From steak to satay, Rachel Allen’s sizzling summer recipes will impress when it’s BBQ weather – and when it’s not!

The herb and fennel marinated steaks are so simple and so good. With just a few ingredients, the combination of the fennel seeds with the fresh herbs is super. Replace the steaks with lamb chops or fillets of fish if you prefer. There are a couple of tricks that make this recipe absolutely delicious. Firstly, use lots of fresh herbs and a mixture of at least two or three herbs too. Make sure the barbecue or the pan on the hob is really very hot before the steaks go in to cook, you are looking for great searing and deep brown patches of flavour to really enhance the meat — use extra virgin olive oil for the best result. With a little seasoning, these sweet and simple corn on the cob also work so well on the barbecue. Enjoy!

Herb and fennel marinated steaks

Serves 2-4

You will need:

• 2 sirloin steaks
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
• 1 generous tablespoon herbs, such as parsley, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, tarragon
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

​1 Trim the excess fat off the steaks, if you wish, and set aside.

​2 Place the fennel seeds in a dry frying pan on a medium to high heat and toast for about 20 seconds until the pan is smoking lightly. Tip out of the pan and crush slightly using a pestle and mortar, (see Tip, below). Place in a wide bowl that’ll hold the steaks.

​3 Chop the herbs as finely as possible, then add to the crushed fennel.

4 Pour in the olive oil and add lots of pepper. Don’t add any salt until you’re cooking the steaks or they’ll begin to dry out.

​5 Mix the marinade and pour half of it into a small bowl for serving, adding salt to the small bowl. Place the steaks in the remaining half of the marinade and toss them well to coat them in the herby mixture. Allow to marinate for at least half an hour, or you could place them in a fridge overnight.

​6 Preheat the barbecue or a grill-pan and when very hot, place the steaks on to cook (see Rachel Recommends, below). Turn the steaks over when well coloured and cook on the other side until cooked to how you like them.

​7 Take the steaks off the heat and drizzle with the remaining marinade to serve.

TOP TIP If you don’t have a pestle and mortar to crush the fennel seeds, tip them out onto a chopping board, then crush coarsely by pressing the base of a saucepan down on top of the seeds.

RACHEL RECOMMENDS If the steaks or the pork fillet chunks are marinating in the fridge, ensure to take them out to sit at room temperature at least 20 minutes before cooking for the best result.

Barbecued corn on the cob

Serves 4

You will need:

• 4 corn on the cob
• Olive oil, for drizzling
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons melted butter​

​1 Drizzle the corn with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and place on a hot barbecue.

​2 Cook for 10–15 minutes, turning every so often until the kernels are slightly soft and charred in places.

​3 Remove from the barbecue and brush with melted butter.

Barbecued pork satay with peanut satay sauce

This barbecued pork satay with peanut satay sauce is a bit of a favourite. The sauce can be made days in advance and will happily keep in the fridge. Half of the tin of coconut milk is used for the sauce, and the other half for the marinade. Replace the pork with chicken or firm tofu if you fancy, and serve with rice or noodles.

Serves 4-6

For the pork satay, you will need:

• 200ml of coconut milk
• 1 heaped tablespoon ginger, finely grated
• 2 stalks of lemongrass, finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 600g lean trimmed pork fillet, cut into 2cm cubes
• Satay sticks

For the peanut satay sauce, you will need:

• 150g crunchy peanut butter
• Half a red chilli, deseeded and chopped
• 3 large cloves of garlic, crushed or finely grated
• 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
• ¾ of a teaspoon ground turmeric
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 3-4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Approximately 150-200ml coconut milk

​1 First, make the pork satay to give it time to marinade. In a bowl, mix together 200ml of the tin of coconut milk (keep the rest for the peanut satay sauce), the ginger, the chopped lemongrass, the turmeric, the coriander, the cumin, the pepper and the salt .

​2 Add the chunks of pork, mix well and set aside for at least an hour.

​3 Soak the wooden satay sticks in cold water for half an hour (otherwise they will burn). You can also use metal skewers.

​4 While the meat is marinating, make the peanut satay sauce. Place the peanut butter in a food processor with the chilli, the garlic, the ginger and the turmeric, add in a pinch of salt and pepper, then add in the honey, the soy sauce the lemon juice and enough coconut milk to give you a thick drizzling consistency. The amount you need will depend on the peanut butter that you use. Blend until smooth, taste for seasoning and place in a bowl.

​5 Once the meat is marinated, thread it onto the satay sticks.

​6 Place a grill-pan on a medium-to-high heat until very hot, or allow the barbecue to heat up. Place the satay sticks on the grill-pan or barbecue grill, and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, until cooked all the way through .

​7 Serve with the peanut satay sauce.

Greek salad

This Greek salad recipe is a classic and works so well with grilled fish and meat. Lots of extra virgin olive oil, sea salt flakes and coarsely ground black pepper really elevate this salad, and try to get your hands on good olives too, preferably with the stones still in. To pit the olives you can break them in half and pull the stones out or you can bash them with the flat side of a knife blade to loosen the stones.

Serves 4

You will need:

• 100g feta cheese, broken into chunks, roughly 2cm in size
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• A few pinches of coarsely ground pepper
• 1 generous teaspoon chopped marjoram or oregano
• ½ a cucumber, cut into 2cm chunks
• 4 tomatoes, cut into 2cm chunks
• 1 small red onion, finely sliced, or 4 spring onions
• Salt, pepper and sugar for seasoning
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 generous tablespoon chopped marjoram, oregano or parsley
• 20 good black olives

​1 Mix the feta with the 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the black pepper and the chopped marjoram or oregano, whichever you’re using. This can be prepared a few hours in advance if you like — it will only improve in flavour.

​2 Mix, in a wide serving bowl, the cucumber chunks with the tomatoes and the red onion or spring onion, whichever you’re using. Season with sea salt, pepper and a few pinches of sugar.

​3 In a small bowl, mix the 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, the lemon juice and more marjoram, oregano or parsley, whichever you’re using, and drizzle over the cucumbers, tomatoes and onion.

​4 Scatter with the feta cheese and the olives, and serve.

Barbecued aubergine with tahini yoghurt dressing

I love aubergine tossed with olive oil and cooked on a barbecue or heavy grill-pan. With the really high heat comes deep dark brown colour giving the aubergines such a good rich smokey flavour that really welcomes the cooling tahini yoghurt dressing.

Serves 3-4

You will need:

• 2 medium aubergines
• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt

For the tahini yoghurt dressing, you will need:

• 250g natural yoghurt
• 3 generous tablespoons tahini
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed or finely grated
• The juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped mint
• Salt and pepper to season

​1 Cut the aubergines into round slices, each approximately 2cm thick. Brush both sides of each slice generously with olive oil and season with pepper.

​2 Allow the barbecue to get quite hot, then cook the aubergine slices for at least 4 minutes each side. They should be deep golden, slightly charred in patches and completely tender. You could also do this on the hob on a frying pan or cast iron griddle pan rather than a barbecue. Season them with salt as they’re cooking.

​3 To make the sauce, mix together the yoghurt in a bowl with the tahini, the garlic and half of the lemon juice. Add in the chopped parsley and the chopped mint and season to taste with salt and pepper, adding more lemon juice if necessary.

​4 Place the aubergines on a serving plate and drizzle the sauce over the top.