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I love cooking for friends – and I do it a lot – but I always get stumped by what to cook: either my mind goes blank and I can’t think of a single thing, or I have a million things I want to do but know that a) I won’t have time to do all of them and b) there would be too many different tastes that don’t really go together – like wearing all my party dresses at once. And of course it needs to be delicious without stopping downsizing in its tracks

So I thought I would put some menus together.  This week’s is for a mezze-style supper.

There is a place for formal courses – preferably somewhere with an enormous separate kitchen filled with skivvies, and a dining room with a footman behind every chair to keep things running smoothly – but I have an impressive talent for disorganisation and chaos and often prefer to put lots of lovely things on the table and let people eat them in whatever order they like.

Especially on the footman’s day off.

Gin-Cured Salmon

Caramelised Onion Frittata

Chickpeas with Orange and Cumin-Roasted Beetroot

Griddled Courgette

Green Salad

Diva Notes

The Day Before

I particularly like things that I can make the day before. So do my friends, who for some reason prefer to eat within an hour or two of arrival.  This menu could all be done in advance although I think the frittata is nicer if you make it fresh.

Gin-Cured Salmon

This is very easy, but needs making the day before; if you don’t have time, buy some gravadlax or smoked salmon.

Griddled Courgette

I love using my griddle pan: it always seems far less faff than using the grill – you don’t have to peer underneath to see how things are doing – and things have pleasing brown stripes on them.

Put the griddle pan on the hob to heat up.

Wash as many courgettes as you need – about one per person – and cut them lengthways into about ½ cm strips. Put them in a bowl big enough to mix them easily, add salt and a teaspoon or two of olive oil, and mix well with your hands to completely coat each strip.

Griddle them until they have brown stripes on each side, and then toss them in balsamic vinegar and a little more olive oil; then scatter a few torn basil leaves or finely chopped thyme over them.

Pudding

Apart from those extraordinary people who claim not to have a sweet tooth, few of us don’t want pudding at the end of a meal. I’ll talk another time about the evolutionary origins of the pudding stomach, but for now, it is enough to say they are not good for downsizing, and I rarely do one.  Fruit salad is a good option but it takes a bit of time to make, and I usually just serve fruit.

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