Food tastes best outdoors

Cooking in an outdoor kitchen creates a very special dining experience and doesn't have to be the least bit complicated. Get together to prepare and cook a meal, then enjoy it outdoors with loved ones.

Almost any type of food can be cooked on a BBQ, making the outdoor kitchen suitable for both everyday and festive occasions. Tobias Millqvist has worked as a chef for 25 years and is particularly fond of grilled salads.
- There's so much more to grilling other than meat! Anyone who takes on the role of the family BBQ master has endless options, both in terms of ingredients, ambition and approach, he says.
Tobias thinks that cooking outdoors works best when it's well prepared. Why complicate it?
- If you're having dinner guests - prepare what you can in the morning. Then you'll have more time to spend with your guests. Serve something for them to taste while you're doing the main course on the BBQ.
If you're grilling fish, you can prepare them by wrtapping them in aluminium foil. You won't get the typical grill marks, but the fish will be delicious and you'll save a lot of time.
- You don\t have to place the ingredients don't have to be directly on the BBQ - you can use the grate as a griddle, open oven or why not a smoker if you fancy trying that?

Name: Tobias Millqvist
Age: 46 years old.
Home is: the Bjäre Peninsula. Family: Wife Ulrica, daughter Alinea.
Occupation: Chef with 25 years of experience. Among other things, he ran the restaurant at Norrviken Trädgårdar outside Båstad for eleven years together with his wife. Today he works with food and sustainability through his company Perenn, and spreads knowledge and awareness by giving lectures, commissioned dinners and photo shoots and much more.

Brafabs outdoor kitchen

Grilled salad with sugar peas and rhubarb

Four portions

1-2 heads of romaine lettuce or salat nouvelle (depending on size)
1/2 rhubarb stalk
1 box of sweet peas
Seeds roasted in salt such as sunflower seeds
Oil
Salt

This is what you do:
Slice the lettuce in half. Oil the cut surfaces and BBQ on both sides on a high temperature. (Grill quickly to avoid overcooking.) Let the salad cool. Add salt. Peel the rhubarb and cook the rhubarb stalk on the BBQ. It should still be chewy. Let it cool and cut into pieces of 2 cm. Oil and grill the sweet peas or boil them in salted water. Arrange the salad with the rhubarb, sugar peas and sunflower seeds or other seeds that you have toasted quickly in a frying pan. If you like to add a little something to your food a bit: garnish with edible flowers if you have any.

Tip!
Decorating food before you serve makes it beautiful, for example with fresh herbs and edible flowers. Use what you can find or have at home!

Blue mussel parcel with herb butter, lemon cucumber and asparagus

Four portions

1 pack of blue mussels (1 kg)
100 ml of dill or parsley (if you like: try wilted and chopped nettles instead)
125 g butter
1/2 grated garlic 1/3 cucumber
1 bunch green asparagus (250 g)
Juice and grated peel from half a lemon

This is what you do:
Rinse and clean the mussels. Discard any that are broken or open. Mix the butter with the herbs and garlic. Place the mussels on two sheets of aluminium foil and cut out the butter. Fold into a tight package. Peel and de-seed the cucumber, cut into smaller pieces. Place in a bowl, add the juice and grated peel of the lemon. Mix. Lightly cook the asparagus. Then cool it in cold water and let it dry on a towel. Add salt. Once the BBQ is really hot, put the mussel packets on and leave them to rest for 8-10 minutes. Remove the mussels from the BBQ and leave to rest for a few minutes. Gently shake the parcels before opening and check that the mussels have opened, if not put them back on the grill. Once they are ready, fill a bowl with the mussels and the butter, salting lightly. Sprinkle the lemon-cucumber on top and tuck the asparagus into the mussels.

Grilled and mildly smoked rainbow trout

Four portions

600 g fillet of rainbow trout with skin (or other sustainable salmon fish) 4 dill stalks
100 ml alder smoker chips or similar smoker chips 2-3 cooked golden beets
1 chioggia beet
100-150 g gooseberries
1 piece of horseradish

This is what you do:
Start by preparing the BBQ. Salt the fish on both sides. Then place it on a baking sheet with two sheets of foil underneath. Fold up the edges of the foil to make a solid edge. Place a few dill stalks on the fish. Slice the chioggia beet thinly using a mandolin or by hand. Place in cold water. Peel and finely grate the horseradish and cut the golden beets into smaller pieces. Let it rest for a while. Now light the barbecue and wait for a nice glow. Place the open foil parcels on the grill. If you want to try smoking the fish: throw 100 ml of smoker chips on the coals and close the lid. You don't have to do that. Leave the fish for 6-8 minutes before opening the lid. Check the internal temperature of the fish, which should be around 45-50 degrees Celcius (it takes about 10-15 minutes). Remove the fish from the grill and let it rest on the after-heat. The rainbow trout should have a juicy texture and not be too dry. Open up the foil packet, place the fish on a cutting board. Decorate with golden beets, chioggia beet, gooseberries, grated pepper and dill.