When you're expecting guests but are short of inspiration, it's wise to 'keep it simple, stupid', but that does depend on fabulous produce, writes Domini Kemp.
I GENUINELY GET stuck from time to time about what to cook for dinner, when I've invited very polite people over and don't have a clue what I'm going to serve. If you walk into a dreary supermarket, looking for inspiration, forget it. If you're hoping to see some wonderful ingredients you can just whip up into something fabulous, this feeling of doom and gloom is compounded with every step down the anonymous aisles. Nothing jumps out at you and I find that by the time I've reached the pet food aisle, I start thinking about ways I can wriggle out of the invitation I've inflicted on kind and courteous folk.
Sure, there are some old dinner-party reliables in my repertoire (namely steak and Caesar salad), but sometimes I want a little more refinement and lady-like polish. I feel the need to impress and seem a little more domestic-Goddess like, rather than a pyromaniac and carnivore-obsessed one-trick pony.
I know chefs are always going on about quality ingredients and keeping it simple, but sometimes it can be hard to find such fabulous produce that allows you to keep it simple. That particular notion can start to sound vaguely patronising rather than sensible when you're looking at grim tomatoes or limp vegetables.
A caprese salad is a good example of a dinner party dish that usually keeps everyone relatively happy, and is very much a dish any eejit can do. If the tomatoes are a bit dodgy, slicing them and sprinkling with some salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar, while allowing them to drain, will help enormously. A good glug of olive oil will also save the day. But when you're looking for more, this dish is a great one to remember.
This recipe has to be credited to two fab lady chefs, Alice Waters from Chez Panisse in California, via Sally Clarke's cookbook from her London restaurant, Clarke's. It is a firm favourite for dinner parties and will be sure to win you silly amounts of praise. Follow the advice about good ingredients here, as skimping on them for this recipe will elicit soggy applause rather than rock-star cheers.
Buffalo mozzarella, black olive and grape salad
150g good quality black olives
1 teaspoon capers
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 small red chilli, de-seeded and finely sliced
30ml olive oil
Three balls buffalo mozzarella, drained
Sea salt & coarse pepper
Small red onion, peeled and very finely sliced
350g seedless black grapes, sliced in half
Some parsley and coriander
Mix the olives, capers, balsamic vinegar, garlic, chilli and olive oil together.
Season with pepper and marinate for 30 minutes. When ready to serve, slice and arrange the buffalo mozzarella onto individual plates. Add the onion and grapes to the olive and caper mixture, mix well and spoon onto the plates. Drizzle with extra olive oil and some herbs. Serve with some good bread. This one's a good starter for four people.
Roast aubergine with curry yoghurt 2 aubergines
About 50 ml olive oil
250g tub of Greek yoghurt
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
Juice from one lemon
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons curry powder
Good pinch caster sugar
Salt and pepper
Big handful basil leaves (optional)
Small handful toasted pine nuts (optional)
Don't believe the nonsense that salting aubergines will remove any bitter juices. If the aubergines are bitter to begin with, they'll be bitter to the finish. What you are trying to do (without getting too techy) is break down the air pockets that make up the aubergine cell walls. If they aren't broken down, they will absorb far too much oil. The salt attacks these cells, breaking them down and dodging the oil problem. This dish would be yum served with grilled lamb, and the curry yoghurt would also be lovely served with boiled, new season potatoes.
Preheat the oven to 2200. Slice the aubergines into 2-3cm thick pieces. Lay out on a plate or baking tray and sprinkle generously with salt. Leave for 10-15 minutes and wipe off the water and salt from the aubergines with some paper towel. Lay out on a baking tray and daub each slice with olive oil, and season again with some salt and pepper.
Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes until golden brown. If you want, flip them over halfway through cooking. When they're done, you can serve them warm with the yoghurt drizzled on top, or else refrigerate for up to three days and serve cold with the yoghurt.
To make the curry yoghurt: Mix the yoghurt with everything except the basil and pine nuts. You can add a tablespoon of water if it's too thick. Season and drizzle over the aubergines, laid out on a platter with some basil and toasted pine nuts. This will serve four to six people as a side dish.