Help! Safari Supper and don’t know what to cook

[Velveteenchair]

I am hosting a village safari supper and my guests include a vegan, a pescatarian and the rest of us (6 people) who will eat meat.

Please help with recipe suggestions which I can prepare in advance and then put together at the last minute.

I am hosting the main course so I will be out in another person’s house for the starter, then will have to rush back and will have 10 - 15 mins prep time before we sit down to dinner.

My village is quite posh and expectations will be reasonably high as we are paying over £20pp to join in (to cover the cost of the meal and a contribution towards the parish church).

These are the limitations I’ve put on myself:

Vegan: no curry as I expect coconut cauliflower curry is offered a lot.

No pan fried fish as my extractor fan isn’t great and I didn’t want to stink the kitchen out with salmon smells.

Meat - chicken, I think - red meat can be quite offensive for some who don’t agree with the process.

I don’t know who I’m hosting which is why I’m being extra careful. My DD is a non milk drinking vegetarian (ie she will eat eggs and sheep’s cheese) so I do believe it’s important to respect other people’s food choices.

Ideally I would like to make a coq au vin and leave it in the slow cooker. However as I am catering for different requirements I’d like to make one vegan base dish and then maybe add baked chicken on top with baked halloumi for the pescatarian?

So, a long OP, but I would be grateful for all suggestions for a) prepare in advance food that is assembled at the last minute b) food that can slow cook for a couple of hours c) good quality dishes

The easier the better please, as I have a tendency to turn into Fanny Craddock when my DH is in the kitchen “helping” so I don’t want to be stressed and bad tempered as that will spoil the evening for everyone.

Thank you!

Do the Coq and greens
How about a vegan cassoulet that would also sit a while and feed the pescatarian too?

Ooh - good idea! Any recommendations for vegan sausages? I’ve tried a few supermarket ones and they are a bit cardboardy. Would Tofu work as a sausage replacement? I can add the pieces in at the end to warm up.

Aldi do some amazing vegan hot dogs that might work. Vegedeli Lincolnshire sausages are great in a cassoulet type dish too.

Definitely not Linda's. Anything but Linda's

Great, thanks, I’ll try those.

Sorry for not contributing OP, but what is a safari supper?

I was thinking safari themed, but after reading some posts, I'm pretty sure it isn't.

No helpful food suggestions but it sounds like the opening of Midsomer Murders

Lol

A safari supper is where you take turns hosting a course. It’s a group activity for the village so people go to each other’s house (for a snoop) for a chance to meet new people and to raise funds for the local community. No one has mingled during the past two years so it’s a good way to welcome the new families who have moved into the village over the past couple of years.

Could you do a tomato and red pepper ragu and serve it with some rice?
(That’s the vegan bit)

Add some rounds of goats cheese for the vegetarian

Then have some of the same mix and cook some chicken in it and serve also with rice?

One pot Cous cous or saffron rice with roasted paprika veg ( courgette, red pepper, onion , cauli) and spicy chickpea and tomato sauce..
Preserved lemon and parsley chopped as a garnish
On top: depending on who wants what

Baked chicken thighs ( and possibly some fried chorizo cubes)
Fried Halloumi (or prawns)
Stir fried Smoked Tofu
Garlic saffron mayo or yoghurt ( use a vegan one for every one)

Or possibly Agatha Raisin @Hoppinggreen!

This pumpkin thing is very filling and very forgiving should you make it early.

Tesco has a vegan 'moq au van' which is the wicked range I believe? It's really tasty so maybe you could have a nose at the ingredients and recreate a vegan version alongside the meat one for the 2 non meat eaters.

Thank you - the Wicked range is quite good, isn’t it?

Def avoid tofu, you either like it or loathe it
Veggie sausage cassoulet sounds nice
Or chilli super easy. You could do a veggie and non veggie option and make it special with guacamole,salsa etc all made in advance

Do the meat eaters have to eat meat? Much less stress for you if you bite the bullet and cook vegan for everyone.

The pescatarian can eat vegan food so don’t make an extra meal. I’m veggie and love coconut cauliflower curry.

Good luck. Ply everyone with plenty of booze and they won’t notice any fanny cradock moments.

My parents live in a village and they get involved with safari suppers. They always sound a riot.

Coq au vin
A veggie cassoulet
Bake a cod fillet in tinfoil and serve with the cassoulet for the fish eater

Two slow cook easy prep dishes and one easy in the oven at he time fillet.

Bread, green salad, baby potatoes .