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Some of the hard work can be taken out of this stunning lunch menu by early preparation. Don’t be put off by the fact that you need to start FOUR DAYS before the event because it’s really easy to create these classic dishes at home.
Prawns in a claypot (cooked in the oven with rich tomato sauce and feta cheese)
Redolent of lazy holidays in the Greek islands this simple dish never fails to please.
Ingredients
32 king prawns, about 80mm in length, not the great big ones
200g Greek feta cheese
1 large onion finely chopped
6-8 fully vine-ripened tomatoes, skinned and deseeded
2 cloves garlic crushed with a little sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
A few leaves of marjoram or oregano stripped from the stalks
A pinch or two of sugar
Splash olive oil
Splash white wine
Tomato purée (may be needed)
Method
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the finely chopped onion with a little salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes without colouring.
Add the roughly chopped tomatoes, crushed garlic and sugar. Cook for a few minutes then add the herbs and wine and cover with boiling water.
Simmer gently for half an hour until a thick, rich sauce is obtained.
NB. If the tomatoes are not fully ripe, red and sweet you may need to add a little concentrated tomato purée to the sauce.
Add the raw prawns to the sauce and cook for two minutes before transferring the whole lot to a wide terra cotta dish.
Place a few thick slabs of feta on top and season again with black pepper. Place the dish under a very hot grill for a few minutes until the cheese is coloured and the sauce bubbling fiercely. Scatter with more marjoram leaves and serve with Peter’s flatbread.
Flatbread
150g self-raising flour
100 – 150ml natural yoghurt
Olive oil
Sea salt flakes
Fresh rosemary finely chopped
Sift the flour into a bowl, add the chopped rosemary, a little salt and enough yoghurt to make a soft, sticky dough. Knead a little, cover and set aside for 15 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out to a circle about 12mm (1/2 inch) thick. Transfer to a floured baking tray. Now use fingertips to punch through the dough all over. Splash liberally with olive oil (the better the oil, the better the taste of your bread), sprinkle with sea salt flakes and bake in a hot over, about 200? for 15 minutes until well browned. Eat while still hot from the oven – brilliant for mopping up the luscious tomatoey-prawn juices.
 Saucisson Lyonnais en brioche, et haricot vert
A classic French dish which is at once both rustic and sophisticated Saucisson Lyonnais en brioche may be a bit ‘retro’, but I served it to 20 guests at a lunch party last summer and had everyone, old and young alike coming back for more.
Just remember to start 4 days before your party!
Ingredients
1 kg lean trimmed pork
900g pork back fat
400g lean pork cut into batons
200g pork back fat cut into batons
80g peeled pistachio nuts
20g chopped truffles (optional)
100ml brandy
50ml port
Total 2.6kg sausage meat yield approximately 40 portions (adjust quantities to suit your occasion bearing in mind that everyone will want a second serving.
Seasoning
15g salt per total kg of meat
3g ground black pepper per total kg of meat
1g French Pink Salt (Sodium Nitrate) per total kg of meat
Freshly grated nutmeg
Method
Cut the pork and back fat into small cubes and marinate for three days in the seasonings and alcohol. Do the same with the batons of pork and fat.
The cubed meats must then be passed through a hand mincer. Mix the batons of meat with the minced meat, pistachios and truffles (if using) in a bowl set over ice.
Pack into clingfilm to give sausages approx 45mm diameter and 210mm long. Tie off the end with string and poach the sausages in water. Start from cold, simmer for 15 minutes and leave to cool in the water.
When cold, remove the clingfilm, wipe with kitchen paper, rewrap and store until needed.
For the Brioche
200g strong white flour
1 x 7g packet dried yeast
1/2 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 standard eggs well beaten
1/2 teacup warmed milk
85g unsalted butter softened to room temperature
A little extra butter fully melted
Method
Put the warmed milk into a bowl and sprinkle in the yeast and sugar, stirring continuously until dissolved. Leave for 5 minutes until frothy on top. Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the middle. Pour in the yeast mixture and the eggs and work together to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead well for 5-10 minutes. Grease a large bowl with melted butter and turn the ball of dough in it to coat evenly. Cover with a cloth and leave to rise until doubled in size – about 1 1/2 hours. Knock back and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Use your hand to incorporate the softened butter into the dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for another 5 minutes. Return to the greased bowl, cover again, and leave for 30 minutes.
Remove the film from the sausage and wipe away any excess fat from the surface. Roll out the brioche dough into a rectangle large enough to enclose the sausage about 20mm thick . Wrap the sausage in the dough, overlapping the long edge and tucking in the ends. Lay on a greased baking sheet with the join underneath and paint liberally with eggwash. Bake in the oven at 180ºC for 40 minutes until the brioche is golden.
Transfer to a plate and rest for 10-15 minutes before serving cut in slices about 20mm thick.
Accompany with fine green beans and rich brown gravy made with veal stock and reduced sweet sherry. When cold, saucisson Lyonnais makes a wonderful picnic dish served with pickles and salads.
Key lime pie with blueberry coulis
Ingredients for the base
12-14 digestive biscuits
1 tsp ground ginger
4 oz unsalted butter
For the filling
14fl oz condensed milk
Juice of 4 limes
½ pt double cream
Method
Mix crushed biscuits with ground ginger and melted butter.
Press the biscuit mixture into the base of a 10inch spring-release cake tin.
Whisk the condensed milk, double cream and lime juice until thick – about 3-4 minutes.
Pour the mixture into the prepared base and put the pie into the freezer for 10 minutes to set.
Use a blow torch to release the pie from the tin before opening the spring.
NB. This pie will keep in the fridge for a few days and may even be frozen for several weeks.
Cut into wedges and serve with blueberry coulis piped decoratively onto the plate.
For the blueberry coulis
250g blueberries
3 tablespoons caster sugar
4 tablespoons water
Juice of one lemon
Method
Place the sugar and water into a saucepan and cook to dissolve the sugar. Add the blueberries and lemon juice and cook for about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool before rubbing through a fine sieve.
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