Help please! Great recipe needed

[Sidebeforeself]

Right, I have a bit of a challenge for you good cooks out there. Can you please suggest a recipe suitable for a nice main for 4 adults that fits the following criteria:

Ideally cooked /prepped in advance ( its for after lunchtime drinks so I cant be starting from scratch)
No fish/seafood
Ideally a one pan/tray bake kind of thing ( although happy to serve a salad or something on the side)
A bit fancier /different from ordinary “tea” stuff like chili

Of course Ive Googled recipes but I’d like to do something that I know works when cooked by real people!!

All suggestions gratefully received. Im an okay cook but I want the day to be easy going not me spending hours in the kitchen.

Use a lasagne dish.

Parboil chunks of pumpkin. Drain and cool a little. Slice.

Make or buy your favourite Italian tomato sauce. Add crumbled bacon or Greek feta for salty hits.

Layer the pumpkin with the tomato with sauce on the top. Cover with breadcrumbs and grated cheese.

Bake at 180 degrees until golden and bubbling. Serve with green salad and garlic bread.

This is filling, easy and forgiving. Can be made vegetarian or vegan.

Moussaka
serce with a feta and beetroot salad
green Greek salad

or
paella with no fish

or
spatchcock chicken - prep ahead and cooks quickly
couscous salad - delia does a lovely one
https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/delias-summer-collection/roasted-vegetable-couscous-salad-with-harissa-style-dressing

https://provenancebutcher.com/blogs/chicken/sabrina-s-bloody-mary-spatchcocked-chicken-by-sabrina-ghayour

A tagine veg or chicken. Can be made and frozen before hand. Loads of recipes online. Then roasted veg couscous studded with pomegranate seeds and loads of herbs. A green salad and garlic bread.

@TheSandgroper Ive never cooked with pumpkin before.I assume this would work with sweet potatoes instead? I do like the sound of it though esp using bacon and feta.

@mumonthehill I think you may have hit the nail on the head! Just found a great chicken tagine recipe 😘

I'd make Nigella's Lasagne of Love (it's on her website). You can make it the day before or even 2 days before. The only work to do on the day is to sprinkle some cheese on it and put it in the oven. Serve an easy salad with it and voila. It's SO much nicer than an ordinary lasagne. Everyone loves it.

Make it simple. Cooked whole chicken or two.
Salad with a homemade honey mustard dressing on the side.
Baguettes.
Tomato salad.

@Sidebeforeself I’m not really au fait with sweet potato. I don’t know if it goes with tomatoes.

However, pumpkin or butternut squash is dead easy. Don’t be frightened of it.

https://www.mob.co.uk/recipes/pea-pesto-lasagne

This always goes down an absolute storm! I have tweaked the recipe slighty: I add cheese to the bechamel, way less oil to the pesto (use water instead to loosen), and waaaaayyyy more peas than it says (like 8-900g total split between the pesto and the layers). And I don’t bother par cooking the lasagne just use dried!

Ottolenghi’s Chicken and Cardamom rice is always a big winner when I serve it. serve with salad that contains lots of pomegranate seeds and fried pitta and herbs

https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/chicken-with-caramelized-onion-and-cardamom-rice/

@LarksAscending and @StrawberryPi Oh my word those both look delicious.DH wouldnt eat all the green Im afraid but Im definitely making both recipes another time.

Ive decided to go with chicken tagine…thanks everyone!

@mumonthehill Thanks so much for your suggestion. Did chicken tagine today and it was a huge hit!

@Sidebeforeself fab! It is often my go to!

Eastern Med meatball tray bake with salad.

Onion
Mince - I like to mix beef with pork
Spices - I use teaspoon of cumin, season all and maybe some chilli flakes, salt and pepper
Salad - I like a red salad so beetroot, red onion, Lolo rosso, radishes, tomatoes and sometimes some orange segments or pomegranate pearls.
Fig Jam
Balsamic vineger
Peppers
Red onions

Finely dice and fry the onion and allow to cool.

Mix together the mince and spices, dd the onion and shape in to meatballs or you can make them in to kebabs.

Slice the peppers, onions and any other veg you want to eat and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. The meatballs will let out some fat so I tend to put them on another shelf or crumpled foil.

You can add spices / seasonings if you like.

Put in the oven for 20 - 30 mins, turning once.

Add the fig jam to the vinegar in a saucepan and simmer, you need about 1/2 a jar of the jam and 2-3 tablespoons of vinegar, you can add stock or butter if you like.

You can make everything ahead of time, the fig sauce is fine hot or cold.