It is that time of year when, in our family, we debate whether a full traditional Sunday roast is appropriate fare. Doubts about what we should be having are started by a spell of two or three consecutive days of warm, summer-dreaming weather, when sitting out and feeling the warmth of Spring sun on the bones gives a sense of well-being; for us, somehow tucking into thick, garlic-laden gravy with roast potatoes and veg doesn’t quite seem to chime with these climactic conditions. Being a relatively food obsessed family (perhaps that’s just me on reflection…), we have a range of strategies/dishes that respond appropriately to this set of circumstances. We used to look forward to the first big bowl of avocado, bacon and egg salad, served with a range of dressed leaves and tomatoes – light, refreshing, filling.
As time has moved on and dietary habits have changed, this no longer ticks the boxes for all but two of us – a new approach has been required. And it has largely been met by having a sharing meal, consisting of lots of different plates – mezze, tapas, dim sum, smörgâsbord, thali – call it what you will, but the prevalence of this type of cuisine around the world, in different cultures, speaks not only to the joy that sharing food has but also to the important role it plays in nurturing family and social interaction. It also has the obvious and added bonus that a range plates can meet the needs of vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians, flexitarians and carnivores.
So, inspired mainly by my love of most things Ottolenghi, the following is the collection of dishes that we recently had, although only one is in fact an Ottolenghi recipe. I was only catering for vegetarians, so this is not a very inclusive set! The plates I chose were not necessarily designed to go together – I opted rather for what I wanted to have a go at, with some elements being pre-preparable, as often this type of cooking is much more hassle than just producing one main element. I wanted bulk, warmth and greenery…and to sustain what we all value about our Sunday lunch.
Eating: First picture above is Burnt aubergine with feta and harissa oil. And yes, recipe from Ottolenghi! Immediately above, Za’atar flatbreads, recipe from Plant based magazine 08/19. Yeast-free, they do not need time to proof, so are ideal for this type of occasion. Immediately below, Israeli couscous with za’atar roasted carrots, recipe also from Plant based magazine. (I used ordinary couscous as I had plenty!)Bottom picture is Burmese butterbean mash, recipe from The Guardian 01/13, Felicity Cloake’s adaptation of recipe by Mimi Aye. We also had a fattoush salad with heirloom tomatoes, but I was too busy eating to take a photo!
Drinking: On a separate, socially-distanced occasion, we were out in friends’ garden for an early evening event which consisted of a range of wines served with cheese. Amongst the expected Sauternes and port, we had a Lustau East India Solera Sherry and a madeira, but the star of the show was this sweet German wine, sourced from Lidl – apologies for the poor quality photo, explained perhaps by the list of bottles tasted… it went beautifully with the cheeses we had but especially the blue…
Listening to:The album Play by Moby – an old favourite, I had forgotten how good some of the tracks are, until prompted to play it by Spotify… re-loving Why does my heart feel so bad?, Run on and Honey.
Cook.Eat.Blog.Repeat. 