My God, has it really been three months? To be fair, I’ve been sulking a little.

We recently witnessed a rugby tournament blessed with some outstanding games and moments of brilliance. Who can forget that incredible last gasp Japanese victory over South Africa? THAT Fijian try against Wales, the Scotland v Somoa game and just the sheer all round awesomeness of the All Blacks.

The hosts? Well we trudged off up to bed with a cup of cocoa whilst the party got started downstairs, grumpily asking for everyone to keep the bloody noise down.

I was lucky enough to get to a couple of games in Newcastle myself, watching South Africa v Scotland and the All Blacks’ Haka versus the Tongan Sipi Tau – spine-tingling stuff.

I have nowhere to go with this, I just wanted to mention the rugby and apologies for those who haven’t the faintest clue what I rambling on about.

So anyway, fish. Love it. When I get the chance, this is how I like it, unfussy and ready within 20 minutes, if you get a move on.

I’ve been really into the Nordic thing recently – very simple but strong flavours. This follows that ethic albeit with an Italian accent. The salsa verde pairs classically with meaty white fish like halibut so long as you don’t over do it. The charred little gem lettuce added a nice nutty element and a bit of texture too.

Serves 2

• Parsley and butter to serve
• 8-10 larger new potatoes.
• 2 Halibut portions – as fresh as can be.
• Butter and oil for frying

• 1 little gem lettuce, halved

• A few handfuls of peas and a quarter of sliced cabbage

For the salsa verde:

• 2 garlic cloves,
• A handful each of mint, basil and parsley
• 3 anchovy fillets
• 2 tsp capers
• Two gherkins
• 1-2 tsp mustard (dijon)
• A good lug of extra virgin olive oil
• Vinegar to taste
• Sea-salt to taste

Set an oven to 60°C (to keep things warm later)

Finely chop all the whole salsa verde ingredients.

Neatly peel and barrel the potatoes, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a frying pan, brush the little gem lettuce halves with oil and season with a pinch of  sea salt. Char in the pan until slightly wilted. Set aside in the oven.

Bash all the salsa verde ingredients, except the salt and vinegar in a pestle and mortar. Add the oil to make a loose sauce. I prefer it on the drier side though. Add the vinegar/salt to taste. You can adjust any of this to suit though. Set aside out the way.

For the last five minutes, I steam the peas and sliced cabbage over the potato pan. Set aside in the oven.

Drain the potatoes, and stir through some butter and chopped parsley. Put it in the oven with the rest.

Lastly, heat a pan of oil until smoking hot, season and fry the halibut skin side down until crispy. It’ll only take a few minutes. Reduce the heat and add the butter, basting the fish with it for a minute or two more. Flip the fillets carefully for a minute to finish and take it off the heat. Don’t overcook it.

Plate it all up with a nice sauvignon blanc from New Zeland – that’s two things they’re good at.

Well now, it’s nice to be writing about a subject dear to my heart once again.

I was recently speaking to some friends about ‘low and slow’ barbecuing, or rather smoking to be exact, a subject they know a lot more about than I do. Not that I don’t enjoy it, but it’s quite an art, and I really do mean that, as everything involved needs factoring into the equation –  equipment set-up, the wind strength, ambient temperature,  types of fuel, cut of meat, even breed of meat apparently (according the Pitt Cue Co). It all needs careful balancing – and that takes dedication. There are basic parameters, but after that you’re on your own.

The other thing about low and slow barbecuing that I’ve come to realise though, is that it’s a genius way to sit around the back garden on a Sunday whilst looking busy. Ushering the kids away from the Weber and keeping the heat set ‘just so’ is a responsible job. No time to cut that hedge or nip down the garden centre for me, no way, I’m far too busy.

Whilst I’m here, I may as well finish that Pale Ale I was saving in the back of the fridge too. Hectic I tell you.

The other weekend I managed to spend such a day cooking these beef ribs I’d found at a butchers. Amazing cut of meat, yet ugly enough to discourage the supermarkets and keep the costs reasonable. I normally braise them, but smoke and beef are such happy bed-fellows I just had to give this a go.

These took a good 7 hours on the barbecue using indirect heat with some hickory wood chips thrown in at the start. I got a fancy new grill which flips up at either end, allowing you to add more charcoal as needed. A life saver.  The cooking took a little longer than I expected to be fair, and needed pretty regular fresh charcoal interventions, but it was a pretty windy day for July, even by UK standards.

The ribs were brought out the fridge to come to room temperature whilst the coals were being lit and it was all systems go. I rubbed the beef with a fairly standard barbecue rub (well I think it is – hopefully any American readers will set me straight), of roughly equal quantities of salt, garlic and onion powders, black pepper, paprika with about twice the amount sugar and a good pinch of oregano.

Keeping the temperature at a steady 110ºC/230ºf there or thereabouts, as research dictated, I admit was tricky but achievable by fiddling with the air vents and the use of a thermometer. Once they reached an internal 65-70ºC/150-160ºF, they were done though, so that was my Holy Grail.

I tried to baste them with a little bbq sauce in between too, but not so much that I kept losing the heat. A tray of water was added for a little heat consistency – I’m not convinced that it keeps the meat from drying though as some suggested.

Just getting started. Wood chips soaking for use later.

Pretty much ready….

The result was a nice ‘bark’ (as I believe it’s called) with a strong but not overpowering smokiness from the hickory chips.

They would have been amazing on their own, but I tried some spiced, pureed butterbeans and rye toast –  it was a great match. A nice contract in texture and flavour. The beans were simply blitzed with gently fried garlic, plenty of butter and loosened with a little full milk. I only wish I made more.

It’s asparagus season in the UK again and predictably, from the moment I see it appear on the shelves I get an unholy urge to stock up. Not the stringy supermarket substitutes from Peru or Kenya (sorry Peruvians and Kenyans, but, you know..), no, the proper stuff, from Worcestershire – maybe Herefordshire at a push….

I’m encouraged to see my relatives back down home still take it as seriously as I do too. It’s good to know I’m not alone in this.

The tips are considered the best bit of course, but what to do with the rest of the stem I hear you ask? Oh, you didn’t, but I’ll tell you anyway – how about making a puree of the thicker end and cooking the rest on a griddle?

The two approaches make a nice contrast and was great with some nice fresh (albeit massive) hake fillets.

I flavoured the puree with the truffle mustard I found whilst back home a little while ago. As I mentioned before, it’s potent stuff, which I found surprising as I often find something ‘truffle flavoured’ generally, well, isn’t. Add a little crisped Parma ham and some sweet bang-in-season crushed Jersey Royals into the mix and it’s a nice balance of flavour and texture.

I’m sure you could make it a little more virtuous, by removing the butter, but where’s the fun in that?

• Two pieces of fresh hake. Must be fresh.
• A little flour
• A bundle of finest Worcestershire asparagus.
• A little single cream (100ml)
• 2 knobs of butter
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp truffle mustard, if you can get it.
• 2 sliced of Parma ham
• About 8 decent sized Jersey Royal potatoes
• Sea salt
• Oil

Boil the Jerseys in their jackets until just done. Put some plates in the oven to keep warm.

Trim the fat end of the asparagus and simmer in a small milk pan shallow water until nice and tender. Add the cream and truffle mustard and blitz in a blender. Return to the pan and gently simmer to reduce and thicken.

Meanwhile, get a griddle pan smoking hot. Cover the asparagus in oil and season with salt. Griddle until cooked and nicely charred.

Heat a heavy pan with some oil until smoking, dust the fish on both sides with flour and season well. Fry it skin side down, until nice and crisp. Be brave. Flip only for a minute or so to finish off and be careful not to overcook. If worried, use a thermometer to check it. Set aside on the warm plate.

Grill the Parma ham until crispy.

Gently crush the Jerseys and season with butter and a little salt. Mould them onto the plate with a ‘cheffy ring’.

Stir the rest of the butter through the puree and add it to the plate with the asparagus tips, hake and Parma ham.

Funny isn’t it, how things can change in an instant (or so it seems). My recent absence of updates/comments has been for good reason – we’re now the proud parent of two adopted girls.
I guess we’ve had long enough to get used to the idea but the first weeks were bizarre, fantastic and exhausting all in one go. They really are the most amazing little girls and have great appetites so whilst making them my chargrilled sardines with orange and fennel salad may be a little way off (say 30 years), I hold out hope that they won’t be quite as difficult with food as I was…

Still, bed comes early to them so I’ve been trying to rummage behind the whole milk, yogurt pots and “here’s some I made earlier” pasta sauces to find something for the adults.
The nights are drawing in fast, but I managed to get a last use of the gas grill recently to cook some great locally raised pork chops. They have some bone and a lovely thick layer of fat to keep the meat tender and create some good smoke, but care is still needed to stop it drying out. To accompany some lentils, cooked in good chicken stock with vegetables and smoked pancetta. Simple.

I got a big block the pancetta, inexplicably, just before we embarked on our new adventure and I’ve been trying to use it up ever since.

So in-between hiding vegetables by blitzing them and selling them to the girls as pasta sauce, and supplying an endless procession of Dora the Explorer and Peppa Pig, episodes, I’ll try and make the odd dish aimed more at us adults…

• Two good quality pork chops, with a layer of fat.
• 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 100g pancetta, chopped into lardons
• 2 sticks of celery, chopped thinly
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 100-150g green lentils
• 750ml good quality chicken stock – homemade if possible.
• A little oil
• Salt and pepper.

In a large pan with a lid, fry the garlic and pancetta gently in a little oil to release the fat. You could do the pancetta alone first to crisp it up, but you might burn the garlic and I want the garlic to make a nice flavoured ‘oil’.

Add the onion to soften, then the rest of the vegetables and finally the lentils.

Pour in the stock, bring to a boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes until tender.

Meanwhile, get the grill on. I used some lava block on the gas Weber these days to get a better smoke flavour without having like the charcoal. Brush the pork oil and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on the grill use a thermometer after 15 minutes or so to ensure that the chops are just cooked – 65ºC/150ºF should do it if its good quality. A bit of charring from the grill adds a lot.

Simply serve it up, pull the toys and mobile phones from behind the cushions and relax for another evening…..