MORE PLEASE - MORE BIG SALADS

Asparagus, Mozzarella and Orzo, Chickpeas with Crispy Pastrami, Olives and Dates, and Warm Potato Salad with Basil and Pecorino.

Long weekends like the forthcoming Easter break very often mean a lot of hosting is on the cards. It is of course nice to gather and eat and generally revel in 4 days off work, but if you are the one hosting there is a certain amount of pressure on that. Certainly in my world, and for many others, it feels like a bit of a “busmans holiday”. I have found a way to get around that is to avoid uber structured hosting completely. No courses, no giant hunk of meat - this weekend is where buffets really come into their own. For my family get together this weekend we will be enjoying the most relaxed yet crowd pleasing of meals; a tableful of Sausages and Big Salads.

Big Salads are a genre of their own in my opinion. The point of them is that they are hearty and interesting enough to be a main course alone, OR served as a wider sharing set up. They are the clever bringing together of a few raw and a few ready ingredients to make a dish that feels more than the sum of its parts, a real mouth party if you will.

I feel like Big Salads are a real calling card for me. They appeal to the alchemist in my brain and the hostess in my heart. One of my first episodes for the Dinner Party, “The Garden Party One” has some excellent options, like Mozzarella with Lentils, Chilli and Mint or Grilled Peppers, Avocado and Dukkah. Or last years first dedicated post to Big Salads, which includes Potato, Pickle and Crispy Feta Salad, Peppered Trout with Rice and Charred Peas, or my Layered Chicken Salad with Bagel Chips, Apple, Fennel and Yoghurt.

Or take my cookbook, which is currently 30% off on Amazon right now, where there are TONNES of great Big Salads. In fact there’s a whole menu called “The One that’s a Buffet” that is based on a menu I actually cooked one Easter weekend for my family, including gorgeousness such as Roasted Tomatoes with Tarragon and Ricotta and Giant Couscous with Pickled Chillies, Olives and Peppers. In the “First BBQ of Summer One” the recipe for my Warm Potato Salad with Basil and Pecorino sits without a picture. It is a gloriously easy recipe and perfect for this theme, so I am bringing it to life here today and will be making it this coming weekend.

Also on the menu for my family and I will be a vibrant affair of Chickpeas with Crispy Pastrami, Olives and Dates. A bit of a kitchen sinker, this, in a very good way - I challenge you to not absolutely shovel it in once you’ve made it. It’s worth saying that Crispy Pastrami, a thing I discovered while developing a recipe for Halal Carbonara many moons ago, is an utter delight and a generally excellent salad topper.

And finally it’s an easy win in the shape of Asparagus, Mozzarella and Orzo. Pasta salads can be chic and this one with perfect chunks of asparagus, creamy hunks of buffalo mozzarella and lemony, garlicky fried pistachio dressing is about as chic as it gets. Everyone will love it, trust me.