THE FANCY SHMANCY ONE

for feeding fancy people

MENU TO SERVE 6

SWEETCORN AND STILTON FRITTERS

CLAMS, CREAM AND CALABRIAN CHILLI

GRILLED HAKE, SAUCE VIERGE BEANS AND AIOLI

BROWN SUGAR MERINGUE AND CHERRIES

Hey, hi, hello! In case you missed it, at the end of July I FINALLY compiled a recipe archive of everything we’ve ever done so far ever on The Dinner Party. It was such a good exercise, not least because I was reminded of some absolute blinders, and the sheer quantity of recipes (over 200). It also helped me see where there might be some holes, some areas we haven’t yet explored and I decided to use them as inspiration for this week's chic, delicious, understated menu. 

So - even though there are TONNES of amazing recipes in the archive, I felt like there was a lack of a kind of Fancy Menu. A grown up menu that you want to use to impress people, maybe your inlaws or your boss or perhaps that annoying friend who is a chef/model/international cellist. Food that feels a bit more restauranty, elegant and modern than a hastily assembled cottage pie (no shade on cottage pie btw). Dishes that might seem complex or brave but in truth are very chilled. This is a menu where it looks to your guests that you’re pulling out all the stops with dignified aplomb - confident, cool and crazy good at cooking.

First up are Sweetcorn and Stilton Fritters - crisp, delightful little bundles of sweet and savoury. It was once remarked to me that deep frying when having a dinner party was brave but I disagree. Frying to me is a very calming, soothing cooking method but also a deeply hospitable one. It guarantees a hot, crunchy surprise at the end and it’s not exactly rocket science so easy to do while holding a conversation. It shows your guests you care about that all important first bite - the bar setter. A well made, well fried fritter sets a very high bar indeed, and is the perfect companion to a strong, cold drink. 

Unbelievably, when making the archive I realised that my favourite shellfish, clams, had never graced the pages of The Dinner Party and I was HORRIFIED. Why are clams so chic? It’s hard to explain what makes those salty little bivalves inherently cool (as well as scrumptious), but I think I am going to put it down to the fact that they feel like holiday food. They are the dish you order when you are in that iconic post-day-in-the-sun-showered-tanned-moisturised-dressed-up-had-a-couple-of-spritzes mood. A treat, to be exact. Teaming them up here with plenty of white wine, cream and then spiking the dish with hot Calabrian chillies means they are also comfortingly rich, just in case the weather where you are isn’t behaving (in the UK it never is). It’s a glorious little starter and super easy to make. 

Our main course today is based on a dish I enjoyed the other weekend at The Three Horseshoes, a great pub back home near my parents. A beautiful grilled piece of hake over some divine, summery, tomatoey beans. Cooking fish for a crowd is not everyone's favourite thing to do and I completely get that - it’s a delicate business. Whacking your fish under a hot grill however is so very easy, quick and hard to get wrong. Your fish stays moist but gets a little crispy on top without you having to manically juggle pans. And your guests will think you’re ballsy. Sauce Vièrge is a classic French accompaniment to fish - it’s a refreshing tomato and herb dressing and right now, in peak tomato season, it is an absolute joy. When stirred through that store cupboard holy grail of jarred cannellini beans, it creates a really stunning and easy accompaniment to the hake, and of course you’ve got to have an aioli too. 

For pudding time this week we are tackling MERINGUES. But not a normal meringue, it’s a cool meringue - one made with brown sugar. Growing up, my dad would always make meringues in our aga and they would come out gloriously golden and nutty and delicious. Using brown sugar in a meringue does make them softer and a little bit less hard wearing but I love the caramelly flavour and moussey insides. They are also such a beautifully rustic thing - voluptuous and craggy at the same time. Meringues are the vintage cars of the dinner party dessert world and I adore them. 

Right then darlings, it’s time to get fancy. 

SWEETCORN AND STILTON FRITTERS

I am anti-mushy-fritter and I am not afraid to admit it. I want crunch and bite and texture when I go to the trouble of making a batter and truthfully pancakes or anything resembling them just are not my bag. Sweetcorn is gorgeously tender and sweet right now and combined with strong, savoury crumbles of stilton in a crisp, light batter it is pretty unbeatable. I don’t think these “need” a sauce necessarily but if you did want one, then Cajun Tomato Mayo would be a great match. 

Makes 18-20

• 2 small cobs sweetcorn (around 220g weight of stripped kernels)

• 100g stilton, crumbled

• 2 spring onions, finely sliced

• ½ tsp sea salt

• A good grinding of fresh black pepper

• 60g plain flour

• 75g cornflour

• 1 egg white

• 120ml fridge cold sparkling water

• A small handful of chives, finely chopped, to garnish

• 800ml vegetable oil

Pop a sweetcorn cob in a large mixing bowl and stand it on its end. Run a sharp knife down the cob to release the kernels. Because your cob is already in a bowl they won’t fly everywhere. Repeat with the other cob and then add in the stilton, spring onions, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Weigh the batter ingredients separately so they are ready to go - the flours can go in the same bowl. Heat the oil in a saucepan to 190, or until a chopstick convincingly sizzles. 

Whisk the egg white and sparkling water into the flours til you have a smooth batter that is around the texture of double cream. Fold in the sweetcorn mix and you are ready to go. Carefully dollop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil. Fry the fritters for around 3 minutes a side, turning often, until deep golden and crisp. Drain on a rack over kitchen paper and then serve sprinkled with the chopped chives.

MAKE AHEAD -

• The sweetcorn, stilton and spring onions can be prepped and ready to go in a bowl up to 24 hours before.

• Weigh up your batter up to 6 hours before too, apart from the sparkling water so that it stays nice and fizzy.

SUBSTITUTIONS - 

• Stilton could also be chunks any hard but slightly melty cheese - Westcombe cheddar, Berskwell, Gruyère or Comté would all be lovely here.

CLAMS, CREAM AND CALABRIAN CHILLI

These clams mean business. Clever cooking is all about making the ingredients work for you and clams (and much seafood) are a great example of a hardworking product. They produce their own sexy, delicious sauce basically and need very little help at all. Also they are moreish as hell and you know what else is moreish as hell? Things that are both creamy and spicy. So this is truly a triple threat. Calabrian chillies in oil are tiny yet fiery, slightly sour and a very, very good condiment to have, I thoroughly recommend adding them to your pantry. 

Serves 6 as a starter with bread

• 1.2kg fresh clams

• 3 tbsps olive oil

• 6 garlic cloves, finely sliced

• 6 calabrian chillies, chopped, plus 2 tbsps of the oil

• 120ml dry white wine, dry sherry or dry vermouth

• 270ml double cream

• salt and pepper

• Hot bread to serve

First things first let’s deal with the clams. A note on storage - do not keep your clams in water when you get them home, this will suffocate and kill them. Keep them in the fridge in a bowl or dish covered with a damp cloth. Then, around 1 hour before you want to use them cover them with cold water and stir in a tablespoon of salt. This will encourage them clams to breathe in the water which will make them purge themselves of any sand in their shells. Leave them in the salted water for a minimum of 30 minutes, up to an hour. Make sure to discard any open or broken clams before cooking. Clams don’t tend to have beards but you can give them a little wash post purging to get rid of any sand in the ridges of their shells.

When you are ready to cook, heat the oil in a large saucepan with a tight fitting lid. On a high heat, fry the garlic and chopped chillies for around 30 seconds to a minute before tossing in the clams and wine. Shake the pan and then pop the lid on and let them cook for around 5 minutes or so covered. This should be a good amount of time for most of, if not all the clams to open. Check after 5 minutes - if a fair few are still close then leave the lid on for them to cook for a couple of minutes. When all the clams are opened (discard any that have failed to open) take the lid off and stir in the cream. Stir everything well and check the seasoning of the liquid. Let the mix boil again for a minute before removing from the heat. Serve the clams and their spicy cream immediately with plenty of hot bread - you can drizzle more spicy oil on top too. 

MAKE AHEAD -

• This is a dish that can’t be made ahead but here are a few tips to make sure you don’t spend ages in the kitchen doing it - 

  • Slice your garlic, weigh all your ingredients and keep in the fridge.

  • Pop the clams into purge just before your guests arrive.

  • Have the right pan you need ready and waiting on the stove, oil already in, lid already on (not on the heat though).

SUBSTITUTIONS -

• Use mussels if you prefer!

• If you can’t get hold of Calabrian chillies then a couple of fresh, small hot birdseye chillies will work, or you can use your favourite chilli oil instead. 

• These would be excellent with chips or with pasta tossed through as a main

GRILLED HAKE, SAUCE VIERGE BEANS AND AIOLI

Fish cookery is tough at the best of times, but for a Dinner Party it can feel insurmountable. A quick flash under a hot grill is an amazingly accurate and simple way of cooking fish without stress. Not to mention our delicious Sauce Vièrge beans which are also very easy yet extremely refined and utterly glorious. A dollop of aioli ties it all together, for what is fish without mayonnaise I hear you cry? 

• 6 hake fillets, skin on - around 150 - 160g each.

• 1 tbsp sea salt

• 2 tbsps olive oil

For the sauce vièrge beans

• 300g ripe plum tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped

• 1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed

• 1 shallot, finely chopped

• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

• 15g flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped

• 10g mint leaves, finely shredded

• 80ml olive oil

• 2 tsps red wine vinegar 

• 1kg JARRED white beans ie. about 1.5 700g jars including juice. DO NOT USE TINNED FOR THIS.

• 30g butter

For the aioli

• 1 egg yolks

• 1 tsp dijon mustard

• 1 large garlic clove, grated

• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar

• 70ml olive oil

• 110ml veg oil

• Salt to taste

Make sure you store the fish uncovered in the fridge on some jay cloths, skin side up. I like to pat it dry all over too. 3 - 5 hours before you wish to cook it, flip the fillets over and salt the flesh side. Flip back over to keep the skin nice and dry in the fridge. The salt will help firm up and season the flesh.

To make the sauce vièrge, lightly toast the coriander seeds in a hot pan until fragrant - about a minute or so. Combine them with the chopped tomatoes, shallot, garlic, oil, salt and vinegar. Do not add the herbs now though or they will go brown. Season well.

For the aioli, blitz the egg yolk, mustard, garlic, vinegar and a decent pinch of salt in a blender to combine, then while the motor is running slowly pour in the two oils until you have a thick, wobbly mayonnaise. Check the seasoning and then cover and set aside. 

Preheat your grill to the highest setting. 

Pour your jarred beans into a pan and pop on a medium heat. Warm the beans in their juice until boiling, then stir through the butter and the sauce vièrge, saving about 4 tbsps for garnish. Remove from the heat but keep warm.

Rub the fillets of hake with oil on all sides, skin and all. Place skin side up onto a large tray covered in foil if you don’t have a good non-stick one. Pop the fillets under your piping hot grill for around 5 - 6 minutes - if you have a meat thermometer you are looking for an internal temperature of 63. The skin will sizzle and crackle and puff slightly - this is good! Remove the fish from the grill and rest for a minute. Stir the herbs through the beans and a few through the remaining sauce too. Plate the beans and drizzle over the last of the sauce vièrge, then top with the fillets of hake. Serve with the aioli and more crusty bread if you wish.

MAKE AHEAD - 

• The aioli will hold for up to 3 days in the fridge

• You can make the sauce up to 6 hours before serving.

SUBSTITUTIONS - 

• Switch hake for any firm, white sustainable fish - pollock or line caught sea bass would be amazing here.

• White beans can be chickpeas or butter beans.

• Don’t bother making your own aioli from scratch if you’re short on time - just bung a garlic clove into the jarred stuff.

BROWN SUGAR MERINGUE, CHERRIES

For something with so few ingredients it’s amazing how tricky meringues can be. I spent weeks perfecting them whilst working on the pastry section at my old restaurant and the memories still haunt me! Ever since I haven’t bothered much with them because they just felt too intense, but that was until I read this BRILLIANT piece by the always exceptional Nicola Lamb and it completely de-mystified them for me. So now I feel chilled and on top of things when I make them these brown sugar meringues are no exception. I love serving these with some whipped mascarpone, macerated cherries and more beautiful fresh ones but any fruit you love will do. Please note - to make meringues you are best off using a stand mixer, as this recipe requires at least 15 minutes of whipping.

For the meringues

• 130g soft brown sugar

• 140g golden caster sugar

• 4 egg whites, ROOM TEMPERATURE. Don’t keep your eggs in the fridge.

For the macerated cherries

• 150g red cherries, halved and pitted

• 1 tbsp soft brown sugar

• A squeeze of lemon juice

For the whipped mascarpone

• 200g mascarpone

• 400ml whipping cream

• ½ tsp vanilla bean paste

To garnish

• 150g yellow cherries

• 12 cocktail cherries with stems (optional)

The morning of your dinner party, preheat the oven to 130 fan. Stir together the two sugars in a bowl, checking there are no lumps. Line two flat trays with baking paper. In a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites on a medium to high speed until they are soft peaks - still slightly foamy. Now start adding spoonfuls of the sugars one by one as the machine whips, pausing for about 10-15 seconds before adding the next spoon. Do this gently until all the sugar has been added and then leave the mix to whip for a further 15 minutes, this makes sure all the sugar is properly dissolved. 

After the time is up, use two large serving spoons to dollop the mix onto your lined trays, you can secure your sheets of paper to your tray by smearing a tiny bit of meringue on each corner like a glue. I like to do 6 big, rough spoonfuls with plenty of pointy, craggy bits and then use the back of a spoon to make a divet on top. Pop them into the oven for 12 minutes, then turn the heat to 100 fan and leave to bake for 1 hour. After an hour, turn the oven off but DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR. Leave the meringues to cool in the oven for as long as possible - a minimum of 3 hours, ideally all day. Brown sugar meringues have more moisture in and will be prone to bleeding and getting soft, so leaving them in the oven keeps them away from extra outside moisture. The good news is you don’t need your oven until your guests arrive so wait to take them out then. These meringues will probably crack but that’s ok - this is normal with brown sugar and won’t effect the taste. Don’t do what I have famously done in the past - turn the oven on full whack with the meringues still in there. It is a disaster.

To macerate the red cherries mix them with the sugar and lemon juice and leave to sit at room temperature until needed, or for a minimum of 1 hour. Whip together the mascarpone, vanilla and cream to soft peaks, beating the mascarpone a little first by itself to soften it. You don’t need to sweeten this. 

When you are ready to serve, plate up the meringues, dollop over the whipped mascarpone, then top with all your beautiful fresh and macerated cherries and their juices. Serve immediately with a glass of iced sweet vermouth if you like.

MAKE AHEAD - 

• Make the meringues the morning of your dinner party, no later and no earlier! If you make them the day before they may get soggy.

• The whipped mascarpone will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days, just mix it with a dash of cream to soften it.

• Macerate the cherries up to 6 hours ahead.

SUBSTITUTIONS -

• Creme fraiche whip would also be lovely here

• ANY FRUIT WILL DO. These meringues are also great in Autumn / Winter.

TIMEPLAN 

This first plan should help you see what you can get done in advance, so that for each course on the day you have at least 1, maybe 2 major parts of it taken care of. I appreciate that not everyone’s weeks are easily peppered with dinner party prep, but if you’re hosting after work or on a day where you can’t be in the kitchen, getting ahead is going to save your arse.

MISE-EN-PLACE

This is the fancy name we give to the food prep each section in the restaurant needs to do for their dishes. Hopefully breaking down each dish like this will help you feel organised. 

Use the hour before your guests arrive to organise your space too- I find it helpful to group ingredients by dish so it is all in the same place. Little ramekins are really useful for this.

STYLING

Flowers wise - I’ve been loving asters and anemones this week, asters especially last for absolutely ages! I got mine from M&S. 

SWEETCORN AND STILTON FRITTERS

OH LOOK ANOTHER PILE OF BROWN CRISPY THINGS. What can I say, I am a predictable gal. I just love a heap of fried love!! Serve these on blues to work with the orangey/yellows in the fritter. Or alternatively, find a glorious metal tray from a charity shop or flea market and go very roaring 20’s

CLAMS, CREAM AND CALABRIAN CHILLI

Clams are actually very beautiful in the pan they are cooked in, especially if it is a metal one like this. If you don’t have a nice pan though then I still advocate for a big sharing portion to dole out from in the middle. I like these in reds and blues with plenty of extra bread and chillies in their oil to hand. Napkins are a must as are finger bowls with lemon, too.

GRILLED HAKE, SAUCE VIERGE BEANS AND AIOLI

The glossy, saucy beans here make such a beautiful base for our fish that this is certainly very lovely to bring to the table on a couple of platters with the fish resting on top. Again, to pick out the reds in the dish I like serving on a touch of red or pink. If you prefer to do single serves then it is nice to break up the plate with a dollop of bright yellow aioli. This dish feels quite French to me so using vintage French crockery is only right.

BROWN SUGAR MERINGUE AND CHERRIES

OOF what a glorious thing to plate!!! I love the shapely meringue, floppy cream and juicy cherries. These are individual serves only so find your cutest pudding plates - pinks, yellows, blues and purples all work here. I like keeping some fruit whole with their stems on for extra height and drama.