Garden oven fun here at Dimpsey Glamping!

We were delighted when Jay & Juliet Larson came to stay with us at Dimpsey Glamping and as the inventors of the Garden Oven, give us a masterclass in how to use the oven. They seemed to love our shepherd’s hut and it was lovely to see all Juliet’s photos on her Instagram feed.

The Garden Oven Company is a British manufacturer of hand-made steel wood-fired garden ovens, providing customers with a great alternative for your garden parties and BBQs. Smoke, bake, grill, roast, barbecue and cook a wide range of dishes from pizza to fish, bread to a full Sunday roast dinner. There is no long curing process, the oven can be assembled in a half hour, and is ready to go. It really is amazingly easy to light and use! We had a fabulous time cooking on it and Juliet cooked Chicken, roasted veg and pizza. Her recipes for the chicken and roasted veg are at the end of this blog post, the pizza recipe we will share soon!

We cooked one tray of chicken in our garden oven and one in our rayburn, and whilst it was beautifully juicy and tender, it was lacking the delicious slight smoky taste that the Garden Oven imparted to our meal – we all agreed that the Garden Oven version was tastier – you can see the difference in this photo – the rayburn one definitely looks paler…

We accompanied it with a delicious white wine provided by Jay and Juliet and spent a lovely evening getting to know each other – and obviously pudding was involved, this time a blackberry and apple crumble with custard – yum!

Now on to the recipes!

Recipe: Za’atar Roast Chicken by Yotam Ottolenghi

Ingredients

1 3½–4-lb. chicken, cut into quarters, or 2 large skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts and 2 skin-on, bone-in chicken legs
2 medium red onions, thinly sliced
2 large clovesgarlic, peeled, smashed
1lemon, thinly sliced, seeds removed
1 tbsp (15 mL)ground sumac
1-1/2 tsp (7 mL)ground allspice
1 tsp (5 mL)ground cinnamon
1 cup (250 mL)chicken broth or water
1/4 cup (60 mL)extra-virgin olive oil + more for drizzling
2 tbsp (30 mL)za’atar spice blend

Optional Accompaniments

2 tbsp (30 mL)unsalted butter
1/4 cup (60 mL)pine nuts
Green Tahini Sauce (recipe follows)
Lavash or other flatbread (optional), for serving

Method

In a large, resealable plastic bag, combine chicken, onions, garlic, lemon slices, sumac, allspice, cinnamon, broth or water and 1/4 cup (60 mL) oil. Refrigerate 2 hours to overnight.
Place chicken, onions, garlic and lemon slices on a large rimmed baking sheet. Spoon remaining marinade over everything. Sprinkle with za’atar. Roast in preheated 400F (200C) oven until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 45 to 55 minutes.
Meanwhile for optional accompaniments, if using pine nuts, in small skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add pine nuts. Cook, stirring often, until butter foams, then browns, and nuts are golden, about 4 minutes. Be careful not to burn.
Serve chicken, sliced or in large pieces, with roasted onions and lemon. If desired, garnish with pine nuts, drizzle with Green Tahini Sauce and serve with bread.

Makes 6 servings.

Green Tahini Sauce

A lavish drizzle of this sauce takes chicken to new heights. If you don’t want to make the chicken recipe above, use this sauce with your favourite recipe.

1 cup (250 mL)flat-leaf parsley with tender stems
2 clovesgarlic, peeled, smashed
1/2 cup (125 mL)tahini
1/2 cup (125 mL)water + more if needed
1/4 cup (60 mL)fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt

In food processor, combine parsley, garlic, tahini, 1/2 cup (125 mL) water and lemon. Pulse until smooth, adding water if needed for runny sauce. Season with salt. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use.

Makes about 1 cup (250 mL).

Recipe: Roasted Vegetables With Halloumi

Ingredients

Cherry tomatoes
2 bunches of asparagus spears
75ml olive oil
2 courgettes
Halloumi or manouri cheese sliced
Rocket
Fresh basil leaves
Coarse sea salt and black pepper

Method

Douse the asparagus in boiling water for two minutes and then immerse straight into very cold water.
When cooled, place in a bowl and drizzle with the oil and season. Add the courgettes that have been sliced thinly lengthways along with the tomatoes halved and the sliced cheese.
Toss all the veg so they are coated with the oil and add some fresh basil and then set aside.
When the garden oven is at 200°C + place a cast iron griddle pan directly on the stones and when really hot, sear the asparagus and all other ingredients in the bowl in the pan in batches. Once griddled remove and place in an oven proof dish under the oven on the warming shelf.
When all cooked and just before serving, sprinkle with some fresh rocket and toss.