Inspire me with a lovely but easy dinner for friends please?

[Celeriacacaca]

Friends are coming for dinner on Saturday. They always make us a lovely dinner so I'm looking for a summer inspiration for a meal for six please. I prefer making one dish/social sorts of things ie nothing that will have us in the kitchen for ages while they're here iykwim.

This is a good one - use it regularly for family meals and when we have friends round:

www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/hairy-biker-s-spanish-style-chicken-bake

Steak with baby leaf salad, tomatoes, beetroot and radish. Serve with homemade potato salad (mix mayo and sour cream to dress the potatoes, you wont regret it!)
Failing potato salad just do boiled potatoes with lots of butter/garlic butter.

I live having salad and steak/chicken in the summer

This served with flatbreads and salads

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2837673/pulled-lamb-shoulder-with-sticky-pomegranate-glaze

Spanish chicken tray bake, salad and fresh crusty bread to absorb the delicious tray bake juices.

I use the Hairy Bikers recipe and always double up on the amount of chorizo!

I use the Hairy Bikers recipe and always double up on the amount of chorizo!

Definitely!! I do the same!!!

It’s a lovely easy recipe and perfect with some French beans.

Delia’s chicken basque is fab and completely prepared in advance Serve with salad and bread or Jersey Royals.

Gotta be Elton Mess for pudding really.

Ooh totally agree with Eton Mess for pud.

I’d base a starter around Iberico ham, some sort of Spanish bruschetta type ‘thing’ or maybe ham and melon?

ottolenghi.co.uk/roasted-chicken-with-clementines-arak-2101-shop

If you like fennel, this is gorgeous, fairly easy and unusual. Well I think so anyway.

Thanks for the fab ideas. Ham and melon it is to start with Eton mess for pudding; now to decide which one of these for the main course. I'm salivating at the thought of them!

Nigella’s slow cooked chicken with roasted new potatoes and salad along with bread. www.nigella.com/recipes/slow-roasted-garlic-and-lemon-chicken

Honestly, go for the Hairy Bikers and double up on the chorizo, you won’t regret it! It always goes down a storm here!

Hairy Bikers has the spuds in the recipe so you don’t need to cook them separately, yes, I’m a lazy arse!

Cod and chorizo stew from BBC good food. Read the comments for tips. Really nice, all in one pan, healthy too!

I love a pesto and creme fraiche chicken with new potatoes and green beans.

Nothing wrong with being a lazyarse Wine or, as I say, efficient!

I have to report back to say that the dinner was one of our most successful ones ever, so thank you all for your help.

We had melon and parma ham (the melons were just perfectly ripe, which isn't always the way when you buy them) followed by the Hairy Bikers' chicken bake, which went down a storm; and then Eton Mess. We had a great evening and it was lovely to be able to concentrate on friends rather than preparing complicated food!