Six Simple Alfresco Recipes to Elevate Your Spring BBQ Gatherings

Six Simple Alfresco Recipes to Elevate Your Spring BBQ Gatherings

From smoky BBQ centrepieces to quick, throw-together dishes for last-minute gatherings, these easy alfresco recipes from chef Jason Shaw are crafted for relaxed spring dining outdoors. As the days grow longer and warmer, cooking moves outside, transforming meals into generous, easy-going affairs focused on bringing people together.

The Philosophy of Alfresco Dining

Alfresco dining, at its best, isn't about precision or performance—it's about generosity, ease, and the quiet theatre of food shared in the open air. This spring, as longer days draw us into gardens, balconies, and borrowed patches of sun, it's less about what's on the table and more about how it fosters connection.

That's the thinking behind this collection of recipes, created in collaboration with Elevated Food For Life, Laura James, and chef and food consultant Jason Shaw. His approach is refreshingly unfussy: "When I cook outdoors, I always think about balance… a great alfresco table usually has a mix of textures, temperatures, and flavours—something smoky, fresh, creamy, and crunchy." This philosophy runs through everything here, from slow-cooked lamb neck with charred leeks and burrata to quick, bright dishes designed for impromptu gatherings.

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Mastering the Mood of Outdoor Cooking

Crucially, these recipes understand the mood of outdoor cooking. "I always recommend dishes that are simple to cook over flame but still feel generous and impressive when served outdoors," Shaw says. "Cooking over charcoal adds depth to ingredients that might otherwise feel quite simple." That might mean a spatchcock chicken marinated with garlic, herbs, and lemon for Mediterranean freshness, or salmon paired with charred baby gem—details that quietly elevate a dish without overcomplicating it.

Even comforting elements have their place. Think filled potato skins loaded with macaroni cheese, prepped ahead and passed around as the evening cools, or a prawn saganaki that feels both rustic and subtly showy. And yes, dessert belongs on the barbecue too: grilled apricots, their sweetness intensified by heat, finished simply with cream or yoghurt.

For spontaneous moments, Shaw leans on instinct over instruction. "The best impromptu outdoor meals rely on great ingredients and simple preparation rather than complex cooking," he says—whether that's a quick carpaccio, a watermelon and feta salad, or flatbreads thrown on the grill and torn apart at the table.

If there's a single takeaway, it's this: the smallest details often matter most. "One of the simplest things people can do to elevate outdoor cooking is focus on the finishing touches," Shaw explains. A squeeze of citrus, a scatter of fresh herbs, a final drizzle of good olive oil—small gestures that turn something good into something memorable.

Ultimately, alfresco dining isn't about perfection. It's about the easy rhythm of cooking, eating, and lingering a little longer than planned—preferably with something smoky on the plate and a glass in hand.

Six Easy Alfresco Recipe Ideas

BBQ Lamb Neck with Leeks and Burrata

An underrated cut turned showstopper—slow, smoky lamb with creamy burrata to balance. In this recipe, we grill lamb neck, a fabulously underrated and inexpensive cut that's high in protein and low in fat once grilled. Typically a tough, hard-working muscle requiring slow cooking, lamb lends itself remarkably well to the BBQ. Serve it with chargrilled heart-healthy leeks and tender burrata, a high-protein Italian cow's milk cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The recipe is low on ingredients and incredibly easy to cook, but treat it with respect for impressive results.

• Serves: 2
• Time: 30 minutes
• Ingredients: 300g lamb neck (2 pieces), 2 leeks, 100g burrata cheese, 2 stalks of rosemary or oregano
• Method: Light your BBQ until charcoal turns white. Season lamb neck steaks with salt and place on grill with a sprig of herb on each. Cook for 15-20 minutes, turning frequently. Remove lamb and rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, add leeks with outer skin on to cooler coals. Leeks are done when they fall off a knife prick. Thinly slice lamb, split leeks in half (eating only the inner, tender part).

BBQ Spatchcock Chicken

Flattened for even cooking, crisp skin and maximum flavour from the grill. Rather than risking cheap chicken breasts that toughen on the grill, this recipe uses a young chicken (poussin), spatchcocked and grilled with heart-healthy leeks for tenderness.

• Serves: 2
• Time: 40 minutes
• Ingredients: 1 young chicken (poussin), 2 shallots, 2 tbsp Elevated house rub, 1tsp rapeseed oil, 100g/4oz Elevated BBQ sauce
• Method: Spatchcock the poussin by removing the backbone. Rub with house rub loosened with oil and let stand for an hour or overnight. Light BBQ until charcoal turns white. Place chicken on grill skin-side down using cooling racks or skewers. Flip after 5 minutes, turning frequently (add herbs under bird for extra flavour). Meanwhile, clean and split shallots, chargrilling alongside chicken. Ensure chicken reaches over 75°C in thickest parts with a meat thermometer. Remove and rest for 20 minutes. Serve with chargrilled shallots and BBQ sauce.

BBQ Salmon

Proof that simple wins—smoky salmon and charred greens doing all the work. You don't need low-cost burgers and sausages to keep BBQ costs down. This recipe uses salmon tail fillet, a cheaper cut, cooked over charcoals and served with char-grilled lettuce, reminiscent of "seaweed" from a Chinese restaurant. Baby gem provides fibre, antioxidants, vitamins A and K, and minerals like calcium, potassium, and iron.

• Serves: 2
• Time: 15 minutes
• Ingredients: 360g/12oz salmon tail fillet (two pieces), 2 lemons, 1 baby gem or 1 small romaine lettuce
• Method: Light BBQ until charcoal turns white. Season salmon with salt and place on grill skin-side down with a sprig of basil on top. Cover with an inverted frying pan to steam. Half the lettuce and place on grill, centre-side down. Half the lemon and add to grill, cut side down. After about 8 minutes, check salmon is done. Serve with grilled lettuce and lemon wedge.

Ultimate Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Comfort food still has a place outside—rich, silky mash for cooler evenings. This indulgent side dish uses only the best ingredients: potatoes, organic butter, and double cream. While not super health-giving, it's a dish that warms you inside. Potatoes are baked to preserve vitamin and mineral content, similar to Italian gnocchi preparation.

• Serves: 4
• Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Ingredients: 600g/21oz (around four) large floury potatoes (e.g., Cara, Maris Piper, King Edwards), 150g/5oz organic double cream, 50g/1.8oz organic butter, salt and pepper to taste
• Method: Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (fan) or 220°C/430°F (convection). Place potatoes on tray, drizzle with olive oil and sea salt, agitate to coat. Bake until cooked (about 60 minutes). Split potatoes and scoop out flesh, reserving skins for crisping. Pass flesh through a sieve for smooth pomme puree. Heat cream and butter in pan until reduced to custard consistency. Fold potato into emulsion, season with salt and pepper.

Prawn Saganaki

Quick, punchy and built for sharing—the kind of dish that disappears fast. This recipe is high in protein and omega-3 fats, with a show-stopping look when served steaming. Inspired by a Greek dish from Athens and Sparta, it's a form of sautéing or shallow frying. Use raw shrimp or tiger prawns, peeled or in shells for rustic appeal. Ingredients carry natural salt and saline notes, so no extra salt or black pepper is added.

• Serves: 1
• Time: 20 minutes
• Ingredients: 6-10 (75g/2.6oz) raw peeled shrimp/tiger prawns, 1/4 red chilli de-seeded and diced, 3-4 spring onions (thinly sliced), 150g/5oz BB Tomato Fondue, 5-6 pitted black olives (quartered), 3-4 cherry tomatoes (quartered), 5tsp feta cheese, 2tsp olive oil, squeeze lemon juice, crusty sourdough to serve
• Method: Preheat oven to 180°C/360°F (fan) or 200°C/390°F (convection). Heat skillet, add olive oil, and seal prawns quickly on both sides (not fully cooked), reserving. Add chilli and white spring onion slices, cook for 1-2 minutes without colouring. Add Tomato Fondue, stir, and bring to gentle bubble. Place tomato and olive quarters on top, cover with butter wrapper, and bake for 5-6 minutes until heated. Lay sealed prawns on top, bake for 3-4 minutes until cooked. Crumble feta over top, add green spring onions, torn Greek basil or thyme, and lemon juice. Drizzle with olive oil, serve with warm sourdough.

BBQ Grilled Apricots and Almond Macaroons

Dessert goes on the grill—caramelised fruit and just enough sweetness to finish. This simple dessert uses the grill to chargrill and stew stone fruits with blueberries, served with almond macaroons. Apricots are high in antioxidants, promote gut health, and have heart-protective properties. Blueberries and cardamom in cookies help boost natural killer cells for immune support.

• Serves: 6
• Time: 20 minutes
• Ingredients: For fruit: 12-14 apricots, 100g/4oz blueberries, dash maple syrup. For macaroons: 2 egg whites, 150g/5oz caster sugar, 150g/5oz ground almonds, 5 tsp flaked almonds, ½ tsp ground cardamom. For crème chantilly: 250ml/9oz double cream, 1g ground cardamom, splash rum (optional), ½ tsp vanilla extract.
• Method: Light BBQ until charcoal turns white. Make dessert first to ensure grill is clean. Split and destone apricots, lightly spray with oil, place flesh-down to caramelise. Flip after 2-3 minutes, cook skin-side down for 2-3 minutes. Remove to heat-proof dish, add blueberries and maple syrup, cover, and place on cooler part of grill to stew. For macaroons (can be made ahead), whisk egg whites to soft peaks. Fold sugar, ground almonds, and cardamom together, then into eggs carefully. Spray jam tart or muffin pan with oil, divide mixture into 12, place in receptacles. Cover and grill (or oven) for 5 minutes, flip, cook another 5 minutes. Whip double cream to peaks, add rum, vanilla, and cardamom. Serve stone fruits in tray with macaroons, daub with cream.

For more inspiration—from clever cooking shortcuts to thoughtfully designed pieces that make hosting easier—explore Elevated and the new-in garden collection at Laura James, where alfresco dining is treated as both an art and a way of bringing people together.