IT’S THE JUNE bank holiday weekend, but more importantly, it’s finally BBQ season, at least according to the calendar.
If you’re planning your own BBQ, pre-preparing a few different side dishes means the work is half done. All that’s left is marinating meat, making sure you have enough ice cubes in the freezer for drinks, and firing up the grill.
And you’re heading along to someone else’s back garden for the BBQ, a hearty potato salad or spicy, zesty slaw is a smart thing to bring along. There’s never too much potato salad.
We’ve found some of the best BBQ sides that will be devoured by everyone- with a mixture of classics and more adventurous ideas like ginger beer-battered onion rings.
Whether you’re serving up chicken, red meat, seafood or going veggie-style with your next BBQ, any one of these sides will compliment those beautiful smoky flavours…
1. Charred Courgette and Mango Salad, from Healthy Living James
This five-ingredient salad is full of fresh flavours and sweetness from the mango chunks. The mango is lightly charred on the BBQ giving a delicious caramelised taste, complemented beautifully by fresh basil. If you’re heading along to someone else’s BBQ, you can prepare the mango in a standard grill instead.
2. Summer Potato Salad, from Little Green Spoon
This summery, healthy take on a classic potato salad is full of colour and texture with the addition of radishes and peas. This recipe uses an olive oil and Dijon mustard base, making it both dairy and gluten free.
3. Cinnamon and Paprika Sweet Potato Wedges, from Deliciously Ella
Delicately spiced with paprika and sweet cinnamon, these easy to prepare sweet potato wedges would work well alongside any type of meat. You could even cook them on the BBQ by wrapping the sweet potato slices in tinfoil and finishing them off by charring them slightly on the grill, but they might take a little bit longer to cook this way.
4. Ginger Beer Battered Onion Rings, from GastroGays
You’ve probably tried onion rings before, but not with this deliciously light, ginger beer based batter. These addictive onion rings would be a match made in heaven to any red meat. If you have a fryer they’re very simple. If not you’ll need a sturdy pan and a thermometer to control the temperature of the oil.
5. Green Bean Salad, from Wholesome Ireland
This simple, crunchy salad is lightly spiced with nigella seeds (swap in cumin seeds if you don’t have nigella). Using just four ingredients, it could be made a day in advance, making it a great option if you’re cooking for a crowd.
6. Mauritian Spicy Coleslaw, from Everyday Cooking with Mira
This spicy, crunchy coleslaw is packed with aromatic flavours like mustard seeds, turmeric and green chili, and makes a nice alternative to a traditional style coleslaw. The result is a slightly pickled flavour that would make a delicious accompaniment to chicken or pork.
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