YOUR SUPER-EASY NO-COOK FEAST
Entertaining without using your hob or oven? Sold! Here’s cookery director Meike Beck’s menu for hosting a summer feast without breaking into a culinary sweat
COVER Host a party with ease
Tahini and White Bean Dip
We’ve used butterbeans, but cannellini beans also work well in this moreish dip. Hands-on time 10min. Serves 8
•2 x 400g tins butterbeans, drained and rinsed
•1 garlic clove, crushed
•3tbsp tahini
•2 lemons
•75ml (3fl oz) olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
•Handful soft herbs, roughly chopped, we used parsley, chives and mint
TO SERVE
•Bread or toasts
•Crudités, we served baby carrots, sugar snap peas and celery
1 In a food processor, whizz the butterbeans, garlic, tahini, the finely grated zest from 1 of the lemons and the juice from both. With the motor running, pour in the oil followed by 150ml (5fl oz) warm water to loosen the consistency. Check seasoning.
2 Empty into a shallow serving bowl, scatter over the herbs and drizzle with more oil. Serve with bread or toasts and crudités.
PER SERVING (dip only) 155cals, 5g protein, 11g fat (2g saturates), 8g carbs (1g total sugars), 4g fibre
GET AHEAD Prepare to end of step 1 up to a day ahead. Cover and chill. To serve, allow to come up to room temperature, mix (adding a little more water if needed) and complete recipe.
Creamy Corn Soup
For the smoothest result, use a high-speed blender. If you don’t have one, the soup will still taste great but have a little more texture. Serve the soup warm, room temperature or chilled. Hands-on time 15min, plus optional cooling and chilling. Serves 8
•1 shallot, finely chopped
•800g (1lb 12oz) tinned sweetcorn, drained weight
•1 garlic clove, crushed
•500ml (17fl oz) vegetable stock, made with boiling water
•200ml (7fl oz) double cream
TO GARNISH
•8 cooked Madagascan crevettes, or
•16 cooked and peeled prawns
•1 avocado, peeled, stoned and chopped
•2 spring onions, finely sliced
•16 cherry tomatoes, halved
•Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
1 Put the shallot into the jug of a high-speed blender and cover with 100ml (3½fl oz) just-boiled water. Leave to soften for 5min. Set aside a couple of tbsp of sweetcorn.
2 Add remaining sweetcorn, garlic and 200ml (7fl oz) of the stock to the blender jug. Cover and blend until smooth. Add cream, remaining stock and plenty of freshly ground black pepper, re-cover and whizz briefly to combine (or until smooth). Check seasoning. If not serving warm, set aside or chill.
3 To serve, divide soup among 8 shallow bowls. Top each with a crevette or 2 prawns, avocado, spring onions, cherry tomatoes, some freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of oil.
PER SERVING 282cals, 8g protein, 19g fat (10g saturates), 16g carbs (10g total sugars), 5g fibre
GET AHEAD
If serving chilled, make the soup up to a day ahead. Cover and chill. Compete recipe to serve.
GH TIP
If you can’t find raw horseradish, use creamed horseradish instead.
Cured Beetroot and Horseradish Salmon
This is so easy to prepare and impressive to serve. Hands-on time 20min, plus 2-3 days curing. Serves 8
•125g (4oz) caster sugar
•125g (4oz) coarse rock salt
•4tbsp peeled and finely grated fresh horseradish, see GH Tip
•Large handful dill, finely chopped
•250g (9oz) raw beetroot (washed), unpeeled and coarsely grated
•Finely grated zest 1 orange
•750g (1lb 10½oz) whole skin-on fresh salmon fillet, fine pin bones removed
1 In a bowl, mix sugar, salt, horseradish, dill, beetroot and orange zest. Set aside.
2 Lay a double layer of clingfilm on a work surface and spoon over ⅓ of the cure. Lay on salmon, skin-side down, and pack on remaining cure. Wrap tightly in the clingfilm (using more if needed). Put in a large roasting tin, lay a tray on top and weigh it down with some food tins. Leave to cure in the fridge for 2-3 days, pouring out any liquid a couple of times a day (there will be lots), turning parcel and reweighting before chilling again.
3 To serve, unwrap salmon and brush off the cure. Rinse briefly under cold water and pat dry with kitchen paper. Place skin-side down on a board and use a thin sharp knife to slice thinly on a slant.
PER SERVING 199cals, 21g protein, 10g fat (2g saturates), 7g carbs (7g total sugars), 0g fibre TO STORE Keep cured salmon covered in fridge for up to 2 days.
Soured Cream Sauce
The perfect partner for salmon. Hands-on time 10min. Serves 8
•⅓ cucumber
•175g (6oz) soured cream
•½tsp peeled and finely grated fresh horseradish, see GH Tip
•Small handful dill, finely chopped
•Finely grated zest ½ lemon
1 Halve the cucumber lengthways; scoop out and discard seeds. Coarsely grate, then squeeze out excess liquid over the sink. Put the cucumber into a bowl.
2 Mix remaining ingredients into the cucumber; season to taste. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
PER TBSP SERVING 46cals, 1g protein, 4g fat (3g saturates), 1g carbs (1g total sugars), 0g fibre
Petits Pois and Burrata Salad
Use mozzarella (buffalo or cow’s milk) if you can’t find burrata. Hands-on time 10min. Serves 8
•300g (11oz) frozen petits pois
•100g (3½oz) pea shoots
•Small handful mint leaves, roughly chopped
•200g (7oz) burrata, drained weight
FOR THE DRESSING
•Juice ½ lemon
•½tbsp wholegrain mustard
•½tbsp white wine vinegar
•2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Cover petits pois with just-boiled water; leave to defrost for a few min. Drain well.
2 Meanwhile, whisk together the dressing ingredients with some seasoning.
3 Arrange pea shoots on a serving plate; scatter over the drained peas and mint. Slice or tear the burrata into quarters and add to the plate. Drizzle over the dressing or serve it on the side.
PER SERVING 121cals, 6g protein, 8g fat (4g saturates), 5g carbs (2g total sugars), 2g fibre
GET AHEAD Prepare to end of step 2 up to 2hr ahead. Cover peas and dressing separately; leave at room temperature.
Fruity Chicory Salad
Sweet, citrussy, bitter and crunchy, this simple side has it all. Hands-on time 15min. Serves 8
•3 large oranges
•8 ripe figs
•4 red chicory spears
•40g (1½oz) pistachios, roughly chopped
•½tbsp vinegar glaze, we used Merchant Gourmet
1 Slice top and bottom off each orange and sit on a board. Cut away peel and white pith. Hold orange over a bowl (to catch juice); cut between membranes to separate segments. Set segments aside.
2 Trim figs; cut into quarters lengthways. Slice chicory into quarters lengthways.
3 Mix glaze with 1tbsp of the orange juice and some seasoning. Arrange segments, fig and chicory quarters on a plate. Scatter over pistachios and drizzle with the glaze. Serve.
PER SERVING 90cals, 2g protein, 3g fat (1g saturates), 12g carbs (11g total sugars), 2g fibre
GET AHEAD Segment oranges up to a day ahead. Store in juice, covered and chilled. To serve, drain from juice (reserve juice) and complete recipe.