Have You Heard?! Book Excerpt: Grill by Pippa Cuthbert & Lindsay Cameron Wilson

Grilling meltingly tender, marinated lamb chops is one of life's simple pleasures.

1 cup (20g) cilantro, roughly chopped
6 Tbsp brown sugar
4 Tbsp dark soy sauce
4 Tbsp mirin, Chinese rice wine or sherry
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
16 single-rib lamb chops

Combine the cilantro, brown sugar, soy sauce, mirin and garlic in a shallow baking dish. Add the chops, turning well to coat in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for up to 24 hours.

Preheat the grill or grill pan to very hot. Brush with oil. Grill the chops to taste (4-6 minutes on each side for medium) until the edges are browned and caramelized. Transfer the chops to a platter and allow to rest for 2-3 minutes before serving with grilled potatoes and a green salad or steamed green beans.

A hot grill coupled with a crispy, "blackened" crust adds a fiery, Cajun touch to halibut. New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme is to thank for putting "blackening" on the culinary map.

For the rub:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried thyme
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp hot paprika
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp fennel seeds, toasted and roughly chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

4 halibut fillets, 7oz (200g) each
Olive oil, for brushing
1 lime, quartered

Combine the ingredients for the rub in a small bowl. Place the halibut fillets in a shallow baking dish and brush with oil. Pat the rub all over the fish. Season with more salt and pepper. Cover and chill for up to 1 hour, in the refrigerator.

Preheat the grill or grill pan to hot. Brush the grill bars well with oil. Grill the fillets for 2-2½ minutes on each side until charred and just cooked through. Serve immediately with a squeeze of lime.

Chimichurri is a fresh herb-and-vinegar mixture used in Argentinean cuisine both for basting grilled meats and as a condiment. It's incredible with steak, as you will see!

1 cup (250ml) extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp chopped thyme
2 Tbsp chopped oregano
2 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbsp chopped rosemary
1 chipotle chilli in adobo sauce, chopped
1 Tbsp sweet Spanish paprika
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
½ tsp sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1lb 50z (600g) top sirloin steak about 1 in (2.5cm) thick

Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan until hot. Remove from the heat and set aside. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the steak, stir, and leave at room temperature to cool and infuse for 1 hour.

Pour one quarter of this marinade into a dish and add the steak, turning several times to coat. Reserve the remaining marinade to serve with the cooked steak. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat the grill or grill pan to very hot and cook the steak for 2 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Transfer the steak to a chopping board and loosely cover with foil. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes before thinly slicing across the grain.

All the juices and oils from the chorizo ooze out while cooking, leaving the shrimp succulent and spicy.

12 large shrimp
1 Tbsp harissa paste (optional)
2 chorizo sausages, about 6oz (150g) each
12 fresh bay leaves
1 Tbsp olive oil
12 short skewers, soaked in wood or bamboo

Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the small tail ends still attached. Rub over the harissa paste evenly and set aside. Slice the chorizo into ½-in (1½-cm) thick slices. Place 1 chorizo slice into the crook of each shrimp and thread onto a skewer. Add a bay leaf to each skewer and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Preheat the grill or grill pan to medium-hot. Brush the skewers with a little olive oil and cook for 5-6 minutes, turning once, or until the shrimp are translucent and the chorizo cooked through. Serve immediately.

For the dressing:
3 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp grated lime rind
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
½ tsp extra-fine sugar
Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Chop both the sweet potato and mango flesh into long wedges, about ¾-in (2cm) wide, ½-in (1 cm) thick. Place in separate dishes.

Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and pour half over the mango and potato.

With tongs in hand, arrange sweet potato wedges directly over the grill and leave for 6-8 minutes, until grill marks appear and the bottom sides begin to soften. Turn and grill the other side for a further 6 minutes. While the other sides are cooking, arrange the mango wedges directly on the grill. Grill for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Transfer all the wedges to a cutting board and cut into cubes. Place them in a bowl and toss with the remaining dressing.

Arrange lettuce leaves on salad plates. Scatter the sweet potato and mango over the lettuce and add a sprinkling of sea salt and finely sliced mint.

I'll never forget the day I first tasted grilled angel food cake with a dollop of chocolate cream. Nothing has really been the same since. Of course you can make your own cake if you prefer, but store-bought is the simple and guaranteed-to-be fluffy option.

For the chocolate cream:
8 Tbsp confectioners sugar
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 Tbsp milk
1 cup (250ml) heavy cream
1 pinch cream of tartar

8 fat slices store-bought angel food cake
1-2 Tbsp confectioners sugar, for dusting

To make the chocolate cream, whisk together the confectioners sugar, cocoa powder and milk in a small bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, beat the cream with the cream of tartar until soft. Whisk in the chocolate mixture until well blended. Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat the grill or grill pan to hot. Dust the angel food cake slices with confectioners sugar. Grill the slices for 1 minute on each side until golden and grill marks appear on the surface. Transfer
to serving plates and top with chocolate cream.

Authors' Biographies

Pippa Cuthbert is a New Zealander living and working in London. Ever since childhood she has been passionate about food and cooking. After studying Nutrition and Food Science at Otago University in New Zealand and working in the test kitchen of Nestlé New Zealand, she decided to travel the world in search of new and exciting culinary adventures. Now based in London, Pippa works as a food writer and stylist on books and magazines, and is also involved in advertising and commercials.

Food and writing are Lindsay Cameron Wilson's passions, so she blended the two at university where she studied History, Journalism, and the Culinary Arts. She has since worked in the test kitchens of Canadian Living Magazine in Toronto and Sunset Magazine in San Francisco. In 2001 she left her job as a food columnist in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and moved to London. That's when she met Pippa, and the work for their first book, Juice! began. Fuelled by juice, the two moved on to Ice Cream!, Soup! and now Barbecue! Lindsay continues to work as a food journalist in Canada, where she now lives with her husband, James, and son, Luke.