Burning charcoal is the proto stove, the Ur-kitchen. Charring a dish into existence feels grounding in the same way that knowing how to draw your own water from the earth might, or having the savvy to build your own house from scratch, with your bare hands. Obviously, ovens and hobs – as well as running water and a place to house it all – makes life infinitely easier. But, modern convenience notwithstanding, charred food contains within its burnt shell something of the fundamentals.
The winning recipe: Warm farro and charred broccoli (pictured main)
A savoury bowl of burnt green and wheaten crunch spiked with a dressing so zesty it instantly leaves you happy, and sated. As Angela Kim’s recipe and the next prove: if you’re going to char something, make it a brassica.
Serves 2
1 large broccoli, cut into medium-size florets and dried well
Extra virgin olive oil, for roasting
80g farro, rinsed
½ avocado, cut into cubes
A small handful coriander leaves or flat-leaf parsley
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
1-2 tsp capers, roughly chopped
For the dressing
Zest of 1 orange, juice of ½
Juice of ½ lemon
3 anchovy fillets, or more, to taste
1 garlic clove
A pinch dried oregano
A pinch chilli flakes
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 Set the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Toss the broccoli in oil, then roast for about 20 minutes, turning after 10 minutes. Once they start to char, add a little salt.
2 Bring the farro to the boil in 400ml of salted water, then simmer for 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain.
3 Blend all the dressing ingredients and season to taste.
4 Toss the cooked farro, broccoli, avocado, coriander, spring onion and capers in the dressing. Serve.
Charred cauliflower with pangrattato
A wonderfully simple side from Rachel Kelly here, the cauliflower’s nuttiness melding well with the yeasty – almost cheesy – fried sourdough.
Serves 4
100g fresh sourdough breadcrumbs
5-6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper
1 head of cauliflower, cored and sliced (about 1.5cm thick)
1 tbsp lemon juice
15g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 Set the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Fry the breadcrumbs in 2-3 tbsp oil until golden, then bake for about 8 minutes to dry. Season, then set aside to cool.
2 Toss the cauliflower with 3 tbsp of olive oil. Season to taste. Fry over a medium-high heat until browned and caramelised on each side. This should take about 8 minutes.
3 Toss with lemon juice and 1 tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and parsley before serving.
Muhammara
I’d only ever had a shop-bought pot of this punchy dip before Fadime Tiskaya’s version brought me round to the beautifully sweet notes it marries to its heat: infinitely more flavourful.
Serves 6
6 red peppers
120g walnut halves
1 tbsp tomato paste
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried red chilli flakes
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and black pepper
1 Grill the peppers, turning now and then, until the skin has blackened all over and the flesh is soft.
2 Gently peel off the skins, deseed the peppers and leave in a colander to drain. Pat dry with a paper towel.
3 Blitz everything together to obtain a relatively smooth, but crunchy mixture. Season to taste.
Grilled aubergine
Anna Thomson’s version of the trad Japanese yaki nasu is wonderfully simple. This – along with every decent baba ganoush out there – is proof of how delicious burnt aubergine can be. But, where the Middle Eastern dish is rich with garlic and olive oil, its Japanese counterpart is light and zesty.
Serves 4
4 aubergines, (small Asian aubergines are best if you can find them)
2-4 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2-4 tbsp spring onion, finely chopped
Soy sauce
Dried bonito flakes (optional)
1 Cook the aubergines under a medium grill, turning frequently, until the flesh is soft and the skin slightly charred.
2 Split in half lengthways and place face up on 4 small dishes.
3 Top with fresh ginger and spring onion, season with soy and sprinkle with bonito flakes.
Charred sea bass with tamarind and turmeric
In Bobby Ananta’s Javanese recipe, the charring imparts a beautiful smokiness to the dish while the fish stays beautifully moist and fragrant.
Serves 4
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 shallots, finely chopped
1 tsp of salt
3cm fresh turmeric, finely chopped
6 pulp of tamarind, deseeded (or 1 tbsp of tamarind paste)
1 lemongrass, only the white soft bit finely sliced, discard the leaves
2cm ginger, finely chopped
2 tsp coriander seeds, slightly toasted and ground
1 lemon
1 tbsp groundnut oil
2 sea bass, gutted
2 banana leaves, each around 30cm square, washed and dried
1 In a food processor or pestle and mortar grind together the garlic, shallot, salt, turmeric, tamarind, lemongrass, ginger and coriander. Add the lemon juice and groundnut oil to the mix, and stir well. Rub the fish with the paste and put the remainder of the lemon inside the fish.
2 Wrap each fish in a leaf, using bamboo toothpicks to make a tight parcel. If cooking on a barbecue, char the parcel over charcoal for 10-15 minutes on each side, or bake at 200C/400F/gas mark 6 for 20-30 minutes.
Rum-roasted stone fruit
I love a simple dessert, and Colonial Cravings has come up with one that takes all of 15 minutes to make and requires very little: a couple of biscuits, a dash of rum, some stone fruit, butter, a hint of spice and your favourite kind of cream on the side.
Serves 1
1 peach/nectarine or 2 plums/apricots, halved
1 tbsp butter, melted
½ tbsp dark rum
20g amaretti biscuits, crushed
A pinch of ground cinnamon
A pinch of ground ginger
Mascarpone, clotted cream or ice-cream, to serve
1 Set the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Put a griddle pan over a high heat.
2 Brush the cut side of the fruit with some melted butter, then place it face down on the pan for 2-3 minutes, or until the surface chars. Rotate the fruit and cook for 2-3 minutes longer, to create a charred cross-hatched effect. Place cut-side up in a baking dish.
3 Combine the amaretti crumbs with the spices and the remaining butter. Drizzle the rum over the surface of the fruit, then sprinkle over the crumble mix. Roast for 8-10 minutes, or until tender. Serve warm with your choice of cream.
Charred sweetcorn and red pepper flatbread
The charring of sweetcorn and peppers brings a satisfying sweetness to MizPepperpot’s Mexican-inspired flatbreads.
Serves 4
400g strong white flour
60ml olive oil
180ml greek yoghurt
A pinch of salt
1 tbsp instant yeast
For the topping
100g sweetcorn kernels
1 small red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
70g mild cheddar, grated
100g strained natural yoghurt or labneh, plus extra to serve
A pinch of dried red chilli flakes
A handful of fresh coriander, to serve
Fresh lime, to serve
1 First, make the dough. Pour the flour on your work surface. Make a well in the middle and pour in the oil, yoghurt, salt and yeast. With your hands, mix all the ingredients together and add enough warm water to make a soft dough. Knead well, until the dough is elastic, then cover and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in size – about 1 hour.
2 Meanwhile, heat a dry, non-stick frying pan until very hot. Add the sweetcorn and pepper, then cook until it has all blackened and charred in places. Stir to get all sides coloured. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3 Mix the grated cheese with the labneh and chilli, then set aside.
4 When the dough is ready, divide into 4 equal portions. Roll out each piece into a disc, then put these on to an oiled baking tray. Spread the cheese mix over the dough, and top with the charred vegetables.
5 Bake at 200C/400F/gas mark 6 for 20‑25 minutes, or until brown.
6 Serve sprinkled with fresh coriander, a squeeze of lime, and plain yoghurt.
Charred chilli, garlic and sumac roast chicken
An excellent, subtle marinade from detoutcoeurLimousin. I’m longing to try it with a firm-fleshed fish.
Serves 4-6
1.5kg chicken
For the marinade
5-6 long red or green chillies
1 garlic bulb (10-12 cloves, unpeeled)
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp ground sumac
1 tsp paprika
Salt
1 Dry-fry the chillies and unpeeled garlic cloves in a pan until charred and softened.
2 Peel the garlic and remove the chilli stalks. Blitz all the marinade ingredients into a smooth paste. Adjust the consistency with oil and water to achieve a thick but pourable paste.
3 Spread this over the chicken, then leave to marinate for 4-5 hours or overnight. You could roast the chicken straight away, but it’s worth the wait to give the flavours a chance to develop.
4 Set the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6, and roast the chicken for 70-80 minutes (or until the juices run clear when tested with a skewer).
5 Rest for 20-30 minutes, then serve.
