Gill’s fire-roasted veg
Serves 6 as a starter or side
12 small, fresh beetroot, with the leafy tops if possible
6 medium-sized new season onions
2 little gem lettuces
A large bunch of dill, chopped
1-2 tbsp olive oil
A good sprinkle of dried chilli flakes
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Prepare your fire (check out Gill’s Next Level Wood-Fired Cooking course for tips). It should have a bed of smoky hot embers.
Set the grill in place; you’ll know the temperature is right when you can hover your hand above it for 2 seconds at most.
Arrange the beetroot on the grill and cook for 30–40 minutes or until tender when pierced with a knife, turning them regularly as they cook. The tops will smoke and burn, but this all adds to the theatre and the flavour. Don’t worry if the beetroot blacken.
About 15 minutes into the beetroot cooking, put the spring onions on the grill without any oil. When both are nicely charred and slightly softened remove from the fire.
Quarter your lettuces (or cut into wedges) and brush the cut side of the lettuces with a little of the oil and place on the hot grill. After a minute or so, turn them over. Remove from the fire.
Place the beetroot and onions in a dish with the grilled lettuce wedges. Add plenty of salt and pepper, a little olive oil and chopped dill, chilli flakes and lemon zest and tumble together. Bring to the table.
Looking for more outdoor cooking ideas?
More and more people are enthused by the idea of cooking outside over fire. Not only can you create the most incredible food, it also helps us reconnect with nature and the world around us. It’s a very mindful and rewarding experience and something we should all try to do a little more often.
During this course you will learn everything you need to know about outdoor cooking. You will be taken right back to basics, how to get your fire going, manage fuel and heat as well as all the variables involved Once you have got to grips with principles of cooking over the fire, you’ll be shown how to use a wood oven, the hangai (earth oven) and be led through the possibilities offered by ember based cooking.
River Cottage's Gill Meller elevates cooking in the great outdoors to the next level, you'll learn how to be confident cooking outside and using fire to cook your food.
Gill will teach you how to cook fresh fish on the beach, how to create and cook meat using a spit and inspire you with new recipes for cooking wood-fired veg. You'll also learn how to build a wood fire, cook with fire safely and how to extinguish a fire once you've finished cooking.
We all know we should eat more vegetables and plant-based food for our health and for the health of the planet. So how do you make sure they are always delicious?
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall teaches you how make delicious veg dishes and how to be more creative using veg in your cooking.
As one of the courses making up the River Cottage Cooking Diploma 'Much More Veg' will teach you how you can transform local, seasonal plant-based produce into vegetable dishes that will be every bit as delicious as they are good for you.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall shows you how to make seasonal fresh veg and fruit exciting, inviting and down-right tempting, for even most staunch veg sceptics, in his Next Level Much More Veg online course with Learning with Experts.
You'll learn how to be creative with your veg and create a complete vegetarian dinner from starter through main courses to veg based desserts.
As one of the courses making up the River Cottage Next Level Cooking Diploma 'Next Level Much More Veg' will teach you how you can make a feast from local, seasonal vegetables.
River Cottage's Gill Meller elevates cooking in the great outdoors to the next level, you'll learn how to be confident cooking outside and using fire to cook your food.
Gill will teach you how to cook fresh fish on the beach, how to create and cook meat using a spit and inspire you with new recipes for cooking wood-fired veg. You'll also learn how to build a wood fire, cook with fire safely and how to extinguish a fire once you've finished cooking.