photographs ELLA MILLER
Ed Smith is an award-winning cook and author of Welcome to Our Table, a children’s cookbook about how food is cooked and eaten around the world. His latest book, Crave, is out now. @rocketandsquash
Ilike to ba rbecue as often as possible over the summer, and not just for par ties and gatherings. You could sca le up any of the dishes here to suit those bigger events, but this menu is nicely contained and neatly feeds my sma ll family. Some of the ingredients a re sha red bet ween recipes to avoid wa ste (the buttermilk, lemon and a lmonds, for example). A nd, although there are a few stages to each one, ever y thing is quick to prepa re and often just requires assembly. The cook ing can be done in a sma ll to medium ba rbecue. To time things right, put the sweet potatoes in the embers when the coa ls are nearly at white-hot cook ing stage, then put a grill on top and cha r the peaches before cook ing the chicken. You could a lso add some shop-bought flatbreads and/or oven chips to the mix.
Paprika buttermilk chicken & courgette skewers
Brining chicken in buttermilk is an excellent way to ensure these skewers remain succulent, rather than burnt on the outside and undercooked in the centre.
SERVES 4 PREP 30 mins plus at least 2 hrs chilling COOK 15 mins EASY
200ml buttermilk
1¼ tsp sweet smoked paprika
½ tsp Aleppo pepper