Sunday dinner in summer?

[pinkishtongue]

What’s your favourite thing to make for Sunday lunch/dinner when the weather is warm?

Personally I love a roast anytime but DH thinks it’s mad to eat gravy in summer…so we have to swap it up and I’m out of ideas for tomorrow.

Chat gpt offered me a charred nectarine salad as an idea which sounds pleasant but not hearty enough for a Sunday lunch imo 😂

I still cook the occasional roast unless its really really really hot 🔥 🥵 🤣🤣
The weather has been cooler this week so we had roast gammon and a curry.... normally autumn or winter food lol

I love a good salad, plenty of different veg, leaves, beetroot, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, soft goats cheese and butterflied chicken with garlic herbs and olive oil cooked on the BBQ or in a griddle pan, serve with warm crusty bread or home made garlic bread. Also tuna nicoise is a really hearty salad, warm new potatoes green beans and tuna steaks with study boiled eggs.
I also like to roast a side of salmon can have some with potatoes and veg, pesto and veg pasta or veggie couscous and then left over salmon is lovely for lunches with salad or cold veg couscous. Also home made kofte , flatbreads,tzatziki (beetroot tzatziki is really delicious and easy to make) and Greek salad

I still regularly made a Sunday roast when I lived in the Middle East. Ive lived in hot countries for half my adult life and never got the 'too hot for a roast' feeling!

Thin gravy in summer, thick in winter. That's the only change I make to my weekly meat and 2 veg

Since we moved to France we ditched a roast and do all day breakfast, so little roasted potato cubes, scrambled egg on toast, sausages, veggie for us but whatever, and beans. Keeps it really simple and quick whilst still getting some roast potatoes.

I have fish or chicken. I think it's seabass tomorrow.

We have a Ninja Woodfire electric barbecue. Things like a boned leg of lamb or large steak cooked on it are great in hot weather. A spatchcocked chicken takes less than 40 minutes. Serve with gremolata or chimichurri instead of gravy. New potato salad and roasted veg or a tomato salad.

If you like fish, a whole salmon wrapped in foil and baked early in the day (or even the day before) makes a good centerpiece for a Sunday lunch type of meal.
I'd just serve it at room temperature if cooked in the morning, with potato or rice salad and other vegetable dishes like cucumber and yoghurt, or baby tomatoes. Dill mayonnaise or a herby sauce verte would go well with the fish.

When was a child we had roast every Sunday without fail, regardless of season, we had to or my autistic brother would throw a tantrum. My husband loves bbq and we will often have that in the summer instead of a roast, but we love a roast when winter returns.

Don’t get me started on summer dinners: DH is sulking on account of chicken salad opposed to roast chicken 🤯

Ooh Kofte I haven’t had for ages, that’s a good shout.

Ha, I like your style! I could eat a roast daily tbh….

Surely if he doesn't want the roast he should be planning lunch?

We’ve been having things like Niçoise salad or Caesar salad with a ready cooked chicken during the really hot weather, but it’s cooler this weekend so I’m making roast lamb tomorrow.

Yeah I don’t do gravy dinners in summer. Plenty of time for those meals later in the year.

Salads, barbecues, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern foods (grilled lamb, flatbreads, falafel etc). But we only have roast 3 or 4 times a year and one of those will be Christmas.

We do BBQ or smoked meats (we have an outdoor smoker) with salads. Or pulled pork with coleslaw on brioche buns. Or a roast Middle Eastern spiced lamb leg with flatbreads and salad (this is our Easter lunch every year actually, sometimes we do it in the smoker, sometimes in the oven).

I often do roast chicken, with new/baby potatoes, corn on the cob, salad and coleslaw as a summer alternative. Especially when (fussy) family are visiting. Still feels like a Sunday type of meal, but the cold elements work much better when it’s warm. Added bonus of leftover roast chicken and stuffing sandwiches the next day 😋

I found a nice recipe for a curry spiced salmon that sits on top of a sag aloo tray bake thing - has been popular in our house

We’ve been routinely swapping roast chicken and all the trimmings like roast potatoes and veg and gravy to roast chicken, new potatoes and salad so not much change at all for us. When it was super hot though no one felt like eating anything so we ate our weight in bbq meats. I had family over recently and did a huge ploughman’s spread which went down an absolute treat. Tik tok does have some uses as my kids were looking at summer eating trends and have tried lots of new stuff this summer holiday purely as it’s a fashion.

How about roasting a chicken on potato Boulanger?

Its just DH and myself, no kids. In summer we often still do a roasted or BBQ'd meat/fish, but not all the traditional roasted sides. I also try to eat what is in season and what I've grown in the garden. For example:

-Crumbed chicken thighs cooked in the oven but sides might be boiled potatoes, steamed runner beans, steamed carrots, corn and peas. Or a salad
-A whole chicken, but cut into smaller pieces before roasting because its quicker
-Burgers made with just beef mince
-Whole fish en papilotte (wrapped in baking paper to cook)
-Lamb chops, pork chops or fish fillets on cous cous/savoury rice and veg
-I have an Ottolenghi book which have some great alternatives too

People need to talk more about beetroot. 🫜 it even has its own emogi absolute food of gods.

I’m a big fan. I’ve got a big roast veg salad in the fridge already with beetroot in it, and I make beetroot hummus. Good for blood pressure too I believe.

Roast a chicken or salmon and serve with salad and crusty bread. Occasionally will roast some veg.