Relive the holiday experience with your barbecue

Whether it’s your tradition to plan and book your next holiday when you’ve just got off the plane still wearing your shorts and T shirt, carrying your souvenirs, with your tan intact, and your memories still fresh, or whether you’re one for bagging a last-minute, cost-saving holiday deal on impulse, you’ll be sure to want to draw out that relaxed vibe from your trip away for as long as possible afterwards.

The places to be in 2019

And with the most popular months coming up for people to book and take their hard-earned annual leave, ABTA, the UK trade organisation for tour operators and travel agents, has already predicted the trends for the top 12 holiday destinations for 2019.

The main contenders are Denver in USA, the gateway to the beautiful state of Colorado; the cosmopolitan city of Durban in South Africa; Japan, home to the 2019 Rugby World Cup; Madeira, an up and coming island destination for activity lovers; and Western Australia, with it beautiful beaches. Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Galicia, Jordan, Poland and Uzbekistan all make the list too.

So, what are some of the reasons that we decide to spend our hard-earned cash on getting away from it all and travelling overseas on holiday? Some would say learning about a new culture, meeting new people, enjoying the outdoors, getting healthier, basking in the sun, escaping the patterns of everyday life, and experiencing new foods.

How to bring the holiday home with a BBQ experience

What better way is there, once you’ve returned home to work, the inclement weather, and the bills, to bring more than a fridge magnet back home and to remind yourself of the good times through a barbecue.

Sitting outdoors on a long summer evening with a drink in hand, chatting with friends al-fresco, and the barbecue sizzling away is one sure-fire way for you to bring back that positive summer holiday vibe.

Throw a traditional Lula kebab on the coals

And, if you do decide to make the unlikely destination of Uzbekistan your holiday destination of choice this year, visiting the beautiful historic sites and joining the raft of other Brits looking to take advantage of the old Soviet state introducing visa-free travel, you might want to pop a Lula kebab on the BBQ when you get home to keep the holiday experience alive, at least until the embers fade … if you do, here’s how to make this flavour-packed, traditional Central Asian dish:

Main ingredients

• 1kg lamb mince
• 1 small onion, roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp chopped thyme
• 3 tbsp ground cumin
• 3 tbsp ground coriander
• Large grain coarse salt
• Freshly cracked black pepper

Serve with

• High quality flat bread
• Rocket salad

In the kitchen

• Mix the mince with the seasonings
• Mould the mince mix into oval shapes and push through a skewer, removing the air bubbles
• Chill in the fridge for an hour before cooking

On the BBQ

• Preheat the grill
• Cook the kebabs for three minutes on each side until darkly browned
• Remove from the grill and enjoy with bread, salad and your own choice of sauce