Bank Holiday Breeze

It's the last Bank Holiday for some time (I'm certainly not going to mention the next one!)

Here's a few menu suggestions for the day to make life easy and all of them can be made ahead – most of the recipes have already been posted.

If you want a “dive-in” starter what about “Crostini” mentioned in Lucky Dip. Here's another recipe for a Crostini topping :

Sumac-roasted Tomatoes

6 ripe tomatoes

salt and black pepper

light sprinkling of molasses sugar

olive oil

1 tbsp sumac

sprigs of thyme, leaves only

Pre-heat oven 150 (140 fan/300f/gas mark 2)

Cut the tomatoes in half and place on a baking try. Season with salt and pepper, add a light sprinkling of sugar. Drizzle with oil, then sprinkle with the sumac and thyme leaves.

Slow-roast the tomatoes until soft and beginning to caramelise, about 20-30 minutes.

Serve with thin slices of pecorino or feta cheese.

OR

the retro Baked Camembert mentioned in GOM: Chapter 8, here's the recipe :

Baked Camembert

250g Camembert

1 clove garlic or garlic paste

olive oil

Bread of your choice

Pinch of sea salt

Handful of chopped dried cranberries

Handful of chopped mixed nuts

Preheat your oven 180/350/Gas 4. Leaving the Camembert in the box, score around the top about half cm in and cut off the top layer of skin. Slice the garlic clove and poke into the top of the cheese. Drizzle with a little olive oil then bake in the oven for 15 minutes – or until gorgeous and oozy in the middle.

Serve the Camembert with warmed flat bread or French bread – dunk the bread into the cheese and then into the cranberries and nuts – repeat! Don't forget – a stapled box NOT a glued version.

Moving on to main course, slow cook a huge piece of gammon – smoked or not, in vegetable stock – prepare it when you have ten minutes – mission accomplished.

Serve the gammon with griddled fresh pineapple.

As for the potato section, roast new potatoes in their skins (drizzled with rapeseed oil and season - bake in a large foil tray).

If you want to be more fancy potato-wise, you could make the “Tartiflette” mentioned in GOM: Chapter 10. Again, this dish can be made ahead.

Vegetables, “Honey Roast Beetroot” from “Kitchen Investments and Wednesday Supper” and “Lemon Glazed Carrots” in GOM: Chapter 16.

and for pud, either “Lemon Tiramisu” in “Luscious Lemons” or “Orange Tiramisu” in GOM: Chapter 16.

Just thought that with a little forward planning you'd like the idea of not cooking at all on Bank Holiday Monday – you may have pop one or two bits into the oven but, I don't think that counts as cooking.

Happy Holiday!