Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

 "The Vulcanus is an intriguing piece of kit and I thoroughly enjoyed having it in my garden this summer. It offers a centerpiece to gather round, a social cooking experience and it's incredibly fun and versatile to use." - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

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Seared Veg with Hummus and Dukka (Serves 4)

Ingredients

1 Hispi cabbage
8–12 young onions, or large spring onions, or baby leeks
4–6 small courgettes

Hummus

400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 250g cooked chickpeas or split peas)
150–200g cooked beetroot or carrot (optional)
1 tbsp nut butter
Zest and juice of (up to) 1 lemon
A scrap of garlic, grated
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dukka

30g hazelnuts, roughly bashed
30g pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds or a mix
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
Pinch of chilli flakes
Sprig of fresh mint, chopped

Dressing

Olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 lemon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Allergy Information
This recipe contains nuts which some people may be allergic to.
Please check carefully before preparing or serving this dish.

I love searing veg to get nice, charred and rich caramelised edges. Serving a big platter of seared veg with a creamy hummus and scattering of dukka (a North African blend of toasted seeds, nuts and spices) makes a real feast of it.
As with the scallops you can vary the veg – little gem lettuces, asparagus, slices of kohlrabi and fennel can all be used.

Hummus method

• Put the drained chickpeas into a food processor with the nut butter, lemon zest and juice of half the lemon, garlic, a pinch of salt
and a twist of pepper. Blitz to a coarse puree, then keep blending, trickling in the olive oil. If necessary, trickle in a little water too, to achieve a loose, spoon-able texture. Season to taste, adding an extra squeeze of lemon.

Dukka method

• Set a small, heavy-based frying pan on the Vulcanus® to pre-heat for a few minutes. Add the nuts and pumpkin/sunflower seeds to the pan and toast them for 2–3 minutes, shaking the pan regularly so they get toasted and start to colour a bit.

• While the seeds and nuts are toasting, lightly crush all the spice seeds using a pestle and mortar – breaking rather than grinding the spices; leaving a few whole seeds is fine.

• Add these to the pan of nuts and seeds, along with the salt, pepper and chilli flakes.

• Continue to heat for 2–3 minutes, moving or turning the mix now and then – you’re toasting the nuts and spices, almost-but-not-quite burning them (and beware, the small seeds/spices burn quite easily). When done, tip onto a plate and set aside to cool.

Seared veg method

• Slice the cabbages lengthways into six or eight wedges, cut larger onions in half lengthways – regular spring onions can be left whole. Slice the courgettes lengthways into 3 or 4 slices, 2–3mm thick.

• Lay the veg down onto the (pre-heated) Vulcanus® grill.

• Turn vegetables when slightly charred (keeping the stalky edges of the cabbage nearer to the fire as they’ll need a bit more heat to cook through).

• You can make the dukka on the Vulcanus® as above while the veg is cooking.

• Create the dressing in the serving platter by trickling the olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice onto the serving dish and seasoning with a few slithers of garlic, a pinch of salt and a twist of pepper.

• Remove the veg from the grill once cooked and place on top of the dressing on the serving platter, tossing well.

• Finish with a final trickle of olive oil, sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of lemon.

• Generously dab hummus onto the platter of grilled vegetables.

• Once the dukka is cooled, stir in the ribboned mint, sprinkle generously over the platter of hummus-dressed veg and serve.

Seared Scallops with Broad Beans, Fennel and Chorizo (Serves 4)

Ingredients

12–16 scallops
20–30 small young broad bean pods
4 small fennel bulbs

‘Tupperware chorizo’

750g pork shoulder, coarsely minced
1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
1 tsp hot smoked paprika
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp/10g fine sea salt
1 tsp fennel seeds
Good pinch cayenne pepper
Splash of red wine
Freshly ground black pepper
A little oil for frying

Seasoning for scallops

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Chilli flakes
Pinch of salt

Dressing
Generous trickle of olive oil
Good squeeze of lemon

Allergy Information
This recipe contains fish which some people may be allergic to. Please check carefully before preparing or serving this dish.

The combination of pork and shellfish is classic in Iberian cooking and works brilliantly on the Vulcanus® grill. The veg element can vary with the seasons. Asparagus, green beans, wedges of little gem lettuce or hispi cabbage, courgettes and aubergines can all be used.

You can use a bought chorizo and grill thick slices, but the Tupperware chorizo’ is fun to make, and a really useful recipe to have up your sleeve. You’ll have some leftover from these quantities.

‘Tupperware chorizo’ method

It’s best to make this the day before, or at least a few hours in advance, as the flavours develop.

• Put all the ingredients except the oil into a bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands, squishing the mix through your fingers to distribute the seasoning evenly.

• Heat a little oil in a frying pan, break off a small piece of the mixture, shape into a tiny patty and fry for a few minutes on each side, until cooked through.

• Taste to check the seasoning, remembering that the flavours will develop further as the mixture matures. If you’re a heat fiend, you can add more cayenne or hot smoked paprika and black pepper.

• Cover the mixture and store in the fridge for a few hours, before using; this will allow the flavours time to develop. It will keep for about 2 weeks in a covered container.

Seared scallops method

Place the broad beans roughly in the middle of the Vulcanus® grill to steam the beans in their pods. Turn them every few minutes as the other ingredients cook.

• Place the fennel on the grill right by the middle of the fire pit.

• Season the scallops with chopped garlic, chilli flakes, a pinch of salt and a tiny trickle of oil.

• Flip the fennel once slightly charred brown on the underside.
• Flip the broad beans.

• Dress the final serving dish with a trickle of olive oil, salt, pepper and a good squeeze of lemon.

• Put the fennel into the final serving dish and turn lightly in the dressing.

• Hand press about 150g (a generous handful) of the ‘Tupperware chorizo’ into 8–10 small patties and place on hot edge of the grill (i.e. where the fennel was cooking).

• Place the scallops onto the grill next to/among the chorizo, so the spicy fat from the chorizo runs into the scallops.

• Flip the chorizo patties when nicely browned on the underside and push a bit further out on the grill.

• Move the scallops to where the chorizo patties were.

• Break up the patties into chunky crumbs on the grill.

• Turn the scallops after a couple of minutes and keep moving the scallops and patty pieces in and amongst each other to share the flavours.

• Scoop the scallops and chorizo off the Vulcanus® and into the final serving dish.

• Take the beans off the Vulcanus® grill and place them on a plate to cool for a few minutes.

• Tumble the scallops, chorizo and fennel in the final serving dish.

• Take the beans out their pods and scatter over the dish.

• Tumble again and serve, with a final squeeze of lemon juice.