For the crab cakes, carefully pick through the crab meat for any pieces of cartilage or shell. Combine meat in a bowl with the mayo, breadcrumbs, spring onions, Old Bay seasoning, and lemon juice. Season to taste with a little salt, pepper and hot sauce.

​Divide the mix into 50g portions and shape into even-sized round cakes and lightly coat with flour

​In a food processor, combine the egg, egg yolk, mustard, lemon zest and lemon juice and process until very smooth. With the machine running, add the oil in a very thin stream until it is fully incorporated, and the mayonnaise is thick and creamy. Season with salt and pepper.

​Serve the crab cakes on a warm plate with a garnish of a few salad leaves dressed with a little Lemon Dijonaise.

​Home-made Caesar dressing is so much better than the store-bought. The key to a great dressing is to use quality anchovies.
Chop together anchovy fillets, garlic, and pinch of salt. Use the side of a knife blade to mash into a paste, then scrape into a medium bowl. Whisk in egg yolks, 2 Tbsp. lemon juice, and mustard.
Add a dash of Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce as well to give the dressing some color and depth of flavors.
Adding drop by drop to start, gradually whisk in olive oil, then vegetable oil; whisk until dressing is thick and glossy. Whisk in Parmesan. Season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired.

​Cut the romaine hearts in halves. Rinse and dry. Spray the inside of the hearts with canola oil and season with salt and pepper.
Set the grill to medium. Place the romaine hearts inside down on the grates and grill until you have visible grill marks. Don’t overcook it. You just want a few scorch marks from the grillgrates.

​Let the romaine hearts cool down and drizzle with Caesar dressing. Add shaved parmesan just before serving.

Ingredients:
​Rustic Bread
​2 Rip Tomatoes
​Spanish Olive Oil
Salt
Garlic
​Jamon Iberico or Jamon Serrano (Optional)

Every meal in the Spanish province of Catalonia starts with Pan Con Tomate, sometimes served with ham and sometimes without. Sometimes served with anchovies and sometimes without. It is a simple dish to make but the flavors are complex. It could be enjoyed by itself with a glass of Rioja or as a part of a charcuterie board. The key to a great Pan Con Tomate is to use fresh and high quality ingredients. You can toast the bread but I prefer to grill it to make the flavors really burst. 

There are two ways to make a great Pan Con Tomate. In the old traditional way, you toast or grill the bread first. Then each person at the table lightly rub the sides of a peeled and halved garlic clove on the bread. Don't overdo this part. Then rub the halved tomatoes on the bread to give the bread a good tomato coating. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and you are done!!

​When you have a party it can be messy to have each person to prepare their own, so then you can use the second approach. Slice 2 super ripe tomatoes in halves. The riper the better. Grate the flesh on a grater but make sure that you throw away the skin. Mix the grated tomatoes with two pressed garlics and set aside.  

Slice the bread and brush with some olive oil on both sides. Grill on medium high heat. You want to make sure that the bread get a good crust but that it doesn't get burnt. Grill both sides and transfer to a cutting board.

Spoon the tomate/garlic mix on top of the bread, make sure that you reach the very edges of the grilled bread. Drizzle with Spanish olive oil and sprinkle with salt. The quality of both the olive oil and the salt will make a huge difference in the taste of the Pan Con Tomate. I like flaky sea salt for a richer taste. Eat as is, or add some Jamon Iberico. You can also add anchovies or some marinated olives.

Marinated and Grill Lamb Skewers is a common dish in Spanish cuisine. It is great with some Spanish Rice or as a stand-alone tapas. There is a strong influence of African cuisines in this dish. The reason is that the Moors crossed into Spain from North Africa 700 AD where they stayed for three centuries. This had a strong impact on Spanish culture, especially in the south.

You want to make sure that you give yourself plenty of time to prepare this recipe since you want the lamb to marinade for at least 18 hours. If you want to less of an African taste, use a smaller amount of Garam Masala and instead increase the Pimenton and the Garlic.

Make the marinade by combining the cilantro, parsley, garlic, black pepper, thyme, pimento, garam masala, chile, lemon juice, oil and a couple of teaspoons of salt. Blend on  high until you have a very smooth puree. Set aside.

Start trimming the leg of lamb by slicing off the large chunks of fat and silverskin that is covering the leg. It is important that remove most of this - if not, the lamb will be chewy and stringy when you grill it. You will have to remove quite a lot. Once you have trimmed a 3 lbs leg, you will be left with about 2 lbs of good meat for grilling. Next, cube the trimmed meat into 1-inch cubes. Make sure the cubes are equal in size, to ensure that they reach doneness at the same time when you grill them.

Mix the marinade and the cubed lamb thoroughly. Ensure that the marinade is spread evenly. Vacuum-seal or cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 18 hours. Soak the bamboo skewers for at least 2 hours before grilling. This will prevent the skewers from burning up. Use flat skewers when grilling to prevent the meat from rotating on the skewers when you grill. Light the charcoal grill or set your gas grill on medium-high. Thread 6-8 lamb cubes on each skewer. Season with salt on each side. Grill the lamb for 5-7 minutes total or until ready. Outside should be charred and the meat should have a little resistance when you press it. Flip the skewers one time. Serve immediately. 

Chicken wings can be done in thousands of variations. Buffalo, Garlic, Parmesan, Thai Peanut, Deep-fried, Grilled, Smoked, Baked. They are all delicious when cooked right. I like this recipe because you get a little hint of smoke without being overpowering and the smoke balance the sweetness of the Asian flavors in a great way. It is also a very safe way to cook the wings since you smoke them first and then just finish them over a grill. Sometimes it is hard to get the inside cooked through without scorching the outside. This way none of your guests will risk getting salmonella.

Mix together both the marinade and the glaze. You can add red pepper flakes to both the glaze and marinade if you want the wings more spicy. I use a soy sauce for braising in this marinade. Tends to be a little less salty which works better with wings.

Smoke the wings for about 30-40 minutes at 225 degrees F. Use fruitwood (apple, cherry) for a good mild smoke flavor. You don't want the wings to get too much of a smoke flavor. The wings will still be slightly undercooked but that it is ok since you will finish them on the grill. Toss the wings in the marinade and let them soak for 10-15 minutes. Stir a couple of times to make sure that all the wings gets marinated.

Make sure that the grill is hot and that you have the glaze available. Finish the wings on the grill, make sure that you cook the wings throughout without burning them. Depending on how hot your grill is you can either baste the wings with the glaze or toss them in the glaze when they are finished. You don't want to burn the sugar and honey too much. When the wings are done, sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions on top. Serve hot!!

​Japanese flavors are amazing and if you combine it with fresh vegetables you can create some amazing tapas with almost no effort at all. Most ingredients are available at any Asian market    

​How to make the Shishito Peppers:
​Rinse the peppers and toss them with the olive oil - make sure that they are evenly covered. Set the grill on high. Use a vegetable tray so the peppers dont fall through the grill grates.

​Grill on high until the peppers are roasted  and browned, about 5-6 minutes. Take the peppers of the grill and toss them with the Ponzu sauce. Season with the flaked sea salt. Serve immediately  and sprinkle the bonito flakes on top of the peppers. If you want to make the Japanese tapas completely vegan - skip the bonito flakes.

​How to make the Asparagus:
​Rinse the Asparagus and cut the hard bottom part of the Asparagus off. Pour the olive oil in a large sautepan and heat on medium high. When the pan is hot, add the Asparagus.

​Sauté for 5-6 minutes on medium-high until the Asparagus are nicely browned and has softened. When ready, pour the Chuka dressing into the pan. The dressing will start caramelize almost instantly so be careful so you don't burn the dish. Toss the Asparagus in the dressing, add the sesame seeds and then quickly toss one more time. Remove from the burner and serve immediately. You can also do this on a grill if you prefer a more charred flavor. Toss the Asparagus in some olive oil, and set the grill on medium. Place the Asparagus on a vegetable tray and brown on all sides. When almost ready, toss them in the chukka dressing and sesame seeds and finish the Asparagus on high heat until they have a nice glaze.

​How to make the Brussels Sprouts:
​Rinse the Brussels Sprouts and remove the stalk and the harder outer leaves. Quarter the Brussels Sprouts.

​Add oil to large saute pan on medium heat. Slowly sauté the Brussels Sprouts until they are slightly browned, make sure that you don't burn the leaves. This will take about 4-6 minutes. When slightly browned, add the vegetable stock. The stock should just cover the base of the ban up to 1/16 of an inch. Give the pan a good stir and then allow to steam-fry until all the liquid has cooked off and the sprouts are tender. 

​While the Brussel Sprouts are slowly steam-frying, mix the Dijon Mustard and the Wafu dressing together. You can also grill the Brussels sprouts on a vegetable tray if you prefer them more earthy. This is my favorite way of preparing them. Set grill to medium, toss the Brussels sprouts in some olive oil and grill until brown and crispy. When the Brussels sprouts are finished cooking, whether you sautéed them or grilled them, add the Mustard-Dressing mix and stir thoroughly. Make sure that the Brussels Sprouts get covered evenly. Serve immediately.

​This is a great trio of appetizers to serve together. The Shishito Peppers adds sweetness and acidity to the dish, the Asparagus with the Chuka dressing adds some heat and finally the Brussels Sprouts adds richness and creaminess. Enjoy!!

Start with the black garlic, peel and finely mince. Put garlic, rice wine, hoisin sauce, honey, sugar, bean sauce, and spice in a blender and puree.

Simmer the mixture in a large saucepan over medium heat for 10 minutes until it bubbles and sauce begins to thicken. Alternatively, cook in Thermomix for 10 minutes, 212 degrees, speed 1. Set aside and start preparing the Sunchokes. 

Set the smoker at 350 degrees and use fruitwood for flavor. While you wait for the smoker to heat up. scrub the sunchokes thoroughly. Make sure that you rinse of all the dirt. When clean, cut the sunchokes in half. Pour 3 Tbs of Olive oil into an over-proof pan.

Place sunchokes cut-side down in the pan and insert into smoker. Smoke the sunchokes for 20 minutes until they have softened slightly and browned. Turn and smoke for another 15 minutes.

After about 35 minutes, remove pan from smoker. Dip the sunchokes into the BBQ sauce and make sure that they are covered in sauce. Place them in the pan again and smoke for 5 minutes. Repeat this procedure one more time. Cut the thick stalk from dill and chop. Sprinkle dill over sunchokes.

Serve while hot. This is a perfect appetizer or a side dish for Asian short-ribs, pork-belly or even steak.  The smoky flavor, together with the sweet sauce and the crispness of the dill makes this an all-time favorite. And it is 100% vegan!!