I am the worst culprit when it comes to making food complicated. Picnics are a case in point. While our friends roll up, looking chilled, with their sandwiches, sharing packs of crisps and a tub of biscuits, when we arrive, my husband will be lagging behind me, dragging an oversized bag of cakes and bakes, maybe a tart, a nice salad. I just can’t help myself!

I’ve tried to pare it back, I really have, but I’m never going to be a light packer. Some of the most genius additions to our picnics are the fold out wooden mini picnic tables my mum bought me (at Aldi I think), which sit a few inches from the ground, will hold lots of snacks, and (crucially) have notches in for your wine glasses. Perfect!

Somewhere I HAVE managed to strip back my cooking is at home and around the barbecue – where less is definitely more. The best thing you can possibly do is let the main ingredients do the talking, as I have in this week’s recipe.

Buy the best quality pork you can. The crumbly, sweet, slightly spicy relish, cooks in minutes and just needs dolloping on at the end. Easy!

Barbecued pork with black pudding, plum and five spice relish

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

4 pork chops, preferably on the bone

Seasoning

Oil

1 red onion, finely chopped

1tsp five spice

100g black pudding, crumbled

10 small, ripe plums, stoned and chopped roughly

Method

Add a splash of oil to a small pan and fry the red onion until soft and lightly coloured. Add the plums and cook until beginning to soften. Add the five spice and black pudding and warm through. Season to taste. Set aside.

Place the chops between two pieces of greaseproof paper and bash with a hammer to flatten slightly, making the cooking time shorter. Rub lightly with oil and season.

Cook the chops on a barbecue, over a griddle or under the grill until done (it depends on the size of the chop but I’d allow about four minutes a side and test with a skewer). Warm the relish and serve over the chops.

I like to plate this up with charred corn, potato wedges and a green salad.