Vegetables in ashes with smoked tomato salsa
Use a double layer of coals to start the barbecue so they
will be deep enough to make a bed for the foil-wrapped vegetables. While these
are cooking, make the smoked tomato salsa on the grill rack above.
Prepare a barbecue with plenty of coals. Wrap the garlic,
squash and onions separately in a double layer of heavy-duty foil, leaving them
open. Wrap the potatoes in pairs, with one sweet and one ordinary potato. Drizzle
a little oil over the contents of each packet, season well and pop in an herb
sprig. Spray with a little water and scrunch up the foil to secure the parcels.
Once the flames have died down and the coals are hot, or
with a light coating of ash, place the parcels on top of them, noting what goes
where, if possible. The garlic will take 20 minutes to cook, the squash 30
minutes, the onions 45 minutes and the potatoes 1 hour. As each vegetable
cooks, remove the parcel and wrap in an extra layer of foil to keep warm. Set
aside. Shortly before serving, loosen the tops of all the parcels, except the
garlic, and put them all back on the coals so the vegetables dry out a little
before serving.
Meanwhile, make the tomato salsa. Put a lightly oiled grill
rack in place to heat. Sprinkle the tomatoes with sugar, chili flakes and
seasoning. Place them on the grill rack above the vegetables and cook, covered,
for 5 minutes. Drain the hickory chips and place a small handful on the coals,
replace the cover and leave to smoke for a further 5 minutes. Add some more wood
chips and grill for 10 minute more, or until the tomatoes have dried a little.
Remove the tomatoes from the rack and spoon the flesh from the charred skins in
to a bowl, crush with a fork and mix in the other ingredients. Serve with the
vegetables.
Serves 4-6
2 small whole heads of garlic
2 butternut squash, about 450g/1lb each, halved lengthways
and seeded
4-6 onions, about 115g/4oz each, with a cross cut in the top
of each
4-6 baking potatoes, about 175g/6oz each
4-6 sweet potatoes, about 175g/6oz each
45ml/3 tbsp olive oil
Fresh thyme, bay leaf and rosemary sprigs
Salt and ground black pepper
2 handfuls of hickory wood chips soaked in cold water for at
least 30 minutes
For the tomato salsa
500g/1 ¼ lb tomatoes, quartered and seeded
2.5ml/ ½ tsp sugar
A pinch of chili flakes
1.5ml/ ¼ tsp smoky sweet chili powder
30ml/2 tbsp good quality tomato chutney |
