A Sunny Weekend BBQ with Banana Ketchup Chicken Wings and a Sort-of Sort-of Waldorf Salad

The weather gifted us another lovely weekend, and after a satisfying morning at the allotment, we decided to fire up the barbecue. With two overripe bananas sitting in the fridge and chicken wings on hand, I knew exactly what to make: banana ketchup chicken wings — a thrifty, tangy twist from OTK: Extra Good Things by Yotam Ottolenghi and Noor Murad.

From the Pages of

Extra Good Things

: Banana Ketchup Chicken Wings

I had made the banana ketchup early in the morning, combining the soft bananas with one grated apple to make up the volume. It turned out rich, fruity, and full of personality — just like the recipes in the book. The wings were marinated in the ketchup and left in the fridge while we worked at the allotment, soaking up the flavour until it was time to grill.

This recipe is a brilliant example of how Extra Good Things encourages stretching ingredients and thinking creatively — that banana ketchup alone is reason to keep a couple of overripe bananas from the compost.

Homemade Coleslaw? Let’s Call It a Sort-of Sort-of Waldorf Salad

On our drive home with my other half, we agreed that chicken wings always go well with coleslaw — usually the shop-bought kind. But this time, I was set on making something fresh. I remembered the sort-of Waldorf salad recipe from Plenty More by Ottolenghi. A quick fridge audit confirmed we had the essentials: apples and celery. No red cabbage, but a sweetheart cabbage would do just fine.

After three hours of weeding, I wasn’t about to make my own mayonnaise — so I combined shop mayo with strained yogurt and a little Dijon mustard for the dressing. The result? A creamy, crunchy salad with apple, dill, red onion, and toasted walnuts. Not quite a Waldorf, not quite Ottolenghi’s — more of a sort-of sort-of Waldorf salad.

Sort-of Sort-of Waldorf Salad

A fresh and flexible twist inspired by Ottolenghi’s Plenty More.

Ingredients:

50g walnuts

1 sweetheart cabbage, finely shredded

4 celery stalks, sliced thinly (1–2 mm)

1 red apple, thinly sliced

½ red onion, thinly sliced

50g dill, finely chopped

For the dressing:

140g strained yogurt

200g mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

½ tsp salt (adjust to taste)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C fan. Spread walnuts in an ovenproof dish and roast for 10 minutes. Let cool, then roughly chop.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard, and salt.

3. Combine cabbage, celery, apple, dill, walnuts, and onion in a large bowl. Add dressing and mix well.

4. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

   
   

This little salad experiment worked so well, I’ll definitely be making it again — a sort-of sort-of Waldorf salad, perfect alongside the bold, sticky-sweet wings from Extra Good Things. It was one of those meals that felt relaxed and celebratory all at once — made from what was in the fridge, yet still full of intention.