Embers from noon
The Fire Lunch
A fire lit at ten, lunch at two: flatbread from the coals, whole vegetables in the ash, a shoulder that has had four hours and a salsa with enough acid to cut all of it.
Preparation
What happens when
- The day beforeMeat salted and left uncovered in the fridge, salsas made, dough started.
- The dayFire lit three hours before the first food, ember bed built to one side, meat on early and low.
Service
How to serve it
Everything goes to the table on boards, family style. The fire keeps working through lunch, so late guests are fed rather than apologised to, which is the format’s real advantage.
At home
Fire lunch for eight
One shoulder, one bread dough, three salsas. The fire does the cooking and you do the timing.
- Salt a 2.5 kg lamb shoulder the night before and leave it uncovered in the fridge.
- Light hardwood three hours before lunch and build an ember bed to one side. Cook the shoulder on the cool side, turning occasionally, for four hours.
- Bury 4 onions, 4 beetroot and 2 aubergines in the ash for an hour, then peel and dress while warm with oil, vinegar and herbs.
- Make a flatbread dough of 500 g flour, 320 ml water, 10 g salt and 3 g yeast, and bake the pieces directly on a hot plate over the fire as guests arrive.
Editor’s tip: Cook over embers, never flames. If you can hold your hand over the fire for four seconds, it is ready for the meat.
Plan it
Quantities and timing
How much to buy
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