Vegan Barbecue Ideas – Leave the Shrimp in the Sea

By James Burke, chef at Cornucopia Dublin.

Here are a few recipes for a great outdoor summer meal, or with a little preparation, a tasty picnic. Originally from Indonesia, Tempeh is a traditional soy product and the only part that needs to be cooked. But by all means add some grilled corn on the cob and some marinated grilled vegetables to fill it out even more. At Cornucopia barbecues, we have served all of these along with some delicious Arun Bakery sourdough rolls and Blanco Niño’s new soft corn tortillas. When I make these recipes at home, I prep the sauces and tempeh the day before, which takes an hour at most. Then all I have to do the next day is fire up the barbeque, finish the tempeh, chop a few vegetables and assemble some sandwiches with heaps of time left for enjoying the food and the company you choose to share it with.

Barbecued Marinated Tempeh, 4 portions

• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons rapeseed oil
• 1.5l warm water
• 1 bunch of oregano, tied with cotton string
• For the tempeh
• 400g tempeh, sliced into 8 pieces
• 200ml Piedmont dip BBQ sauce

1. Place the brine ingredients into a stock pot over a high heat and bring to a boil. Add the tempeh slices and blanch for 5 minutes.
2. Remove the tempeh from the brine and place it into a storage tub. Strain about 500ml of the brine onto the tempeh to cover all the pieces then leave to cool. Discard the remaining brine. Marinate the tempeh in the brine for at least 4 hours, or overnight, stored in a refrigerator.
3. Remove the tempeh slices from the brine and discard the liquid. Finish the tempeh by placing each slice on a medium hot barbecue, or into an oven preheated to 200 Celsius.
4. Once the tempeh has been cooking for 10 minutes, brush the Piedmont BBQ sauce over it. Keep brushing on the sauce every few minutes until the tempeh is slightly crisped and the sauce has been absorbed. This should take another 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Serve with some sourdough bread rolls or corn tortillas, smoked garlic aioli, more BBQ sauce and red slaw.

Piedmont Dip

• 250ml cider vinegar
• 180ml agave syrup
• 120ml water
• 50g tomato puree
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Place all the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil over a medium high heat.
2. Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook over a medium low heat for about 30 minutes until the sauce has reduced to leave about 250ml.
3. Store the sauce in a fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Red Slaw of Spiced Cabbage and Carrot, Serves 4 to 6

• 1/8 head white cabbage (about 200g)
• 1/8 head red cabbage (about 200g)
• 2 medium carrots (about 200g)
• 1 small bunch chives (10g), chopped thinly
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes
• 15ml olive or rapeseed oil
• 250ml tomato ketchup

1. Slice the cabbages thinly either using a food processor or by hand and place them into a large salad bowl. Peel and grate the carrots and add them to the cabbage. Chop the chives also and add to the cabbage and carrot.
2. Next add the salt and oil, and stir it to combine.
3. Finally add the tomato ketchup and stir it through to coat all the vegetable and herb mixture. Set aside until needed. The red slaw will keep for up to 4 days but is best dressed just before serving.

Smoked garlic and lemon Aioli, Makes about 250ml

• 50ml soy milk
• 30ml lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 cloves smoked garlic
• 160ml cold smoked rapeseed oil

1. For best results and less washing up, use a hand blender to make this aioli. You can also use a food processor but if neither is available a heavy jug, whisk and finely chopped garlic will work too.
2. Pour the soy milk and lemon juice into a jug. Add the sea salt and garlic then use a hand blender to puree.
3. Slowly pour the oil into the mixture and continue until the oil has been incorporated and the aioli is nicely emulsified and smooth. The aioli will keep for up to 10 days refrigerated.
4. If you can’t find smoked garlic then fresh garlic would be a suitable replacement. The smoked rapeseed oil I use is produced by Newgrange Gold oils from Co. Meath and, if you can’t find it, the smoked oil can be replaced with regular cold pressed rapeseed or olive oil.

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