The buffet table, once the object of lavish care and attention in the domestic kitchen, has largely vanished from our lives. Nowadays, we have barbecues and brunches and dinner parties and many other forms of entertaining, and rather regard the buffet as staid, somewhat passe, an adventure in aspic which we don't need anymore.
But the buffet is, truly, a godsend for the cook, especially in summertime, and especially in August when we are chilling out. When native ingredients are at their best, their natural sweetness suits the array of flavours we want to present at a buffet. A buffet can also be spontaneous, so the very second the sun begins to shine, you can get on the phone and organise a party. Bookend the buffet dishes with a bowl of olives or some crisp crudites with dips to begin, and with some farmhouse cheeses or, best of all, some ripe summer fruit (raspberries, blackberries, redcurrants and whitecurrants, peaches, nectarines and melons) to finish - and the feast is complete.
And, crucially, a buffet is a great showcase for summery wines and drinks, with everything from zippy sauvignons to oaky chardonnays to cool young red wines suitable for the food, not to mention the delicious new beers and ales coming out of Ireland's artisan breweries.
The only rules for the modern buffet are: a) steer well clear of the aspic, and b) keep the food light and simple.
Piedmontese Peppers
This is one of those classic dishes which has suffered somewhat from over-familiarity, largely because it once appeared in a Delia Smith book and was quickly taken up by all and sundry.
Piedmontese Pimentos were first described by Elizabeth David in her book, Italian Food, published in 1954, under the title Peperoni alla Piemontese. It is one of the great buffet dishes, with a magical alliance of sweet peppers and tomatoes, zesty garlic and salty anchovy. The instructions are Elizabeth David's, and all I would add is that green peppers are not as fine in this dish as red and yellow peppers, which are much sweeter and more suitable.
Cook at about 350F/180 C, and have lots of bread to hand so that all the juices can be dunked.
"Cut some red, yellow or green pimentos, or some of each if they are obtainable, in half lengthways. Take out all the seeds and wash the pimentos. If they are large, cut each half in half again. Into each piece put two or three slices of garlic, two small sections of raw tomato, about half a fillet of anchovy cut into pieces, a small nut of butter, a dessertspoonful of oil, a very little salt. Arrange these pimentos on a flat baking dish and cook them in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes. They are not to be completely cooked; the pimentos should in fact be al dente, the stuffing inside deliciously oily and garlicky. Serve them cold, each garnished with a little parsley."
Lentil salad with mint, roasted peppers, and feta cheese
The finest buffet I ever enjoyed was one cooked by a friend, at a party in her flat in London, where she served cold chicken - which had been poached in wine, the poaching liquid then used to flavour a mayonnaise - sourdough bread, green salad, and this terrific salad of lentils with mint, roasted peppers and feta cheese. Lentil salads must be fresh and light to be truly interesting, and here the peppers, the mint and the cheese all serve that purpose, and lift the starchy lentils to another plateau, with the magisterial touch of the lemon vinaigrette drawing all the flavours together. You must use small, brown-green Puy lentils for this dish: nothing else will work. The idea is a piece of typical brilliance from Deborah Madison, from her classic The Greens' Cook Book. You might find it easier to roast peppers in a hot oven rather than over a flame, and I think sherry vinegar is the best to use when adjusting the flavours.
1 1/2 cups Puy lentils
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced into 1/8["] squares
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 medium red bell peppers
Lemon vinaigrette (see below)
2 teaspoons mint, chopped
3 tablespoons mixed herbs: parsley, marjoram or coriander, thyme, pepper
Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar to taste
8 ozs feta cheese
Rinse the lentils, cover them generously with water and bring them to a boil with the carrot, onion, bay leaf, garlic and salt. Simmer them until they are cooked, about 20-25 minutes. They should be tender, just a little firm, and still hold their shape. Drain the lentils and save the liquid for soup stock.
While the lentils are cooking, roast the peppers over a flame until they are evenly charred, and put them in a covered bowl to steam for 10 minutes or so; then scrape off the charred skins with a knife. Do not rinse them under water, or the flavourful juices will be lost. Slit them open, remove the veins and seeds, and cut them into squares.
Prepare the vinaigrette and fold it into the warm lentils. Add the mint, herbs, and most of the peppers. Taste, and season with freshly ground black pepper and additional salt, if needed. Taste again just before serving and add a little more vinegar to brighten the flavours. Crumble the feta cheese and gently stir it into the lentils. Garnish with the remaining peppers and drizzle some of the olive oil over the surface.
Lemon vinaigrette
Juice and peel of one large lemon
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 to 8 tablespoons extra-virgin Olive oil
Remove two wide strips of peel from the lemon with a vegetable peeler and slice them into narrow slivers. Put three tablespoons of the lemon juice in a bowl with the lemon peel, paprika, cayenne, garlic and salt. Whisk in six tablespoons of the olive oil and taste. Adjust for tartness, adding more lemon juice or oil, whichever is needed.
Tomato and Banana Salad in a Mustard Vinaigrette
This fantastic salad was inspired by Joe Kerrigan, cook at the National Museum, Dublin. It is particularly appropriate for August tomatoes - sweet, slightly tart, full of flavour - and is simplicity to make. The mustard tang of the vinaigrette is wonderful with the bananas. Sceptical? Just try it and see. We once made this for a buffet at a christening in a friend's house, and the guests demolished the tomato and banana salad in no time flat.
36 cherry tomatoes, halved
3 bananas
Vinaigrette
Salt and pepper
1 generous tablespoon mild, grainy mustard (such as Moutard de Meaux) 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil
Place the halved tomatoes in a bowl, but don't slice the bananas until within an hour before serving. Make the vinaigrette in a jar by placing all the ingredients together, screwing on the lid and shaking until you get a smooth liaison. This will keep for a few days. No more than an hour before serving, peel and slice the bananas into rounds, about the same size as the tomato halves. Add to the tomatoes in the bowl and toss in the vinaigrette. (N.B. You can reduce the amount of fruit, but keep the ratio at about 12 cherry tomatoes to one banana and reduce the amount of vinaigrette you use accordingly.)
Garlic and parsley baked potatoes
In which the modern fashion for crushed potatoes - rather than mashed potatoes - is visited on the humble baked potato.
Here, the potatoes are baked, then a lid is cut into them, the potato is scooped out and mixed with loads of crushed garlic and freshly chopped parsley. Good olive oil completes the equation, the potatoes are loosely packed with the mixture, and everything is then kept warm, with perhaps a final slick of olive oil popped under the lid just before they are served. This is a terrific warm dish for a buffet and, needless to say, it is perhaps at its best slightly cool, when you should munch it from your fingers.
Quantities of everything depend on how many people are going to be served, but for every four potatoes, allow one clove of garlic, a couple of tablespoons of chopped flat-leaf parsley (flat-leaf is better as its flavour is stronger), four tablespoons of olive oil, and salt and pepper.
Bake the potatoes in a hot oven - 220C/425 F - until soft, about an hour or so. While they are baking, pound the garlic to a paste in a mortar with sea salt. Finely chop the parsley, then add in the oil and beat together with some freshly cracked pepper and sea salt.
When the potatoes are baked, hold them in your hand using a towel or baking glove, and cut a "helmet" lengthways along the potato. If you can, leave the helmet hanging by a flap, for neatness sake, but if you can't manage this, don't worry. Make sure not to pierce the skin of the potato. Scoop out the potato with a small spoon, and pile all the bits of potato into the mortar with the garlic, parsley and oil. Mix the whole lumpy lot together, then pile it back into the potato and fold back the helmet.
It is, in fact, an easy job, and you can prepare quite a lot of potatoes quickly. Reheat them for serving in a low oven, and just before sending them out, add a dash of fresh, fruity olive oil under the helmet of each potato.