Camp Recipes: Festive Summer BBQ

Forget the soggy sangers and sad-looking salads, our "Foodie Ambassador", Bec Taylor knows how to spend less time cooking and more time relaxing when on holiday with her family. Spend more time relaxing and less time cooking with this no-fuss, low-prep recipes, from Reflections Ambassador Bec Taylor, who recently stayed at Reflections Ferry Reserve in Brunswick Heads.

Bec's top 5 tips for a quick and easy summer BBQ while on holiday

1. Olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper whisked well or shaken in a jar for an easy salad dressing
2. 2. Plan your meals and shopping list before you go - even do a click-and-collect before you leave home so there’s no messing around or overspending at the supermarket
3. 3. Shop local for fruit, vege and seafood, do your research into where the farmers' markets are, and support local farmers
4. 4. Take all your spices, salt and pepper, sauces and olive oil with you to save money. Spices will spice anything up! Herbed chicken on the barbie, smoked paprika eggs in the morning, cinnamon pancakes, etc
5. 5. Make chia puddings or overnight oats in a large batch so you have quick nutritious healthy snacks on the go for the whole family to enjoy

Summer seafood BBQ recipe

This BBQ serves: 4 people

This festive-style BBQ is so easy to throw together. Our family loves fresh lemon, olive oil & cracked black pepper on all of our salads. It's such a simple & classic dressing to whip up at a moment's notice, especially if you need to travel lightly whilst camping!

We sourced our Ballina prawns from the Ballina Co-Op, about a 45 minute drive from Ferry Reserve, make sure you grab a photo of the kids next to the big Prawn at the same time! We've also heard that there is a delicious seafood van that comes to Ferry Reserve every Saturday morning but sells out within moments, so make sure you mark that arrival time in your calendar to avoid missing out!

There's nothing like homemade - the homestyle croutons on the cos lettuce salad are a great way to add an extra layer of crunch to any of your salads & it uses up any leftover or stale bread you may have lying around to avoid waste.

Don't stress about not using all of your mint and parsley leaves for the Mediterranean salad as you can use parsley in your eggs the next morning & mint in your cold water for a refreshing summer drink.

Prawn and oyster platter camp recipe

• 10 fresh tiger prawns (cooked) or large prawns (cooked) of your choice
• A dozen fresh oysters of your choice
• A box of Shucked Byron Bay Takeaway Oyster Vinaigrettes
• Fresh lemon wedges

Arrange your platter and use your fresh lemon wedges to add a bit of zing to your seafood.

Meat platter

Choose The meat of your choice - we chose 4 classic beef sausages & 4 lamb chops (purchased from a Mullumbimby Butcher to support the local community), get a nice heat going on your BBQ and cook to taste.

Classic Cos lettuce salad recipe

• 2 heads of cos lettuce, washed well, and leaves removed from the stems
• 1 large cucumber, peeled using a vegetable peeler
• 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1-2 large avocados, stone & skin removed, sliced into chunks
• 3 slices of sourdough or leftover crusty bread, broken into 2-inch sized chunks and lightly pan-fried in olive oil to form crunchy croutons
• Dressing: Fresh lemon wedges, drizzle of olive oil & cracked black pepper

Grab your most festive bowl and combine with ingredients and dressing.

Mediterranean pearl cous cous salad

• 1-2 cups pearl cous cous, cooked as per packet instructions
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 large zucchini, sliced into thin discs & lightly pan fried in olive oil until charred (or BBQ'd)
• 1 cup pitted kalamata olives, or olives of your choice, drained
• Handful of fresh mint leaves
• Handful fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• Dressing: Olive oil and cracked black pepper

Grab a medium sized bowl and combine with ingredients and dressing. This salad is a great way to savour fresh herbs.

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