The Garden Party One
TIS THE SZN
THE GARDEN PARTY ONE
MENU TO SERVE 6-8
EGG MAYO SANDWICHES AND CRISPS
TALEGGIO, GRAPE AND PICKLED CHILLI CROSTINI
MOZZARELLA WITH LENTILS, CHILLI AND MINT
GRILLED PEPPERS, AVOCADO AND DUKKAH
POTATOES WITH TARRAGON AND JALAPEÑO
COURGETTES, WHITE BEANS AND DILL
COLD ROAST LAMB WITH ANCHOVY SAUCE, FENNEL AND RADISH
SUMMER PUDDING
WHITE PORT SHIRLEY TEMPLE
Good Monday to you all and Good SHORTEST WORK WEEK IN AGES!!! I hope you all have lovely Bank Holiday plans! Whether they involve cooking, drinking, dancing or mainly just sitting down, I hope you are going to be eating something delicious at some point.
This episode, The Garden Party One, is filled with some of my favourite informal sharing dishes for a glorious summer's day. DISCLAIMER: I am writing this before the Bank Hol and do not know if it will be sunny or not and unfortunately have no control over that. Anyway, rain or shine, these recipes slap.
When thinking about this menu, I tried to get myself into the mindset I enter when I cook back home at my parents house. I often don’t know what will be there, and so I have to be inventive with both storecupboard and fresh, because more often than not I am cooking for a crowd. I find that the power of three is helpful. I take one main ingredient and then I need to find two subsidiary flavours that will compliment it. So for example, grilled peppers, avocado and dukkah are three ingredients that work so beautifully together that just happened to be in my parents house once. Brought together with oil, citrus and a herb or two, that is a simple but stunning dish. I love cooking like this, because it means the ingredients are the stars and genuinely means you give yourself less work. You stop at three, or sometimes four and you’re not reliant on a long winded process. Try thinking like this the next time you’re stuck for what to cook, you might find it helpful!
This episode I am thrilled to be working with Haule who I have mentioned before on MORE PLEASE. They are a fantastic second hand homeware platform that really is just like going to an online flea market. They have an amazing range of furnishings and decorative homewares and a fabulous seller directory. When you see me using vintage tableware it is HIGHLY likely I have got it from Haule, so I have curated a little collection for them of summery pieces for your Garden Parties this summer here. This was incredibly generous of me tbh because I want to buy EVERYTHING IN THIS COLLECTION! Very useful for original, thoughtful and sustainable presents too.
Ok, this is a long one (surprising, I know), so I am gonna get straight into it. Enjoy my loves!
Please note, because these are all sharing dishes, the approximate serves are based on the idea that you will be having other stuff with them, i.e. not main course portions of each.
EGG MAYONNAISE SANDWICHES
Guy’s I bloody LOVE egg mayo. Without a doubt in my top 5 sandwich fillings (along with tuna mayo, prawn mayo, tomato and mayo, ham mayo… you see where my head is at). Little sandwiches filled with egg mayo - stop it. Honestly don’t understand why it isn’t on more restaurant menus but hey ho. These look so beautiful and with the crisps on the side can be DIY’d into egg mayo and crisp sandwiches which is also DELIGHTFUL.
Makes 4 sandwiches, cut into 16
6 free range eggs
140g mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Small handful of chives, finely chopped
3 punnets of salad cress
8 slices of soft white bread, crusts removed.
Salted crisps to serve
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, then carefully submerge the eggs in the water using a spoon. Boil for 8 minutes before transferring directly into a bowl of iced water to cool. When the eggs have cooled, peel them and cut them in half. From here you can just simply run your knife through them until they are finely chopped, but I like to separate the yolks from the whites, then I mash the yolks in a bowl with a fork until they are broken down into a chunky mess. I finely chop the whites, then combine with the yolks and 100g of the mayonnaise. I like how this disperses the colour of the yolks more. Season with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper to taste. Honestly I don’t think egg mayo needs anything else but if you have a little personal twist then play with the filling!
To assemble the sandwiches, spread the remaining mayo on the 8 slices of bread, it’s acting as a barrier here (you can also use butter if you prefer). Top 4 slices with a couple of spoons of egg mayo followed by the chives and cress. The chives here give the softest allium note without overpowering. Top with the other slice of bread and cut into 4 triangles. Plate garnished with your fave crisps, although mine in this case is just good quality salted, so I don’t lose any egg flavour.
MAKE AHEAD -
You can make your egg mayo up to 2 days ahead.
The sandwiches are only good made on the day, but If you need to assemble your sandwiches a few hours ahead of time, make them but don’t cut them. Lay them flat on a tray lined with baking paper and cover with a damp, clean tea towel. Keep in the fridge until 20 to 30 minutes before you need them - this will prevent them from drying out or curling, then remove and let them come up to temperature before cutting and serving.
SUBSTITUTIONS -
If you want to use lettuce/rocket/watercress instead of cress by all means do.
The bread choice is up to you, soft wholemeal also is lovely.
TALEGGIO, GRAPE AND PICKLED CHILLI CROSTINI
As I have said time and again, a crostini is a real weapon in the party food cannon. These couldn’t be more easy and also taste sublime - creamy, salty cheese on crunchy bread with sweet grapes and spicy, sour chilli hits a lot of exceptional notes. I think there’s scope for these to be in toastie form too but for ease we’ve kept them open this time.
MAKES 12 CROSTINI
4 tbsps olive oil
1 small ciabatta sliced into 12 thin slices
120g of taleggio cheese, cut in to 12 slices
6-8 green grapes, sliced
6 pickled chillies, sliced
Preheat your oven to 180.
Lay the sliced bread onto an oven tray and drizzle with half the olive oil, turning and smearing the bread in it so that each piece is well coated. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes, keeping an eye out for any that get golden quicker. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
Mix the grapes and chillies together with the rest of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Top each toast with a piece of taleggio, then spoon over a few slices of grapes and chilli and their oil. Serve immediately.
MAKE AHEAD
You can toast your crostini earlier in the day, leave to cool, then transfer to an airtight container lined with kitchen paper. The rest is best fresh and is the work of minutes.
SUBSTITUTIONS
Any funky creamy cheese would work here - a blue, a brie or camembert or a nice strong goat could all be used.
I like this with pickled chillies, but fresh would be lovely too.
MOZZARELLA WITH LENTILS, CHILLI AND MINT
Lentils are a god tier pulse, I am actually reeling at the fact this is their first appearance in The Dinner Party. I literally live off packet lentils in the week, they make the easiest quick and nutritious supper. Here we aren’t going so healthy, but this is still a low effort - high reward situation. You can of course cook lentils from scratch, they are fab and simple and we probably will do that in another episode, however in this case I’ve gone for the simplest option.
Serves 6 - 8
600g cooked puy lentils, from a packet
4 125g balls of high quality buffalo mozzarella
2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
240ml of olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
2 large handfuls of fresh mint, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Make the dressing by combining the oil, lemon juice, chilli and plenty of salt and pepper. Mix half of this with the lentils. Even though we are serving this dish ambient (ie. not cold, not hot) I find it really helps to heat the lentils when you do this. It softens them slightly and also they absorb the flavour of the dressing so much better when they are warm. You can either do it in the microwave or in a pan, you don’t need to fry them or anything, just gently heat them. Then, leave them to sit and cool. Remove the mozzarella from the fridge to come to temperature about half an hour before you plan to serve this. Right before you plate, mix the remaining dressing with the chopped mint; it will go black if it gets added too soon. Pop the lentils on your plate, then tear the mozzarellas and lay them on top. Season them with salt and pepper and then dress with the mint dressing, using any remaining to go over the lentils.
MAKE AHEAD -
You can dress and heat the lentils a day before, but you want to make sure you reheat them again before you serve so they are nice and soft.
Make the dressing up to a day before without adding the mint.
SUBSTITUTIONS -
If you prefer a different pulse, chickpeas would work well here. If you can only get hold of tinned green lentils, those are fine to use instead.
You could use burrata for a more luxy version, feta would also be lovely too. To make this vegan, I would sub the cheese for a delicious vegetable like roasted broccoli or aubergine.
GRILLED PEPPERS, AVOCADO AND DUKKAH
Another store cupboard ingredient that I rinse for quick weeknight dinners is the jarred grilled pepper. WHAT a smashing invention. If you have time you can of course grill or roast your own peppers but I love these so much for when I literally do not have that time. Here with soft, creamy avocado and fragrant dukkah you have a heavenly, quick and vegan friendly dish that is excellent smooshed on bread, with eggs or here, in amongst a lovely spread. Dukkah is an excellent mix of spices and nuts from Egypt and you can certainly make your own, or you can buy ready made versions which are great too.
Serves 6 - 8
1 450g jar grilled or roasted peppers, drained and roughly sliced or torn
2 large ripe avocados, peeled and sliced
Juice of 1 lime
6 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Small handful of chives, finely chopped
4 tbsps of dukkah
On one large or two small plates, mix the peppers with the avocado. Dress with the lime juice, olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the chopped chives and dukkah and that is literally IT.
MAKE AHEAD -
This is so quick you really don’t need to do anything ahead.
SUBSTITUTIONS -
If you can’t get hold of dukkah, za’atar would also work. Alternatively, toast some hazelnuts, sesame seeds and cumin seeds and top with that.
Chives could also be coriander or mint.
POTATOES WITH TARRAGON AND JALAPEÑO
If you don’t make a potato salad, did you even have a party? Possibly one of the most ubiquitous British dishes, reimagined here from the old mayonnaise and spring onion vibe. Don’t get me wrong I fricking love the original but this one is zingy, refreshing and looks GORGEOUS. A jewel on your summer table. The double dressing is essential too, soaking those pots while they are hot means they take on much more flavour.
Serves 6 - 8
1kg new potatoes
Zest and juice of one lemon
1 clove of garlic, grated
2 tbsps olive oil
For the green dressing
1 large or 2 small fresh jalapenos, plus one extra for garnish
30g tarragon, stalks removed
Small handful of parsley
100ml buttermilk
40ml mayo
Pop the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Salt generously, put on the heat and bring up to a boil. Boil for 15-20 minutes until a knife easily goes through the centre of the potato. The reason why you start from cold is because root vegetables (i.e. ones that have grown underground) have a much denser structure. If you simply put them in already boiling water, the vegetable will cook unevenly, often leaving you with an overcooked outside and an undercooked middle. When a root vegetable heats with the water, the inside cooks more evenly. The salting is important too, as this seasons the inside of the vegetable as it penetrates it.
When your potatoes are cooked, drain them and pop them back in the pan. Dress with the lemon zest and juice, grated garlic and olive oil, more salt and pepper if they need it and leave to cool completely.
Pop the jalapeños, 20g of the tarragon, parsley and buttermilk in a blender and blitz until smooth. The dressing will look very loose to begin with, but will thicken up again after about 15 minutes.
To serve, pop the potatoes in a serving dish and cover with the dressing. Top with more sliced jalapeño, whole tarragon leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.
MAKE AHEAD
You can cook and pre-dress the potatoes the day before, just don’t serve them fridge cold I beg you!
You can make the dressing the day before too.
SUBSTITUTIONS
I love the flavour of jalapeños, but if you’re struggling to get hold of them a normal green chilli will do. If you’re worried about spice, check how hot your chilli is by cutting it in half, press your finger into the white seedy membrane and then touch it to your tongue. If it is super spicy, deseed and remove the membrane. Unfortunately the only way of knowing is by tasting.
Swap in vegan yoghurt and mayo if you wish.
COLD ROAST LAMB WITH ANCHOVY SAUCE, FENNEL AND RADISH
I am a whore for lamb, it is by far my favourite meat. I love it hot or cold, and for this party I decided to go down the vitello tonnato/cold roast beef route, but with lamb. Vitello tonnato is a dish from Northern Italy of cold roast veal with a tuna and anchovy sauce. If I have lost you here, I can understand. However it is spectacular and think about it, how many times have you had lamb and anchovy? They are such a good combination - the rich lamb is tempered by the salty anchovy, and in this dish is freshened by lemony fennel and peppery radishes too. It is quite literally addictive, and using a reverse sear method you get beautiful blushing pink lamb with no stress at all, although you will need a meat thermometer for this; my favourite is the Thermapen.
1kg boneless lamb leg, rolled
2 cloves garlic
1.5 tsps fine salt
½ tsp black pepper
2 juniper berries
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tsp sugar
1 small handful of parsley, stalks included, finely chopped
2 tbsps vegetable oil
For the anchovy sauce
1 clove garlic
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp dijon
4 tbsp lemon juice
50g anchovies
90ml olive oil
To serve
1 small fennel
2 to 3 radishes, finely sliced
Juice of 1 lemon
A handful of parsley leaves, picked from stalks
The night before you cook the lamb, crush the fennel seeds and juniper berries in a pestle and mortar, then add in the garlic and salt and crush to a paste. Finally, add the sugar, pepper and parsley leaves and crush again to combine and make a green paste to rub all over your lamb leg. Coat the lamb in the paste, wrap tightly in clingfilm and leave in the fridge overnight to marinate.
Preheat the oven to 110 degrees and remove your lamb from the fridge half an hour before cooking. Pop the lamb on a roasting tray and into the oven. It needs to reach an internal temperature of 52 for medium rare or 54/55 for medium. This will take most likely 60-80 minutes. I would start checking the internal temperature after 50.
When the lamb is cooked to your liking, remove from the oven and get a large frying pan on a medium heat. While the pan is still cold, pop the lamb in fatty side down and leave to render for a few minutes. When it is sizzling and deep brown, turn and sear on the other sides. Remove and leave to rest on a rack or plate. You can eat this hot at this point but if you’re saving it to be cold, let it cool completely before wrapping again and returning to the fridge until needed.
Make the anchovy dressing by combining all the elements in a blender and blitzing until smooth and emulsified. It shouldn’t need any salt because the anchovies will have seasoned it well enough. Pop in the fridge until needed.
When you are ready to serve, slice the fennel and radish very very finely, a mandolin works well. Then mix with the lemon juice and some salt and pepper.
Slice the lamb thinly, I actually find a sharp bread knife works really well for this. Lay the lamb on a plate or platter and then scatter over the fennel and radishes and then the parsley leaves. Drizzle over the anchovy dressing and serve.
MAKE AHEAD
You can marinate your lamb up to 2 days ahead and roast it up to 1 day ahead, but don’t be tempted to slice it - the meat will oxidise.
You can make the anchovy sauce up to 1 day ahead
SUBSTITUTIONS
If lamb doesn’t do it for you, use beef or veal fillet. You can reverse sear in exactly the same way, just be attentive of the internal temperatures, the timings may differ slightly.
COURGETTES WITH WHITE BEANS AND DILL
I make variations of this dish a lot when I need comfort but also vegetable aid. I’ve got a deep, unhealthy obsession with dill and here with creamy beans and soft courgettes it just really sings. This dish is definitely Greek inspired, and would be super lovely with some crumbled feta on top, but it’s also a great one to keep up your sleeve for your favourite vegan. I like to serve this ambient, almost like a dip more than a dish, but it is lovely when hot too.
4 courgettes, roughly diced
80ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
3 tbsps dried dill
1.2kg jarred cannellini, drained
Zest and juice of a lemon
1.5 tbsps dried mint
40g fresh dill, picked and finely chopped
Warm the oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat. Add in the diced courgettes and fry for 5-8 minutes, stirring regularly. They shouldn’t take on any colour but will start to become transparent and soften. After about 8 minutes, add the sliced garlic and stir well. Fry for a couple more minutes before adding the beans, lemon zest and juice, dried dill and mint and a splash of water. Simmer for about 5 more minutes before removing from the heat. Add two thirds of the fresh dill and mix well. Leave to cool, and when you are ready to serve make sure the dish is warm or room temperature again. Drizzle with olive oil and top with the remaining fresh dill.
MAKE AHEAD
This can be made up to three days ahead, just make sure to warm up before you serve it.
SUBSTITUTIONS
You can use butter beans, chickpeas or even lentils instead of the white beans. I love courgette here but squash, peas, even broccoli and asparagus would work too!
If you don’t like dill, leave it out and finish with coriander, parsley or fresh mint.
SUMMER PUDDING
My mum rolled this out for dinner parties all the time when I was growing up and it sounds really strange on paper but MY GAD it is such a good pudding. For starters it is really easy to make, it is also super cheap and cheerful and it looks really beautiful too. It is, naturally, deeply retro but as I said two episodes ago - retro is chic! I love that it is also accidentally vegan (if you serve it with plant based cream) and, as the name suggests, it is the epitome of summer in a pudding.
8 slices soft white bread, crusts cut off
1kg frozen berries
300g caster sugar
2 strips of of fresh lemon peel
2 strips of fresh orange peel
1 tsp vanilla bean extract
200g mixed fresh berries to garnish
Double cream, to serve
Pop the berries in a large saucepan, stir in the sugar and the lemon and orange peel and slowly begin to heat it up. The berries will begin to defrost in the pan and as they do will release their juices so don’t be tempted to add any liquid. When all the berries have totally defrosted and are warm but not boiling, remove from the heat. Some will have disintegrated slightly - that’s fine! Strain the berries through a fine sieve, reserving the juices. I would leave them in the sieve for at least 20 minutes to drain thoroughly.
Line a pudding bowl or glass bowl that is at least 1l capacity with clingfilm so that there is plenty of overlap. I find it helps if the bowl is a bit damp - the clingfilm sticks better. Take 6 slices of bread and cut them in half lengthways slightly on the diagonal, so each piece is a slightly wonky, not very pointy triangle.
The next bit is messy! Dip a piece of bread into the fruit juice briefly, shake off any excess juice and then lay it so the thinner end is at the base of the bowl and the thicker end is towards the top of the bowl. Take another piece and repeat the same process, but this time overlap the piece of bread slightly with the first, pressing the edges together to seal. Continue like this until the whole bowl, apart from the base, is covered in soaked pieces of bread. Then take your penultimate piece of bread and cut it to fit the base of the bowl, you want it slightly bigger than the hole that is left but not huge. Dip it in the juice and press it into the base, taking care to seal any overlaps with the bread that is already in there. Pop the drained berries into the bread bowl. There should be a gap between the surface of the berries and the top of the bread. Take the final piece of bread and soak it and then lay over the top of the berries. Fold over the bread ends and press them down onto the top piece to seal. Take 4 tablespoons of the remaining juice and drizzle on the top, then cover with the clingfilm overlap. I like to weigh the pudding down when it sets. To do this I tend to use a saucepan that fits perfectly in the bowl and pop a couple of cans of beans in there as a weight. Pop in the fridge to set overnight, ideally for 8 hours minimum, and keep the juice too.
When you are ready to serve, remove from the fridge and unwrap the top layer of clingfilm, gently loosening the sides. Invert the bowl onto your serving plate, give it a little tap and the pudding should come loose. Remove the bowl and clingfilm and drizzle with a few spoons of juice and then garnish with your chosen fruit. Serve in slices with plenty of double cream.
MAKE AHEAD
It is vital you make this pudding at least a day ahead, but 2 days works too!
SUBSTITUTIONS
If you would prefer to make up your own mix of berries by all means do, just as long as the frozen weight is 1kg
Use plant based cream if you wish!
WHITE PORT SHIRLEY TEMPLE
A Shirley Temple is an iconic mocktail that is also sometimes called a Diablo Cassis. It is something I used to love drinking growing up and I think about it often. It is super refreshing, pretty and just a great basis for a cocktail too, especially a batch one to serve at a party. Being a huge white port fan, I played with the recipe to include it and I am very glad I did. I added grapefruit slices too, but the original garnish of a cocktail cherry is also gorge.
For 4 - 6 servings
100ml grenadine
400ml white port
100ml gin
300ml ginger ale
300ml lemonade
Juice of 2 lemons
Juice of 2 limes
Grapefruit slices, to serve
Combine all the ingredients in a jug, add plenty of ice and the grapefruit and serve!
SUBSTITUTIONS
You can leave out the gin or swap for something else, I just like the bitterness it imparts.
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 GUIDE
Rather than go through every dish this time, I am going to give you a general idea of the way I love to style big buffets.
Firstly - flat dishes are your friend. When you pop stuff in a bowl it tends to get hidden, your guests won’t see all of your beautiful ingredients and hard work. If you find it easier to dress things in bowls but are worried about creating tonnes of washing up then don’t because it can easily be done on a plate. When I was training to be a chef I did a few weeks work experience at Ottolenghi and I was taught how to make the beautiful heaving piled platters of salads there. The trick is to layer; start with your base that is seasoned, maybe spritzed with citrus on the plate. Then continually layer your ingredients, seasoning again where necessary, finishing with the drizzled dressing and maybe the odd crunchy bit. You always end up with something delicious and beautiful.
My second tip is spread the load. Try and do multiple plates of the same dish, main course plates are great for this you don’t always need just one large platter. The table will look fuller even though your workload is not, and you can then also add more colours and shapes to your with different style plates of the same dish. It makes serving easier too!
Thirdly let’s talk about height. I know we don’t all have cake stands lying around to create different heights on a table, but it is actually really easy to play with levels and will help to emphasise that feasting, groaning table vibe. I either build height using chunky wooden boards or upside down bowls underneath your plates. I love how this changes the look of a table.
Finally I really love adding drama with jugs, vases, jars - you name it, of flowers. For shooting this episode I went to Sainsburys and spent less than a tenner on sweet Williams, chrysanthemums and carnations - what can I say, I like frothy flowers. Then I clipped some greenery from the garden to add as well (don’t underestimate the power of plain green in a bouquet ) and hey presto - easy, cute posies that brighten up a party table.
WOW we did it! I really really hope you’ve enjoyed the Garden Party One and that it provides you with at least one useful dish for this Bank Holiday!!! And most importantly have the best, well deserved rest.
Love, Rosie x