PARIS, July 12 — It’s a favourite for summertime cooking and gatherings. Typically used for grilling steak or burgers, this warm weather cooking essential has more than one trick up its sleeve.

French chef Charley Breuvart, who is in charge of the kitchens at Paris’s Ardent restaurant and has made that flame cooked flavour his signature shares how we can use it as a tool in the preparation of some unique, gourmet dishes.

For creating a smoky flavour

Anyone who’s watched a reality cooking show has likely seen a celebrity chef use a blowtorch as they smoke chocolate, poultry or even butter... Except that at home, this manoeuvre — while effective — can be dangerous and requires a very large hood to absorb as much smoke as possible.

However, with a barbecue, you can get that delicious summer flavour with less risk (provided you use the barbecue properly). Simply throw some herbs into the embers. "Thyme, rosemary, vine shoots, you name it, as long as it’s dried,” explains chef Charley Breuvart.

For best results use an appliance equipped with a lid. "You have to cover it right away to smother the flame, otherwise the food will burn,” he warns.

And what are the best types of food to use to create a smoky taste? The chef says everything can work — but it’s best to choose products with a high fat content. "The higher the fat content, the better to capture a smoky flavours.” It’s no coincidence that salmon is often smoked.

You can try it with this fatty fish, or with mackerel, tuna, swordfish and sardines. It makes a change from the classic grilled fish! "You place the fish directly on the grill and cook it for about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the fish,” explains the chef.

And since the presence of fats is a good lead for deciding which foods to smoke, a similar operation can be carried out with butter, olive oil or cream. "I smoke cream before assembling my sabayon,” says the chef, who uses it in a starter with hazelnuts and lentils.

Simply choose a container suitable for high heat to pour in the butter or cream of your choice before closing the barbecue lid. These smoked fats can then be used in a whole host of recipes: as a sauce for pasta, to drizzle over vegetables or as an accompaniment to meat.

For bringing out the flavours of vegetables

Zucchinis, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants... it’s common practice to cook meat mains and side dishes together on the grill to optimise the preparation of a BBQ meal.

But when it comes to vegetables, the skin often sticks to the grill and sometimes burns, resulting in an unrecognisable blob of colour on the plate. And yet, barbecuing can be an interesting way of giving vegetables that distinctive grilling flavours.

But there’s one condition: you’ve got to let them drain! "By using salt, in the same proportion as when seasoning meat, a film of water forms... resulting in more uniform colouration. Above all, the vegetable doesn’t stick to the grill,” outlines Charley Breuvart.

And to bring out the flavours of the vegetables, the chef at Ardent has another trick: mix the salt with spices or herbs.

"By flushing out the liquid content, there’s an exchange that takes place, and the spices and herbs will get into the flesh,” notes the chef, who also uses dried citrus fruit and pepper for this type of dry marinade, which needs no more than 20 minutes to seep in.

For concocting unique desserts

Barbecuing is not just about searing meat or fish. It can also be used to prepare seared fruit for dessert. "The only condition is to marinate them in a syrup to caramelise them and prevent them from drying out when cooked,” explains the chef.

He concludes: "For apricots, I use a vanilla syrup, whereas to marinate melon or watermelon, I prefer to add vinegar to the syrup to add a little hint of acidity.” — ETX Studio