Recipes for tasty side dishes at your summer barbecue

Put these tasty accompanying dishes to the test at your next barbecue

Barbecued sweetcorn with black bean guacamole

(serves two)

These gently spiced ears of grilled corn and creamy guacamole are perfect for al fresco dining

INGREDIENTS

2 sweetcorn cobs

1tbsp pumpkin seeds

A few pinches of chilli powder

1 avocado

2 vine tomatoes

400g tin of black beans

1 lime

A handful of coriander

150g soured cream

75g natural tortilla chips

Green salad, to serve

METHOD

Put a large pan of salted water on to boil. Light your barbecue, if you’re using it. Pull the leaves and silks off the sweetcorn cobs. When the water is boiling, add the corn cobs and simmer for 5 mins. Drain and leave the cobs to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, set a dry frying pan over a medium heat. Tip in the pumpkin seeds and dust in ½ tsp salt and a small pinch of chilli powder. Dry fry for 2-3 mins till the seeds pop, shaking the pan while they cook. Tip into a small bowl. Set aside.

Halve the avocado and discard the stone. Scoop out the flesh and roughly chop it. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Drain and rinse the black beans. Mix them all together in a large bowl. Zest and juice the lime. Reserve the zest for later. Pour the lime juice into the bowl. Gently mix together. This is your black bean guacamole. Set aside.

Pick the leaves from the coriander sprigs. Finely chop the stalks. Spoon the soured cream into a small bowl. Stir in the chopped coriander stalks and the lime zest. Season with a little salt. Set aside.

Mix ½ tbsp oil with a pinch of chilli powder. Lay the sweetcorn cobs in a large dish and pour over the spicy oil. Rub all over the cobs to coat. Pop them on the barbecue or under the grill for 10 mins. Turn regularly till charred. Transfer the cooked sweetcorn to a serving platter.

Spoon the soured cream over the cobs and sprinkle with the toasted pumpkin seeds. Serve with the guacamole, tortilla chips and green salad. Scatter over the coriander leaves to garnish.

Recipe courtesy of abelandcole.co.uk

Pear, blue cheese and walnut salad. (Image: Opies)

Caramelised pear, blue cheese & pickled walnut salad

(serves two)

This tangy, crunchy salad is sure to become a favourite make all year round

INGREDIENTS

For the dressing

50ml buttermilk

50g soured cream

50g mayonnaise

1tsp white wine vinegar

75g blue cheese, crumbled

Couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce

For the salad

2 small pears

15g muscovado sugar

Knob of butter

4 Opies pickled walnuts, sliced into rounds

1tbsp sunflower seeds

2 large handfuls of mixed leaf lettuce

METHOD

In a small bowl mix together all the dressing ingredients until smooth and season with black pepper.

Slice the pear into thin slices. Add the butter to a frying pan on a medium heat, wait until foaming and add the slices of pear, ensuring they aren’t overlapping (you may have to do this in two batches). Sprinkle over the sugar and allow to fry for three minutes until golden and the sugar is caramelised. Flip the slices and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and allow to cool.

Toss together the salad leaves with the pickled walnuts and sunflower seeds with two tablespoons of dressing until the leaves are well coated.

Divide onto two plates, top with the pear slices and an extra drizzle of dressing.

Recipe courtesy of bennettopie.com

Tomato and Pesto couscous (Image: Sacla)