Struggling with what to cook on your outdoor oven? We can help!
So we’re guessing that, by now, you’ve made the fantastic choice to invest in an outdoor oven; whether that’s a BBQ style oven, or perhaps an outdoor pizza oven! (If you’re still a little bit on the fence about which type of outdoor oven to choose – we’ve got a few ideas for your outdoor kitchen in another of our blogs).
An outdoor oven is a great garden feature for a number of reasons; from producing extremely tasty, al fresco food, to being central social points for social gatherings – there are so many benefits that they can bring. If you’re new to the outdoor oven scene and are wondering what exactly you might want to cook for your al fresco evening, we’ve got a few suggestions that might tickle your taste buds!
The pizza oven:
We all dream of the ideal pizza; delicious, fresh, homemade dough that is light but turns the ultimate level of crispiness when topped with your favourite toppings and cooked to perfection – bellissimo! Everyone has different tastes when it comes to toppings, so we will let you make your own mind up on that one (or we’ve got some tasty pizza topping ideas in another of our recipe blogs), but whatever style you like best, one thing remains the same – the perfecting of the dough and passata are KEY. You’ve always got to put your own spin on cooking to get it exactly how you like it – but here are a couple of notes to get you started!
Passata: Most supermarkets will have this available to buy in a jar/carton – life made easy! We suggest heating this up in a pan with a dash of olive oil, crushed garlic and crushed basil (or perhaps even some rosemary!) plus salt and pepper to taste, then letting it cool before using it to top your dough – delicious!
The dough: Now, the pizza dough can often make or break the dish so it’s important to get it spot on. If you can, the best flour to use is strong white bread flour, or ‘00’ flour if you can get hold of either. 500g of the flour, ½ teaspoon dried yeast, 400ml warm water, a dash of olive oil and a pinch of salt should make you around 4 pizza bases! Mix the water, yeast and olive oil together before kneading into the rest of the dry ingredients to form a dough ball. This needs to be left in a covered bowl until doubled in size, then re kneaded on a floured surface before rolling out to form your base.
Pizza ovens are fantastic for making authentic, rustic style pizzas and making cooking less of a chore and more of an event! However, the great thing about a pizza oven is that they’re not just specific to pizzas – you can cook almost anything on them! Whilst our next few food ideas move away from pizza, they’re not only designed for a BBQ or outdoor grill – give them a go in your pizza oven!
Things to try on your BBQ/Grill (or even in your pizza oven!):
We all love a BBQ – whether it’s in your garden, a friend’s garden, at the beach, on a rooftop, wherever – just the smell of it being lit up screams summer! (Although, they’re great in the winter too, just be prepared with some cover if it rains!). Whilst we all look forward to munching on the classics; burgers, sausages and chicken skewers – sometimes it might be good to push the boat out that little bit more! Here are a few of our outdoor favourites to help you be the host with the most!
Other meats:
The classics may always be popular choices – but have you thought about what other meats you could experiment with when cooking outdoors? BBQ grills often give that fantastic, smoky flavour that you just don’t get an on a normal, indoor oven and so you should definitely make the most of the difference in flavour! Rib eye steaks are fantastic on both the BBQ and in a wood fired oven – the cut is packed with that little bit of extra flavour and moisture; just season with a little sea salt and black pepper and you’re good to go!
Or how about trying some lamb cutlets? Give them a few hours to marinade in some olive oil, salt, black pepper, dried chilli flakes, dried mint and celery salt (or even better, let them marinate overnight) and then once it’s all been soaked up they’re ready to cook – delicious! Go that one step further and serve with a cucumber Greek yoghurt/tzatziki style dip for that extra touch!
Vegetables:
Veg on the BBQ is such a treat as it gains that slightly charred flavour, but besides corn on the cob, it’s often forgotten about! Fennel is a flavourful, aromatic vegetable that when sliced, tossed in a bit of olive oil and chargrilled is very fresh and tasty – finished off with a squeeze of lemon juice and a bit of chopped parsley it will be sure to impress your guests! Or how about going for a bit of a Spanish vibe and having a go at cooking some Padrón Peppers; small bright green peppers that are traditionally served across many tapas menus in Spain, however on the BBQ seem to really work! Once again, cooked in a dash of olive oil until wilted and blistered then sprinkled with a pinch of sea salt – a perfect Spanish addition to your al fresco dining experience!
Puddings:
And finally, something sweet to top off your al fresco evening! Perhaps a little indulgent, but delicious all the same – it’s not like we have BBQ’s everyday! Why not have a go at the BBQ chocolate bananas (maybe even add a little rum for that extra punch?) – slit a banana through the skin across one side and fill the opening with pieces of chocolate. Wrap tightly in tin foil and pop on the BBQ (or pizza oven) for around 15 minutes – then remove the tinfoil for a sweet surprise! We like to serve with a bit of ice cream, but eat as you wish!
BBQs and outdoor dining events are exactly what you make of them – so you can cook whatever you like, however you like! If you want to give any of our dish ideas a whirl and fancy investing in an outdoor oven – we have a fantastic range for you to pick from and get you loving outdoor living with Stove Supermarket!
- Stovesupermarket Admin
