Asked to make starter for 7 people, no oven - help please!

[Blackbird1234]

I've been asked to make a vegetarian starter for 7 people for Christmas day. Where I'm currently staying doesn't have an oven. Doesn't need to be anything fancy.

Any ideas?

Veggie pate and crackers?

Mezze platter with hummus, crudités, stuffed vine leaves.

How about something like this?

realfood.tesco.com/recipes/fig-and-blue-cheese-salad.html

www.deliaonline.com/recipes/books/delias-summer-collection/tomato-mozzarella-and-basil-salad

Do you have a job? Devilled eggs are good

Prawn cocktail.

Sorry, posted without reading the veggie part.

@WeveGotASquirrel

Prawn cocktail.

Vegetarian prawns?

Soup

Soup or mushroom pate.

I made a really nice beetroot soup with blue cheese toasts which was easy and looked amazing. www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/vegetarian/roast-beetroot-soup-with-caramelised-onion-and-blue-cheese-toasts/amp/

Soup? Broccoli and stilton is quite festive or a warming winter soup with parsnip, sweet potato, red lentils, etc works well and is very easy and quick to make.

While I would normally suggest what JuniorMint did, people might not want to be eating dips.

How about a jewelled couscous salad? It's very pretty with pomegranate seeds and mint. All you need is a kettle and a bowl. Pour boiling water over the couscous, fluff it up, add the pomegranate and mint and you're done. Takes a few minutes, max.

Agreed - sharing food is not a good idea this Christmas!

Figs, Parma ham and rocket, with a balsamic dressing. Peng.

@knightsinwhitesatin

Do you have a job? Devilled eggs are good

Double take there, but then I realised you meant hob. Was thinking what a combative response!

My suggestion would be Delia Smith's roasted red peppers with fennel. Decent bread with it. Good at room temperature, so no reheating issues.

Doh, thought oven was missing from where you're eating, but I see now it's where you're cooking. I think my suggestion could be adapted for cooking on the hob, but might not be ideal.

Pan cooked Haloumi and peppers, with balsamic glaze on top when serving

Go retro...

Honeydew melon slice, cut into cubes in place. Cocktail stick with a glace cherry on it stuck into the middle slice.

Does anyone else remember when a glass of orange juice was considered a starter?

Veggie/mushroom pate with slices of naice bread (maybe 2 different kinds, a white baguette and rye bread, or tiger loaf and wholegrain) and a handful of salad leaves - maybe rocket or watercress in the mix. Caramelised onion chutney on the side.

@zafferana

Agreed - sharing food is not a good idea this Christmas!

Mezze platter can be plated individually- a blob of hummus on the plate or in a small ramekin/shot glass, one or two vines leaves and some crudités. However I take your meaning and there are lots of nice suggestions in this thread (although some people haven’t read the vegetarian part).

Do you have a job

I was just thinking gosh, deviled eggs must require more effort than I thought.

Chestnut soup with sage.

Watermelon, radish and feta salad.

Try Leek & Potato soup easy to make if you don't have a blender you can use a potato masher and call it "rustic",same with carrot and coriander soup all good for veggies served with crispy bread.

I'd go with a selection of melon with a raspberry coulis artfully placed to look a bit special.