Fabulously Easy Menu for Spontaneous Summer Dinner Parties

Posted by Stephanie Forrester | 10/06/2017 | Category: Food

The great thing about summer is that families and friends get together for food and fun, often at short notice if the unpredictable British weather is serving up a beautiful day! However, as the host you won’t want to spend hours in the kitchen and miss the sun. So what do you do when you want to serve something delicious and summery that will surprise and delight your guests? Here’s our pick of three of the best for an inspiring yet surprisingly simple summer dinner party menu:

Herby Watermelon Salad with Grilled Halloumi

Serves 8

Ingredients
Small watermelon
1 large handful each of parsley, mint, & coriander, roughly torn
pack of Halloumi cheese cut into 8-10 slices
a handful of black olives
Juice of 1 lemon
4 tbsp olive oil

Method
Skin the melon, and take out the seeds. Cut into 8 triangles. Add to a bowl along with all the herbs and olives. Heat a griddle pan, and place the cheese onto it. Grill for around a minute each side until the cheese has a charred effect. Meanwhile, mix the olive oil and lemon juice in a bowl with salt and pepper. Pour over the melon and herbs, and mix well. Add the Halloumi to the top and serve.

Prawn and Courgette Spaghetti

Serves 4

Ingredients
350g spaghetti
2 medium courgettes
2 tsp olive oil
Small piece (about 5g) unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
150ml double cream
250g (approx) cooked prawns
35g grated hard cheese e.g. Parmesan

Method
Cook the spaghetti following the pack instructions. Meanwhile, use a vegetable peeler to make thin ribbons of courgette. Heat the oil and butter in a heavy based pan, add the garlic and courgettes and cook for 2 minutes. Add the cream, prawns and cheese and bubble for a few minutes. Drain the pasta and return to the pan. Add the sauce and mix. Season with freshly ground black pepper and serve.

Italian Apricot Fool

Serves 6

Ingredients
500g apricots, halved and stoned
500g Mascarpone
1 lemon, zest and juice
150g golden caster sugar
3 tbsp orange liqueur
142ml carton double cream
20 amaretti biscuits

Method
On a medium heat, soften the apricots with the sugar and lemon juice for 15 minutes.
Once soft, pour into a food processor and blend until pureed.
Pour into a bowl and add the alcohol and mix. Leave to cool for half an hour.
In a separate bowl whip the cream, until thick but soft. Fold in the Mascarpone, and finally swirl in the apricot puree.
Spoon the mixture into glasses, and top liberally with crushed amaretti biscuits.

For more recipes, visit https://www.centralengland.coop/food/recipes

About The Author: Stephanie Forrester

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