Whether you’re hosting a family lunch or a dinner party for friends, there are times when you want to impress and cook tasty food for your guests that also looks great! Cooking for entertaining does not have to be complicated, as proven by these delicious recipes that will add a real wow factor to any meal!
Salmon and Spinach en Croute
With a creamy cheese sauce and flaky salmon, salmon en croute is always a real crowd-pleaser! For best results, make your own pastry!
Salmon and Spinach en Croute
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- Pastry
- 2 sheets of puff pastry
- 700g of salmon fillet, skinless and boneless
- 2 egg yolks, beaten, to glaze
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Cheese and spinach sauce
- 600ml of milk
- 50g of butter
- 100g of plain flour
- 150g of cheddar, grated (or a similar hard cheese)
- 200g of baby spinach leaves, roughly 2 bags
- 60g of pine nuts
- 1 garlic clove, crushed or grated
- olive oil
Instructions
- Start by making a thick cheese sauce. Add the butter, flour and milk to a heavy-based saucepan and whisk together over a medium heat, then continue whisking as the sauce heats through, making sure to scrape down the sides.
- Allow to boil for 2–3 minutes to cook off the flour, whisking all the time. Mix in the grated cheese until smooth, then set aside.
- In another pan, heat a little olive oil until it begins to smoke, then add the spinach and stir until wilted. Drain immediately to remove any excess liquid, then stir the cooked spinach into the cheese sauce, along with the pine nuts and garlic.
- Stir to combine, then allow to cool (this mixture will keep in the fridge until ready to assemble and bake).
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6.
- To assemble the dish, unroll the first pastry sheet onto a large non-stick baking tray, and place the salmon fillet in the centre. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Spread a thick layer of the cheese and spinach sauce on top of the salmon, then top with the second sheet of pastry. Tuck the top sheet around the salmon, then brush the edges with a little egg yolk, squeezing the two sheets together to seal.
- Carefully trim off any excess pastry around the edge; these trimmings could be used to decorate the top of the pastry, if liked (cut out your desired shapes and stick on to the top pastry with a little of the beaten egg).
- Brush the whole pastry with the egg, and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, until golden all over. Serve immediately.
Chermoula-marinated sea bass stuffed with olives & preserved lemon
The chermoula marinade is full of flavours and will elevate fresh seabass. A great dish for entertaining guests.
Chermoula-marinated sea bass
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 large whole sea bass (1.5-2kg, net weight), scaled and gutted
- 4 medium waxy potatoes (600g), cut into 2mm thick slices
- Olive oil
- 7 plum tomatoes, cut into 5mm slices
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 large preserved lemon, flesh removed, skin roughly chopped
- 200g green and black olives (pitted)
- Lemon wedges, to serve
- For the chermoula:
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 1 bunch coriander, chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 pinch dried chilli flakes
- 90ml olive oil
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Combine the chermoula ingredients in a bowl. Use a sharp knife to score the fish lightly with three or four cuts on an angle on each side. Rub chermoula all over the fish, inside and out, and leave to marinade in the fridge for one to three hours.
- Drop the potatoes into a medium pan of boiling water and blanch for three to four minutes, to soften. Drain, refresh and shake to dry.
- Take an oven tray large enough to accommodate the whole fish and brush with olive oil. Arrange the potato and tomato slices, slightly overlapping, over the base of the tray. Drizzle lightly with oil and season.
- Mix together the preserved lemon and olives. Lay the fish on top of its potato and tomato bed, then stuff with the olives and lemon. Allow any excess to tumble out of the cavity.
- Roast for 45-55 minutes – the roasting time may vary dramatically according to the thickness of the fish, so start checking after 30 minutes. Pierce the fish down to its spine at its thickest part with a little knife – the flesh should be totally white.
- Once done, bring the tin directly to the table. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with lemon wedges.
Seafood Paella
Paella is a great dish to make when you need to feed a crowd. It’s full of flavours and has a bit of everything so it’s easy to please everyone! Feel free to adapt the recipe to add your favourite seafood!
Seafood Paella
Author:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 6 free-range chicken thighs, skin on, bone in
- plain flour
- olive oil
- 100 g quality chorizo
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves of garlic
- ½ a bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 6 rashers of higher-welfare pancetta or smoked streaky bacon
- 2 litres organic chicken stock
- 2 large pinches of saffron
- 1 heaped teaspoon smoked paprika
- 500 g paella rice
- 2 small squid
- 2 handfuls of fresh or frozen peas
- 10 large raw king prawns
- 500g mussels (cleaned)
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5.
- Quarter each piece of chicken, then season with sea salt and black pepper and dust with flour.
- Heat a splash of oil in a large, deep pan on a medium heat and fry the chicken until golden brown all over, then transfer to a baking tray and place in the oven for 20 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Meanwhile, slice the chorizo, peel and finely chop the onion and garlic, and pick and finely chop the parsley leaves, finely chopping the stalks.
- Put the pan back on the heat, add the sliced chorizo and pancetta or bacon and fry until browned and crispy. Add the onion, garlic and parsley stalks, then cook until soft.
- Meanwhile, gently heat the chicken stock and infuse half with the saffron.
- Add the smoked paprika, the rice and infused stock to the pan and leave to cook on a medium heat for around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, halve the squid and lightly score all over with a regular eating knife.
- When the time’s up, add the remaining stock, peas, prawns, and the mussels and squid. Place a lid on the pan and cook for 10 further minutes.
- Finally, add the cooked chicken, sprinkle over the chopped parsley and serve with wedges of lemon for squeezing over.
