Surprising preparations: salmon ‘en papillote’, savoury tart and grilled watermelon

STARTER

Salmon in parchment with marsh samphire and prawn butter

MAIN COURSE

Mixed vegetable quiche with Gorgonzola cheese

DESSERT

Grilled watermelon with gin tonic granita

Salmon 'en papillote' (one day in advance)

Heat the Big Green Egg, with the convEGGtor and the Stainless Steel Grid, to 120°C. Take the butter from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.

Break the heads off the prawns and halve them. Cover and put the prawns in the refrigerator for later. Spread the heads over the grid of the Big Green EGG, close the lid and bake for about 20 minutes until crisp.

Remove the prawn heads from the EGG and leave to cool completely. Do not place them in the refrigerator to cool. Meanwhile, remove the stem and the seeds from the chilli pepper and slice the flesh finely.

Grind the cooled prawn heads into a powder using a pestle and mortar or coffee grinder and mix with the finely sliced chilli pepper and butter before seasoning with salt. Cover and place in the fridge until needed. Making the butter a day in advance will mean the flavours have plenty of time to come out.

Vegetable quiche (one day in advance)

Lift the Stainless Steel Grid from the EGG with the Grid Gripper and remove the convEGGtor with the EGGmitt. Use the Cast Iron Grid Lifter to put the Cast Iron Grid in the EGG, close the lid, then heat up the EGG to 200°C.

Wash the vegetables, then cut the courgettes and aubergines into slices about 1.5cm thick. Halve the bell peppers, remove the stem and seeds before cutting them into wide pieces. Cut off the hard ends of the asparagus spears. Put the vegetables in a bowl, sprinkle generously with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and stir gently.

Spread the vegetables over the EGG grid and grill on both sides until soft. Remove the vegetables from the grid, cut the asparagus spears in four sections and place all the vegetables back into the bowl. Remove the Cast Iron Grid from the EGG using the Cast Iron Grid Lifter, replace it with the convEGGtor using the EGGmitt and install the stainless steel grid in the EGG. Heat the EGG to 180ºC.

Grease a 26cm diameter springform tin with olive oil and line the springform tin with the puff pastry. Beat the eggs and cream together with the Parmesan cheese in a mixing bowl and season with pepper. Evenly spread half the grilled vegetables in the lined springform tin and pour half the egg mixture over it. Evenly spread the rest of the grilled vegetables in the springform tin and pour the remaining egg mixture on top of it.

Place the springform tin on the grid, close the lid of the EGG and bake the vegetable quiche for about 45 minutes until golden brown. Take the tin out of the EGG, close the draft door and put the ceramic snuffer cap on the chimney to extinguish the charcoal. Leave the quiche to cool to room temperature. Reheating it later makes it easier to cut the quiche into nice slices. If the quiche is to be eaten the next day, it can be covered and kept at room temperature.

Grilled watermelon (one day in advance)

Cut 2 nice slices, each approx. 2cm thick, from the middle section of the watermelon. Wrap these in cling film and store them in the refrigerator. Remove the peel from the remaining watermelon and cut the flesh into chunks. Put aside 300g to use for the granita and by all means eat the rest.

Heat 100ml of tonic together with the sugar in a saucepan on the stove until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the mixture into a blender or food processor, add the 300g of watermelon, the remaining tonic, the gin and 10 big mint leaves and mix until smooth. Pour the mixture through a sieve into the Round Drip Pan (or other shallow container) and place in the freezer. Stir the mixture after 3 hours to prevent the ice from crystallising. Leave to rest in the freezer for at least another 3 hours.

Salmon en papillote (on the day)

Remove the shell from the prawns and throw them away. Halve the prawns lengthwise and remove the intestines. Cut the salmon into eight equal pieces. Cut the foliage from the fennel, halve the fennel and cut into thin strips. Wash the marsh samphire and remove any hard pieces.

Place a sheet of baking paper (A3 size) lengthwise on the work surface and cover it, up to a third from the bottom, with a quarter of the fennel. Place two pieces of salmon fillet on the fennel and place two halved prawns on each fillet. Spread a quarter of the marsh samphire over it and drop a tablespoon of prawn butter onto it.

Fold the parchment paper double and fold all sides inwards twice to create an airtight package. Repeat this with the other ingredients until you have prepared four packages. Store the packages in the refrigerator until needed.

Tip: this recipe requires approximately 50g of shrimp butter. You can store the remainder in the refrigerator for about two weeks. You could, for example, serve it as a baguette spread.

Salmon en papillote

Ignite the Big Green Egg and pre-heat it with the convEGGtor and the standard stainless steel grid to 150°C. Use a spatula to place the packages on the grid, close the lid of the EGG and leave to cook for about 12 to 15 minutes until the paper has slightly puffed up.

Remove the packages from the EGG and place a package on each plate. Carefully cut open when seated at the table.

Vegetable quiche

Heat the EGG to 180°C. Cut the Gorgonzola cheese into small pieces and remove the rosemary needles from the sprigs. Place the springform tin on the grid, close the lid of the EGG and heat in approx. 20 minutes. Remove the springform tin from the grid, gently remove the sides and cut the quiche into attractive looking slices. Serve with a fresh salad.

Grilled watermelon

Put four glasses into the freezer. Lift the Cast Iron Grid from the EGG with the Cast Iron Grid Lifter and remove the convEGGtor with the Pit Mitt BBQ Glove. Use the Cast Iron Grid Lifter to put the Cast Iron Grid in the Egg, close the lid, then heat up the EGG to 200°C.

Cut both watermelon slices into four wedges and skewer the peel of each wedge to create a kind of lollipop. Grill the watermelon briefly on both sides and, if you want to create a lovely check pattern, move each piece a quarter turn to the right or left.

Take the granita and glasses from the freezer and pour equal amounts of granita into the glasses. Garnish with mint and serve with the grilled watermelon.