Take it easy between Christmas and New Year with pre-prepped dishes and the joys of soup, says our panel of practical wizards
There’s a knack to feeding a crowd, so before we talk specific dishes, let’s nail down a few golden rules. First, be practical: “Most people have a single oven, so you don’t want five dishes that need to go in there,” says Phil King, executive chef of Pophams in London. “When I’m thinking of a menu, I want one dish that cooks in the oven, one on the stove and one that can be served at an ambient temperature, such as braised leeks.” Otherwise, favour things that like a rest, whether that’s a joint of meat (“cover with foil and a tea towel and leave for an hour”) or a veggie wellington (“that will sit comfortably for 30 minutes”). And remember, snacks are golden: “That’s anything you don’t have to prepare yourself,” notes King, be it olives, crisps, nuts – anything that will keep hunger at bay.
Menu decided, do as much as you can in advance and clean up as you go. “Worktop space is at a premium, so the moment you take a pan off the stove, get it washed,” King says. “That way, you’ll have a much calmer environment.”
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