Annabel Langbein
Make the most of a longawaited weekend lunch with friends and a special menu
After so long in lockdown, the joy of being able to meet a few friends and hug, laugh, eat and drink together is something that, until it happened, I hadn’t realised how much I’d missed.
The first thing I did once we came down to level 2 was to invite a few people over for a long Sunday lunch.
This wasn’t going to be the kind of food we’d been eating in our bubble — all that cheese, comfort food and baking — I wanted the welcoming aromas of a big meaty braise filling the house and to feel a sense of celebration in a prettily laid table, with flowers and candles.
So much about dining lies in setting the scene rather than what you actually eat. It’s a lot less stressful if most of your menu can be made in advance, with last-minute requirements running to simple jobs like tossing a salad with the dressing or cooking some green vegetables.
My takeout from lockdown has been a kind of reset (that I’m hoping will last), an idea of living more simply. It’s easy to think when people come over that you have to up the ante with lots of expensive treats when actually they just want to see you and hang out. Post-lockdown, I’ve decided that I don’t really need to go shopping for out-ofseason tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and green beans.
Instead, I will rely on what’s in season and the harvests of my winter garden and pantry stores to round out my menus.
I love the idea of building a menu around a central slow-cook braise, curry or casserole. For the sides, there’ll be some kind of starch and a salad. For dessert, after that rich, slow-cooked main, you want something fruit-based, not too heavy.
The great thing about a weekend winter lunch rather than dinner is that everyone gets to go home before it turns cold and dark. Light the fire and open a couple of bottles of red wine to breathe. And if the weather is nice, between the main course and dessert you can take everyone on a little walk outside.
Here’s to welcoming in winter with long, lazy weekend lunches.
Ready in 5½ hours plus overnight chilling Serves 6-8
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
About 2.2-2.5kg beef short ribs
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
4 cloves garlic, halved
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 bunch of fresh thyme
5 cups beef stock
1½ cups sherry
1 Tbsp cornflour mixed with a little water
GREMOLATA
2 cloves crushed garlic
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
Preheat oven to 250C fanbake. Make a bed of onions and celery in a large, deep roasting dish. Spread out beef ribs on top and season well. Roast until the ribs are well browned and the fat has rendered off (about 45 minutes).
Remove dish from oven and reduce oven temperature to 150C. Drain fat and discard. Add garlic, peppercorns and herbs, season with a little more salt, then pour over the stock and sherry. Cut a piece of baking paper to fit over the top then cover the dish tightly with a double layer of tinfoil. Bake for 3½ hours. Lift out the ribs and set aside. Strain the cooking liquid into a large pot. Chill ribs and cooking liquid for at least 3 hours or overnight.
To serve, preheat oven to 180C fanbake and put in the ribs to warm through. Skim off the fat from the cooking liquid and discard. Simmer the cooking liquid for 10-15 minutes to reduce, then add the cornflour and water mixture to thicken slightly. Add the ribs back into the pot and simmer gently for 5 minutes to fully heat through. Combine gremolata ingredients and sprinkle over ribs or just sprinkle with chopped flat leaf parsley.
ANNABEL SAYS: This dish looks fabulous served family-style on a large platter of soft polenta. It’s a great makeahead recipe to prepare a day or two in advance. Leftovers reheat well or can be frozen.
It’s easy to think when people come over that you have to up the ante with lots of expensive treats but actually they just want to see you.