Barbecued vegetables (and a bit of lamb)

We haven't done much barbecuing this summer. Although the weather has generally been better than last year, there has been a lot of afternoon rain. But last week we had several consecutive hot, dry days. Far too hot to cook indoors, we ferreted around in the fridge to see what we could put on the fire. Some lamb leg steaks came out of the freezer, a couple of globe artichokes (I know - just after I said that all artichokes in our house become fritters!), a couple of courgettes and some nice flat portobello mushrooms.

I pared back the artichokes to the base and scooped out the choke, cut them in half and dunked them in acidulated water, before rolling them in a bit of olive oil. The courgettes also got the olive oil, and the mushrooms got some chopped garlic and a little oil.

Then Paul stepped in for the actual cooking. The vegetables all needed a lot longer than the thinly cut lamb.

I made a dressing of garlic, a bit of bought bearnaise sauce and some white wine vinegar. A drizzle of the dressing over the (very brown) plate. A grinding of pepper. And it was a very comfortable way to end the day.