sad farewells; lamb skewers & mediterranean vegetable gratin

Devon has suffered a deluge and high winds which have served to curb our enthusiasm for outdoor cooking over recent times and alas and alack, the oven is off on its travels in a few days. Not being one to admit defeat I thought it only fit to bow out of the blog with a colourful contribution - food fit for summer (even if it isn't here). This is Mediterranean food, packed with flavour - and just a little contribution of tabbouleh salad from the indoor kitchen to round things off. The main course gratin served with focaccia being my vegetarian wood fired offering. And I was proud to make use of heaps of mint, parsley, rosemary, thyme and oregano from the garden (the mint is taking over...)

First up, simple lamb skewers... the grill trivet I used to cook the fish last time has proved useful and makes all barbecue food possible. Bearing in mind that the heat in the oven is very fierce, the skewers take very little time (these took around 8-10 minutes to get a good colour) it is essential to soak wooden skewers well or watch them go up in smoke, (or, as I did, play it safe and stick to steel ones). Remember also to make a marinade and set some of it aside to apply to the meat as it comes off the grill as the marinade that is on the meat will have succumbed by the time they are cooked. I boned and diced lamb shoulder meat as it has a lovely fat content that keeps the kebabs juicy, and marinated it for an hour in olive oil, crushed garlic, lemon juice, fresh rosemary, oregano and seasoning - together with some chunks of red pepper.

For tabbouleh salad, cook 200g of bulgar wheat with 400ml of water (follow the packet instructions), drain and allow to cool completely. Add to this diced tomato, diced cucumber, crushed and finely chopped garlic, lashings of lemon juice, and lots of finely chopped parsley and fresh mint and follow with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. The salad should be very green with herbs so we're talking large bunches of parsley and mint.

It's great served with crisp leaves of sweet romaine which you can spoon the salad into and eat outdoors as finger food - kebab in one hand, salad in t'other...

And now for the vegetarian gratin. Taking all the ingredients of a classic ratatouille it is assembled in a gratin dish and looks the biz. I have an ancient black iron gratin which works a treat in the outdoor oven. The heat had subsided a little after the kebabs but was still probably around 220°C - and that's ideal to give the uncooked layer of tomato, courgette and Parmesan crumb a gloriously golden roasting. To Make, you will need:

Ingredients

1 large onion, peeled & finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed & finely chopped
1 aubergine, trimmed & cut into 2cm dice
2 red peppers, trimmed & diced into 2cm chunks
2 large courgettes cut into thin, diagonal slices
4-6 firm but ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
1tbsp thyme leaves
olive oil
salt, pepper
50g grated Parmesan
25g fresh breadcrumbs
a handful of fresh oregano leaves

and a 28cm gratin dish

The first stage (cooking the first layer of ingredients) is better done inside on the stove, or you will be lifting a dish in and out repeatedly to stir fry the vegetables.

Method:

1 Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan and sauté the chopped onion and garlic for a few minutes to soften. Now add the diced aubergine and increase the heat to brown. Once colouring, add the diced red pepper and chilli flakes and cook a further few minutes until the vegetables are tender. Season to taste and spoon into the awaiting gratin dish. Level the vegetables with a spatula.

2 Starting at one end, patiently arrange the courgette and tomato slices in overlapping rows as per 'before' image, then drizzle with olive oil and scatter with thyme leaves. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to the wood fired oven. Bake for 15 minutes or so, until the surface vegetables are shrinking and colouring. Now toss the fresh breadcumbs with a little olive oil until glistening and remove the gratin and spread the crumbs and Parmesan liberally over the surface. Bake for a further 10-15 minutes until crisp and golden. Add the fresh oregano as you bring the gratin from the oven and serve with rosemary focaccia.

And on that delicious note I say farewell to this lovely oven. I'm without doubt that its next recipient will be as impressed as I, and will have their own memorable wood fired winners to blog about. I give big thanks to Ben and Celine for giving me the opportunity to get to know, and love, it for 2 months, and wish them every success. We, as a family, have had a good deal of pleasure from this beast and though it will be gone, it will not be forgotten.

Sandra Tate