VEGGIE OUTDOOR LUNCH

Make the most of sunny days with Alice Hart’s seasonal menu, ideal for enjoying al fresco with friends

Alice Hart’s al fresco sharing menu for entertaining friends

An outdoor lunch should be relaxed and goodtempered to make entertaining friends and family an enjoyable occasion for the cook, too. This lovely vegetarian feast is summery, light and celebratory, but much of it can be made ahead of time, and none of it is tricky to put together – nor does it rely on a weather-dependent barbecue!

Crunchy seasonal vegetables (use whatever you love or have to hand) and toasted flatbreads are the perfect vehicles for my winning mustard-mayonnaise dip, lightened with yogurt and packed with flavour (p90). The easy main course of baked tomato rice with aubergines and a puttanesca-inspired sauce is intended to be served warm, not hot, to make life simpler (p90). It also makes an excellent packed lunch the following day, eaten cold. The buttery pistachio & custard powder biscuits that are served with the fragrant passion fruit possets (p92) are a cinch to throw together using storecupboard ingredients, but you could swap them for shop-bought shortbread fingers. Ripe summer berries would also make an excellent substitute for the pineapple I’ve suggested.