Lunch Party for 13 on a Teeny Tiny Budget

[VenusInFauxFurs]

Money is VERY, VERY tight at the moment. I am having all my family round for lunch next Sunday. There will thirteen of us. It's for a family birthday so NOT Christmas-themed.

It will be a vegetarian spread. I am thinking of doing pasta with accompanying sauce/veg. And bread and salad. Also couscous as one of the guests doesn't eat wheat. I don't have much in the store cupboard - although there is olive oil, balsamic vinegar, plenty of dried herbs and spices and an enormous pumpkin. (Some kind of roasted pumpkin side dish?). Am fine for posh tea and coffee.

I don't drink alcohol. It won't be a boozy affair anyway (middle of the day, lots of children there) so the couple of people who might want a glass of wine will bring a bottle with them. So I don't need to budget for booze. My niece is bringing the birthday cake.

Not planning to do a starter. So I need pre-meal snacks, the main meal and a pudding. (Preferably something fruity and wheat-free). I have Sainsburys, Aldi, Morrisons and Asda nearby.

I am a decent cook and will have plenty of time to prepare. I am happy to spend all Saturday preparing. So ideally I want super-cheap ingredients that I can make a bit special.

I would really, really appreciate everyone's suggestions for super-cheap but delicious meal ideas.

Thanks thenumberseven. I have a stick blender and a food processor. Which is better for making mayonnaise, do you think?

Allalonenow, I have smoked paprika. Do you think that would make a nice popcorn flavour?

Eton Mess might be a bit too rich with Birthday cake to follow. Pudding is usually an alternative to birthday cake. Everyone (apart from the permanently hungry teenagers) tend to choose one or the other.

Both are good but the stick blender makes it very easy if you proceed as above. Important that you plunge it right to the bottom and just turn it on.
With the food proccessor you add the oil in a fine stream which is fine but if you get ahead of yourself and pour too much at once it can curdle.

Food professor

Nigella's vegetarian chilli from Feast is amazing - I often cook it for large gatherings. www.nigella.com/recipes/view/vegetarian-chilli-2737 (Not sure if that link will work - I'm on my phone). Great served with rice, or she does a cornbread topping for the meat chilli which she says goes just as well with the veggie one (I haven't made it though so don't speak from experience). I often just serve it with crusty bread, green salad and the usual chilli accompaniments (which in this house are sour cream, salsa, guacamole and grated cheese ).

My three daughters are coeliac so all my desserts are g-f. Pavlova is the easy option for wheat/gluten free...brownies contain minimal flour so you can easily substitute a g-f flour in a standard recipe but if you'd like an amazing g-f recipe, let me know. I serve brownies with ice cream and raspberries...

Link worked fine, tkband3, thank you!

I don't have coeliacs amongst my lunch guests. My sister doesn't eat wheat but, apparently, eats couscous so make of that what you will .

Yes Venus smoked paprika will work well, you won't need very much, sprinkle some, stir well, then taste, repeat till you like the taste.

great ideas thank you op!

Nigella has an amazing pasta sauce made from pumpkin, blue cheese and sage in Eat. She includes Marsala and pine nuts but unless you have these you can leave them out. It would be lovely with cous cous too. It tastes very luxurious and celebratory.