This is everything we served at our first dinner party: a menu that could mostly be prepared ahead, leaving us more time at the table and less time disappearing into the kitchen.
Read the story of our first dinner party →
The menu
- Make-ahead mojitos
- Charred peach and speck salad
- Herby chilli chicken with honey-roasted carrots, smoky courgettes and mashed potatoes
- Peach and raspberry puff pastry pockets
Make-ahead mojitos
Serves 6–8
A refreshing mint and lime cooler that can be served with gin or kept alcohol-free.
Ingredients
- 100g sugar
- 40 mint leaves (approximately 20g)
- 3 limes
- 1 litre soda water, chilled
- Gin, to serve
- Ice
- Lime slices and extra mint, to garnish (optional)
Method
Place the sugar and mint leaves in a pitcher and muddle firmly to release the mint oils. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.
About 30 minutes before your guests arrive, halve and squeeze the limes into the pitcher. Stir in the chilled soda water until most of the sugar has dissolved, then return the mixture to the fridge.
When ready to serve, fill each glass with ice, add one or two shots of gin and pour over the mint and lime mixture. For an alcohol-free version, omit the gin and add a little extra soda water instead.
Garnish with lime and fresh mint.
Charred peach and speck salad
Serves 4–6
Sweet grilled peaches, bitter leaves and salty speck come together in this fresh summer salad, finished with a citrus and balsamic dressing.
Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s chargrilled peach and speck salad. We used fewer peaches and leaves, and replaced the orange blossom water with fresh orange juice and zest.
Ingredients
- 3 ripe peaches
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 red or white endives, leaves separated
- 50g watercress
- 50g baby chard or other small salad leaves
- 100g thinly sliced speck
- Flaky sea salt and black pepper
For the dressing
- Zest of ½ orange
- 3 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tbsp good-quality balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Method
Halve and stone the peaches, then cut each half into four wedges. Toss with one tablespoon of olive oil and a little salt and pepper.
Heat a griddle pan until very hot. Cook the peach wedges for about one minute on each side, until lightly softened with visible char marks. Transfer to a plate and leave to cool slightly.
Whisk together the orange zest, orange juice, balsamic vinegar and maple syrup. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the dressing thickens, then season to taste.
Arrange the endive, watercress and chard on a platter. Add the peaches and loosely folded slices of speck. Spoon over just enough dressing to lightly coat the salad and serve immediately.
Herby chilli chicken
Serves 5
A vibrant, make-ahead chicken dish served with sweet roasted carrots, smoky courgettes and creamy mashed potatoes.
Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s marinated rack of lamb with coriander and honey in Ottolenghi: The Cookbook. We replaced the lamb with chicken, used olive oil and apple cider vinegar, and changed the cooking method.
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 1.5kg chicken thighs and drumsticks
- 20g parsley
- 30g mint
- 30g coriander
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3cm ginger, sliced
- 3 chillies, deseeded
- 50ml lemon juice
- 60ml soy sauce
- 120ml olive oil
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 60ml water
- ½ tsp salt
For the carrots
- 1kg carrots
- 1 tbsp honey
- 10ml olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
For the courgettes
- 1kg courgettes
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- ½ tbsp garlic powder
- 10ml olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
For the mashed potatoes
- 1.5kg potatoes
- Milk
- Butter
- Salt
Method
Blend the parsley, mint, coriander, garlic, ginger, chillies, lemon juice, soy sauce, olive oil, honey, vinegar, water and salt until smooth. Pour over the chicken, cover and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to cook, heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan.
Peel the carrots and cut each one lengthways into four sticks. Spread them over a large roasting tray, then toss with the honey, olive oil, salt and black pepper.
Trim the courgettes, halve them lengthways and cut into thick half-moons. Place on a separate tray and toss with the smoked paprika, garlic powder, olive oil and salt.
Lift the chicken from the marinade and arrange it on a lined roasting tray. Place the chicken and both trays of vegetables in the oven together. Roast for approximately 35–45 minutes, turning the chicken and stirring the vegetables halfway through. Rotate the trays if necessary so everything cooks evenly. The chicken should be deeply browned and reach 75°C at its thickest point.
Meanwhile, peel and chop the potatoes into evenly sized pieces. Cover with cold salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15–20 minutes, or until tender. Drain thoroughly, then mash with butter and enough warm milk to make them smooth and creamy. The amount of milk will depend on the texture you want. Season to taste.
Serve the chicken with the roasted carrots, smoky courgettes and mashed potatoes.
Peach and raspberry puff pastry pockets
Makes 6
Crisp, golden pastry filled with juicy peaches and raspberry jam. These simple fruit pockets are best served warm, either on their own or with vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients
- 1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry, approximately 320g
- 2 ripe but firm peaches
- 6 tsp raspberry jam
- 1 egg, beaten
- Icing sugar, for dusting (optional)
Method
Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Cut the peaches in half, remove the stones and slice the flesh thinly. Unroll the pastry and cut it into six equal rectangles.
Spoon a teaspoon of raspberry jam onto the centre of each rectangle, leaving a border around the edge. Top with a few peach slices, taking care not to overfill them.
Bring two opposite corners into the centre and press them together. Repeat with the remaining two corners, overlapping and pinching all four corners to seal the pastry into a square parcel.
Transfer to the prepared tray and brush the pastry with egg. Bake for 18 minutes, until puffed and golden.
Leave to cool for a few minutes. Dust with icing sugar before serving.