VEGIES ARE ALSO PART OF THE BARBECUE STORY

Some of you may doubt this, while others may doubt that I believe it myself. But vegetables ? cooked on the grill, of course ? are a vital part of the barbecue experience.

Those I especially like with my roasted or grilled meat or fish are:

?Potatoes, such as kestrels, which need to be scrubbed clean, pricked all over with a sharp fork or skewer, massaged with EV olive oil and pressed down and rolled in a bowl of sea salt crystals before roasting, covered, on a hot grill, for at least an hour. NEVER WRAP THESE IN FOIL.

?Corn, which should have the husk pulled back into a pony tail, the silk removed, and be roasted right on the grill with the husk protruding out of the barbecue from under the (closed!) lid. Turn the cobs by slightly lifting the lid and turning the husks, and the cobs will colour and roast in about 8 minutes. At which point them can be brushed with chipotle mayo and sprinkled with grated parmesan is you like, or simply served with a mixture of melted butter, lime juice and a touch of cayenne pepper poured over them.

?Mushrooms ? large, flat ones ? which should be wiped clean with a damp Chux (never washed) before being trimmed, oiled, seasoned and grilled whole. They can be finished, if you like, with my parsley compound butter which you fill find in either of my Heat & Smoke books. Place a disc of this inside the grill-side of each of the mushies for the second half of the cooking process and cook until them soften and shrivel slightly.

Or, finally:

?Zucchinis, a great vegie to barbecue. Wash three large ones and cut them across into 2cm discs which you can line up in groups of four or five on your cutting board before threading each row onto two, parallel metal skewers ? one down each side of the discs – to make them easy to turn on the grill. Oil and season them well with salt, pepper and EV olive oil and cook them for a few minutes a side on a hot grill, covered, until they grill-mark evenly. Serve a raft of these, still on their skewers, on each plate.