Festive lunch for a crowd
At Christmas, there are always so many people to catch up with – whether for an early Christmas or Christmas Eve, small and intimate or massive gatherings, rowdily casual or elegant and formal ones.
This gorgeous lunch serves six but can easily be doubled to serve more. It is packed with flavour and indulgently rich, so the serving sizes aren’t huge (particularly if you’re anticipating dessert).
If you have big eaters you might want to add another chicken breast to the fennel to be on the safe side.
I absolutely love this combination of flavours – first you have the chicken flavoured with pungent blue cheese, wrapped in salty pancetta and with a fragrant hit of sage all tucked into a bed of sweet fennel. Then you have the earthy little red potatoes roasted with garlic paired with bitter rocket, sweet ripe tomatoes and roasted asparagus, finished with the sharp crunch of red onion.
Together they work like magic – but if you want more sides, a kumara gratin would be brilliant.
As we approach the main event, FOOD I hope that you are all managing with a minimum of stress and maximum of joy – wishing you a merry Christmas.
For the dressing whisk all of the ingredients together, season to taste with sea salt and black pepper and store in a sealed container until ready to use. Preheat the oven to 180C. Halve the bigger potatoes and leave the tiny ones whole. Put them in a roasting dish and drizzle with olive oil, and season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Lightly squash the garlic cloves with the heel of your palm and tuck around the potatoes. Cook for 25 minutes then increase the temperature to 200C and cook a further five minutes.
Add the asparagus to the potatoes and swirl around a bit with some tongs so that the asparagus becomes coated lightly with oil, then roast together for a further five minutes.
Layer the rocket on to a serving plate with the potatoes, asparagus, garlic and tomatoes.
Drizzle with dressing and top with a little finely sliced red onion to serve. Recipes, food styling and photography by Sarah Tuck.