Marinated Feta Cheese

Create a small “bed” from zucchini on a piece of aluminium foil. Layer with Feta Cheese and sprinkle with oregano. Opened, place on a grill or preheated oven, 200 degrees for about 15 minutes. The Cheese will get more firm and really delicious. Sprinkle with sweet paprika powder. Done.

Presentation

Before the serving, place Pork Loin Skewers on a grill. Roast them nicely on high heat for about 10 minutes. Done.

While everyone is enjoying the food, bring the pineapple. The best way how to storage it before serving is sliced in the fridge, covered with aluminium foil.
You can prepare the marinade in advance, so you really don’t have to do anything while eating or mix it just before serving. Place butter, sugar, honey and cinnamon in a small mixing bowl and whisk until sugar is dissolved. Brush slices of pineapple and throw them on grill on high heat for about 1 minute from each side. Enjoy it with a portion of Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream, beautifully melting on the top of pineapple.

Easy, refreshing and full of flavours! My Barbecue menu is done!

Makes 4 serves.