– STARTER –
Seared Scallops with Pea Puree & White Wine Butter Sauce
We’ve cooked this dish once before so I knew it would be a winning addition to our dinner party menu. The best thing is that the pea puree can be made in advance and heated when ready to serve. All you have to do on the night is pan fry the scallops and cook the white wine butter sauce, both of which take very little time to do! This recipe was originally sourced from Lost in Food.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
- 12 fresh scallops
- 1 tsp butter
- salt & pepper
Pea Puree
- 25 g butter
- 1 shallot (finely chopped)
- 50 ml vegetable stock
- 250 g frozen peas
- salt & pepper
Butter Sauce
- 100 g chilled butter (diced)
- 1 shallot (finely chopped)2 black peppercorns
- 100 ml white wine
- 2 tbsp double cream
- salt & pepper
Method
Pea Puree
Add the butter to a saucepan and melt over a medium heat. Add the shallot to the pan and saute gently for 5 minutes to soften, but not colour.
Butter Sauce
Take one small cube of the butter and place it in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the shallots and peppercorns and saute gently for 5 minutes. Take care not to colour the shallot.
Scallops
Wash the scallops and dry on some kitchen paper. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
– SALAD –
Chicory, Walnut, pear and Roquefort Salad
We chose this dish after seeing it on Saturday Kitchen over the weekend before last! It is a Raymond Blanc recipe so had all the potential to deliver on flavour and takes only 10 minutes to prepare, perfect for a 4 course dinner party menu.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
For the Roquefort dressing
- 50g Roquefort cheese, room temperature
- 20g Water, tepid
- 15ml / 1 tbsp White wine vinegar
- 30ml / 2 tbsp Olive oil, extra virgin
- 1 pinch Pepper, black, freshly ground
For the salad
- 800g / 4 Chicory, white and purple, small, washed and, quartered lengthways
- 100g Walnuts, roughly chopped
- 250g / 1 medium Conference Pear, ripe but firm, cored, halved, finely sliced
- 60g / 1 stick Celery, finely sliced
- 80g Roquefort, cold and crumbled
- 10g / 2 tsp Chives, finely chopped
For the Roquefort dressing
In a large bowl, using a spatula, cream the Roquefort cheese to a smooth paste, add the warm water, white wine vinegar and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in the olive oil little by little; season to taste with the freshly ground black pepper. No salt is needed, as the Roquefort has plenty itself.
For the salad
In a large bowl, toss the chicory, walnut, pear, celery and two thirds of the cold Roquefort into the dressing and arrange on a large serving plate. To finish, crumble the remaining cold Roquefort over the salad and sprinkle with chopped chives.
– MAIN –
Pesto Crusted Salmon and Lemon Butter Sauce with Homegrown Potatoes and Vegetables
We had this dish as part of our weekly Hello Fresh box and loved it (even the children did!). It was fresh, tasty and easy to do so the perfect main course for our dinner party.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
- x4 Salmon
- x2 Shallots
- 20g Panko Breadcrumbs
- 20g Grated Italian Hard cheese
- 2tbsp Green Pesto
- 1 Lemon
- 60g Butter
- x5 Potatoes
- Selection of Seasonal Greens (I used French Beans, Runner Beans and Tenderstem Broccoli)
Method
Preheat your oven to 200°C. Peel and chop the potatoes into 2cm chunks and pop on a large baking tray. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat then spread out and roast on the middle shelf of your oven until golden, 30-35 mins, turning halfway.
Meanwhile, halve, peel and thinly slice the shallot. Chop the Tenderstem broccoli in half widthways. Trim the green beans and chop in half. Zest and halve the lemon.
Line a baking tray with baking paper and lay the salmon fillets on top, skin-side down. Spread the pesto evenly over the top of each fillet. In a small bowl combine the panko breadcrumbs with the hard Italian cheese. Sprinkle this mixture over the fish, pressing it on lightly to cover all the pesto. Drizzle the top with oil and set aside, we will bake the salmon later.
When the potatoes have about 10 mins left, pop the salmon on the top shelf of your oven and bake until the top is golden, 10-12 mins. Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. When hot, add the shallot and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, 3-4 mins.
Add the Tenderstem and green beans to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and stir-fry until starting to char, 2-3 mins. Add a splash of water to the pan, cover with a lid and steam fry until tender, 3-4 more mins. Once cooked, transfer to a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm. Return the pan to medium heat with the water (see ingredients for amount). Squeeze in the lemon juice, bring to the boil and whisk in the butter until you have a glossy sauce. Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt, pepper and a pinch of lemon zest.
Divide the crispy potatoes between your plates and serve the Tenderstem and beans alongside. Add the pesto crusted salmon and spoon the lemon butter sauce all around. Enjoy!
– Dessert –
Yuzu Daiquiri Cheesecakes
This was a new one for me but it was worth giving it a go as it was great! The recipe was originally sourced from Delicious Magazine.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
- 200g white chocolate, chopped
- 50g butter, melted
- 175g digestive biscuits, crushed
- 75ml yuzu juice
- 75ml vodka
- 125g caster sugar
- 250ml double cream, at room temperature
- 600g full-fat cream cheese
For the salted lime praline
- 125g caster sugar
- Finely grated zest 3 limes
- ¼ tsp sea salt flakes
Method
Melt the white chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water), stirring until smooth. Dip the rims of the glasses into the melted chocolate, then leave to cool. Keep the remaining chocolate warm over the pan of hot water, off the heat.
In another bowl, stir the melted butter into the crushed digestives. Divide equally among the glasses, pressing down lightly with the end of a rolling pin, then chill until set.
Combine the yuzu juice, vodka and sugar in a small saucepan and heat gently, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, then take off the heat and leave to cool.
Add the cream to the warm melted chocolate, stirring gently over the heat until smooth and combined.
Put the cream cheese in a food processor with the yuzu mixture, then whizz briefly until smooth. Add the melted chocolate mixture and whizz again. Fill the piping bag, if using, and pipe the mixture into the glasses (or spoon it in). Chill for at least 2 hours.
To make the praline put the 125g caster sugar and 2 tbsp water in a small saucepan over a very low heat. Stir gently until the sugar has dissolved, then bring to the boil and cook without stirring for 5-6 minutes or until the mixture turns to a golden caramel. Pour onto the prepared baking tray, then set aside to cool.
Roughly chop the hardened praline and put in a food processor with the lime zest and salt; whizz to make a slightly chunky crumb mixture.
Serve the cheesecakes topped with the salted lime praline.
So there you have it, our summer dinner party menu! We thoroughly enjoyed it and had a wonderful evening with our friends. If you give any of these recipes a go, do let me know what you think of them!
SJ x
Love this menu !! Definitely going to give it all a try xx