THE VIRAL ONE

A Dinner Party for the digital age with author Saskia Sidey!

MENU TO SERVE 4 - 6 PEOPLE

DATE BUTTER BOARD

GREEN GODDESS SALAD

‘NDUJA WANNA MARRY ME CHICKEN

DALGONA AFFOGATO

Hi everyone and welcome to June’s Dinner Party! As you read this I am hopefully on a nice terrace somewhere off the coast of Northern Sicily watching the sunset with a cold drink and a bowl of salty crisps. My husband and I are on our “babymoon” , for wont of a better word, ie. the last holiday just us 2 before our baby arrives. When I get back I’ll share a little round up of the trip for my paid subscribers

Luckily I am so pleased that this month the very talented food stylist, recipe developer and author Saskia Sidey is taking over to bring us a delicious menu of delights from her new cookbook “You’ll Love This”. It contains Saskia’s brilliant takes on the worlds most viral recipes from the last few years and it is full of gorgeous dishes you may know and already love, but now have in book form! Plus they’ve been put through their paces so you know they work perfectly every time.

PHOTO: JO SIDEY

I’ve followed Saskia for years, she and I often crossed paths in the food styling world, and then content creation too. She is a brilliant chef who creates magic wherever and with whatever she cooks. Her recipes are flavour forward, extremely rigorously tested and so, so, so moreish. One thing I love about food stylists who develop recipes is that they always think about composition on the plate and how the reader can make the most out of that important final stage of cooking. Saskia is no exception, every recipe she writes is stunning and so easy to recreate. I can honestly say I couldn’t be leaving you in safer hands! Ok, over to Saskia now with her DIVINE menu that I can’t wait to cook. Don’t forget that You’ll Love This is available now in all good book stores!

SASKIA:

As someone who already spends far too much time on her phone, when this brief from a publisher came through it felt utterly perfect for me. They suggested having a collection of the internet’s best loved, most viral recipes ever - and I decided to put my own twist on every one. It’s essentially an offline version of your saved folder - all the recipes that you thought looked good, but never got around to making. I wrote and shot the book in my first trimester of pregnancy which was BRUTAL, but also kind of a magic distraction from the universe that helped me get out of bed every day.

The world of viral recipes is a fascinating one. They’re usually incredibly popular, and incredibly divisive at the same time. I’ve had a handful of viral recipes myself and I notice that the recipes that succeed the most are when viewers have something to say in response to it. When there are questions about preparation, shock at ingredient quantities, disagreement about methods and preparation. Social media is a social place. The more people discuss the recipe, the further it will reach. Disgust, appeal, envy, excitement - it all racks up views, gets people talking, and gets people into the kitchen to see what all the fuss is about.

For me, I’ve always been a little bit suspicious of viral recipes because they’re not always guaranteed to work, so my main aim with this book was to make delicious, craveable versions of those popular recipes accessible and foolproof.

Viral recipes are not predictable - they’re often surprising with varying levels of complexity but they usually have some sort of hook that makes people say either ‘I could make that’ or ‘I should make that’. I’ve chosen a recipe for this menu from each ‘camp’ of viral recipes.

To Nibble : A Date Butter Board aka. All for the aesthetic

Sometimes, it’s just because it’s pretty. Plain and simple. Butter boards, dipping oils, honey butter toasts, cowboy caviar - if they’re colourful and aesthetically pleasing, chances are they’re going to be a hit.

To Start : A Green Goddess Salad aka. Repetitive Familiarity

Sometimes it’s not a creators first recipe that goes viral, but rather when viewers see them make something again and again and again. After a while, if you see someone you like and admire eating something all the time, eventually you’re going to cave and see what all the fuss is about.

The Main: Nduja Wanna Marry Me Chicken aka. Wow, even I could make that

This is one of the most common reasons that a recipe goes viral. If it seems simple enough that people who can’t cook could make it, its very likely to be popular. Anything that calls itself ‘foolproof’ comes into the limelight here, and you’ll often see instant ramen, pasta, wraps and sandwiches falling into this camp. The draw of marry me chicken is the ease and simplicity of a one-pot show stopping dish that will make someone drop to their knees and propose.

The Dessert : Dalgona Affogato aka. Same ingredients, new techniques

Nodding again to a sense of familiarity and nostalgia, I notice that recipes that go viral often have the same handful of ingredients, used in different formats, with different hacks, or in slightly unusual combinations. There are so many viral recipes with tortilla wraps, eggs and ramen noodles as the catalyst. These are ingredients we’re familiar with, and then encouraged to step slightly outside of the box with. Here, where coffee powder and sugar are transformed into something unrecognisable - a whippy, fluffy spoonable caffeinated treat, you’ve got a viral winner on your hands.

DATE BUTTER BOARD

When @justinesnacks introduced the butterboard to the world, everyone was instantly obsessed. A beautiful way of serving bread and butter to guests, this was a great recipe to inspire creativity for different compound butters, spreads and toppings.

The restaurant I miss most in London is Oklava, a Turkish-Cypriot hot spot which not only served wonderful food, but had THE best bread and butter. A date butter spiked with chinese black vinegar that gives it an incredible sharp savoury touch. Sadly, that restaurant shut down a few years ago, so here’s my ode to it! The edible flowers are really for the aesthetic, they’re never that tasty to eat BUT in a viral world, visual counts.

Serves 4

Takes 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 100 g medjool dates, pitted

• 1 tablespoon caster sugar

• 1.5 tablespoons black rice vinegar

• 250 g salted butter, softened

• A large pinch of flaky sea salt

• 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds

• 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

• 1/2 teaspoon baharat

• A small handful of walnuts, roughly chopped

• Edible flowers (optional)

• A few sprigs of thyme or marjoram, leaves only

• Crusty bread, to serve

Method

1. Pop the dates, sugar and vinegar in a saucepan with 2-3 tablespoons of water. Cook over a medium heat, crushing with the back of a wooden spoon regularly until they are sticky, broken down and bubbling, around 4-5 minutes.

2. Take the dates off the heat and allow to cool, then beat in the softened butter - you can do this in a stand mixer to make it extra light and fluffy.

3. Spread the butter on a chopping board, and sprinkle with flaky sea salt, sesame seeds, baharat, walnuts, edible flowers and herbs. Serve with crusty bread.

NOTE: This makes too much butter for 4 people to eat in good conscience, but it keeps in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, and in the freezer for 2-3 months and is FANTASTIC on a crumpet.

GREEN GODDESS SALAD

@bakedbymelissa has had heaps of viral recipes, usually veg-centric salads that require lots of intricate chopping. This one really took the internet by storm, and had everyone eating their salad with tortilla chips for months.

This salad is an incredible way of getting your greens in - when else would you happily eat a whole head of cabbage in one sitting? I’ve played around with the original dressing here and made it a tad creamier by adding avocado, and introduced my favourite herb - tarragon - for an extra special aniseed flavour that will have people asking what your secret ingredient is. The key here is very finely chopping everything - it needs to be scoopable with your tortilla chips.

Serves 4

Takes 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 20 g tarragon

• 25 g spinach

• 2 garlic cloves

• Zest and juice of 2 lemons

• 30 g cashews (optional)

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1 avocado

• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

• 2 tablesopoons rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard

• 1 head of sweetheart cabbage, finely chopped

• 1 cucumber, finely chopped

• 4 spring onions, finely chopped

• 1 bunch of chives, finely chopped

• Tortilla crisps

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. In a small blender, blitz together the tarragon, spinach, garlic, lemon, cashew, oil, avocado, nutritional yeast, vinegar and dijon. Season generously to taste and set aside.

2. Add the finely chopped veggies to a bowl and toss in the dressing.

3. Serve with tortilla crisps to scoop.

NDUJA WANNA MARRY ME CHICKEN?

@gimme.delicious racked up 37.5M+ views on their Marry Me Chicken video, and then everyone started recreating it with pasta, rice, slow cooker versions and lots more. The story goes, this chicken is so good, if you make it for someone, they’ll instantly propose.

I’m not entirely sure who renamed Tuscan Chicken as “Marry Me Chicken” but it certainly has a ring to it. I thought the original could do with a punch more flavour, so I’ve added my favourite spicy condiment - nduja. Swap it out for calabrian chilli paste, or leave it out entirely if you’re not a fan of the heat.

Serves 4

Takes 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 4 chicken breasts

• 2 tablespoons salted butter

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 4 tablespoons nduja paste

• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

• 3 thyme sprigs, leaves only

• 1 x 280 g jar of sundried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped

• 350 ml chicken stock or chicken gravy

• 300 ml double cream

• 50 g parmesan cheese

• 200 g baby spinach

• 20 g basil, leaves only

• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Add the olive oil to a large shallow frying pan. Season the chicken breast generously with salt and pepper then fry for 2-3 minutes on each side on a medium high heat until you have a beautiful golden colour on each side. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

2. Add the butter and onion and sautee for 5-6 minutes until softened and translucent. Add the garlic, nduja paste, oregano and thyme and cook for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.

3. Add the sundried tomatoes, chicken gravy, cream, parmesan cheese and spinach, stir well to combine, then nestle the chicken fillets back on top. Cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through, or alternatively pop it in the oven for 15 minutes.

4. Serve with a scattering of fresh basil leaves and enjoy.

DALGONA AFFOGATO

Dalgona whipped coffee went NUTS in lockdown with everyone whisking their instant coffee to fluffy cloud-like cult status. While @iamhannahcho first made it popular online, @soukainasing1 got 55M+ views for her handy trick of shaking it together in a bottle rather than whisking it too.

Some sort of magical wizardry happens to instant coffee when it’s whipped up like this - the pillowy texture, the surprising strong hit of caffeine, and the smooth brown sugar spiked flavour is fantastic. I’ve chosen to serve the whipped coffee on top of vanilla ice cream instead of a traditional hot affogato, and I think it’s wonderful.

Serves 4

Takes 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons instant coffee granules

• 5 tablespoons light brown sugar

• 5 tablespoons cold water

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

• A pinch of salt

• 1/2 x tub of vanilla ice cream

Method

1. Add the coffee, sugar, water, vanilla and salt to a bowl and whisk (ideally using electric beaters) for 8-10 minutes until light, fluffy and significantly increased in volume.

2. Divide the ice cream between 4 bowls, then top with the whipped coffee. Serve and enjoy.

NOTE: You can also mix a few tablespoons of the whipped coffee mixture with cold milk + plenty of ice for a lovely traditional iced dalgona coffee.

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.