If you’re able to get a fire going in your garden or courtyard, you’ll have to think in a different way and learn the same basic science. You’ll make the emotional connections with nature and enjoy really delicious food. It’s clear we’re happier if we can be outside, but the planet seems happier if we’re not. It’s an uncomfortable thought, but one we can learn so much from.
By connecting with our immediate environment in a more conscious, sensitive, ancient way, we develop a deeper understanding of how fragile parts of it have become, and may discover new ways we can help to fix it.
Here’s a fun twist on cauliflower cheese. You’ll need a large flowerpot, saucepan or fire cloche to cover the cauliflower as it gently roasts above the smoky fire. Alternatively, if
your barbecue has a lid, you can close that down as the cauliflower cooks.
It’s worth noting, while a whole cauliflower cooks surprisingly quickly when you boil it, that’s not the case over an open fire. It’s a rather leisurely process, so it’s important the fire’s not too hot, otherwise the cauliflower may blacken on the outside before it’s tender in the middle.
I like to add plenty of chopped dill to my cheese sauce. It’s such a great herb to use with cheese, but if dill isn’t your favourite, chives or parsley would be good instead.
This is an edited extract from the book Outside: Recipes for a Wilder Way of Eating by Gill Meller, with photographs by Andrew Montgomery, which is published by Quadrille, priced £30.