Ameer Kotecha

The fireside dishes to feast on this bonfire night: from baked apples to nachos

  • From Spectator Life
Image: iStock

There’s never been a better year to celebrate Bonfire Night. Late night, outdoor, responsible fun to enjoy now that there’s precious little else to do after 10 p.m. Plus it’s surely therapeutic to remind ourselves that while things are currently a little tough going and hosting a dinner party in your home is an act of high treason, the country had its fair share of problems in 1605 too.

Round-the-fire cooking isn’t the same as barbeque cooking: utensils are at a minimum; heat control is down to a wing and a prayer. This is ‘chuck it near the heat and pray the kids won’t go hungry’ cooking. So here are six things to try on 5th November, when you can’t face another toasted marshmallow. They require little more than tin foil, a cast-iron dish, skewers, oven mitts, and a healthy disregard for cutlery and crockery.

Shellfish

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    The secret to fire cookery is cooking things that don’t need much cooking. Shellfish here come into their own. Take some uncooked prawns and combine in a bowl with some butter, white wine, lemon zest and juice, herbs, finely chopped garlic, chilli flakes, salt and pepper. Then pour onto a big sheet of foil and fold up into a parcel. You may want to add a second layer of foil in case you pierce through—the cooking juices are this dish’s pride and joy. Place the parcel on a tame part of the fire, preferably embers, and cook for ten minutes or so. Have crusty bread, warmed by the fire, on hand to mop up the jus.

    Molluscs are wonderful on the fire too. If you have herbs growing in the garden—a bush of bay or woody branches of rosemary or thyme—you can use them to impart a beautifully fragrant, smoky flavour. First toss your chosen molluscs—mussels , clams or cockles—in a bowl with some olive oil.

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