Transportable main course to feed a crowd

[OMGitsnotgood]

I’m making one of the main courses for a large gathering, to serve 15. Needs to be transportable, with as little last minute prep as possible other than reheating.
Hob and oven space not an issue. No dietary requirements which is amazing for a big group, although would rather avoid fish and seafood as they don’t reheat well in my experience.

Not the following as they are regulars:
Curry, chilli, tagine, lasagne, goulash, shepherds pie, fajitas.

Ideally something ‘different’ and more modern. Will liaise with the other person making mains to ensure we’re not making things that are too similar. and will share suggestions from here to help them too .
Thank you.

What about a pasta dish.
We love a pastitsio and that's easy to make in advance and reheat. Could serve with salad and garlic bread :)

Pulled pork and buns, salad, coleslaw?

Pulled pork and buns is a great idea Or bring it even more up to date with bao buns ( quick flash in a micro wave ) sprinkle with spring onion and chilli mayo served on paper tray ( Amazon ) street food style .

Whole cooked ham, whole cooked salmon, salmon tart. A tagine, chicken, lamb or vegetable.

What about a pie or pies?

Start the day before with a large slow cooker and cook steak, carrots and mushrooms.

Or chicken pieces with mushrooms, leeks and condensed mushroom soup (trust me it works) and finish with a pot of crème fraiche.

Leave to cool.

Buy ready rolled pastry, use short crust to line the pie tin(s) and puff pastry on the top.

Transport them like that. Actually you can freeze them so there is even less chance of spillage.

One takes about 30 mins in the oven (not frozen) but 2 or 3 pies will take a bit longer.

Korean street food / gyros / kofta / seems to be all the rage around here rather than BBQs . There are really good packet mixes in the supermarkets to make it simple . And as I said above. The paper food trays for Amazon give it a steer food vibe.

Bacon and egg pie. Super tasty, easy to transport, can be served at room temperature.

Cheesy roast aubergines with salsa roja

Enchiladas - or is that too close to fajitas?

Philly cheesesteak sandwiches- pre prep and cook the beef, onions and peppers in seasoning, when you arrive add cheese bung the whole lot in the oven to reheat and pile into buns to serve.

you said no fish/seafood and no lasagne but I am still going to suggest this prawn habanero lasagne which is great for a crowd, modern, super tasty, and works both reheated or assembled in advance then cooked when needed.

I love crispy pork carnitas (not bbq pulled pork!!!) served with corn tortillas, a fresh pico de Gallo, and punchy hot sauce. I get on really well with the Joshua Weismann recipe, available on his YouTube channel but I have written it down if you want it.

Ottolenghi confit chickpeas get a lot of air time on MN with good reason, they are truly fabulous, and while curry adjacent they are a very cool take on it. Don't skip the herb yogurt.

Jollof rice is seriously delicious and addictive. It is so flavourful you can just serve with some roasted chicken/chicken thighs or fried prawns.

miso butter butternut gnocchi is so good. If you already have a number of carby dishes then the gnocchi can be substituted for butterbeans. it sounds like you and your friends are doing a spread? this works really well in that setting.

it sounds like you and your friends are doing a spread?
Sorry should have been clearer: we make a couple of complementary mains to give people an option or they can have a bit of both and a range of appropriate sides.

Part of an overnighter with some people providing lunch on day 1 and others breakfast on day 2.

As much as I think pulled pork would be perfect, I want to avoid rolls as they are often an integral part of lunch and/or breakfast. Ditto eggs, bacon, sausage based dishes.
Sorry for leaving out of the OP!

Thank you so much for all the suggestions. We entertain or contribute to friends' gatherings a lot so even if I can't use the ideas for this occasion, I am noting all the suggestions for future reference

@SummaLuvin . Great post ! I’m going to Google that lots . Love the idea of butter beans instead of gnocchi - genius !

@Souredgrapes thanks!!! but in fairness I can take no credit for the butterbean substitution, Ixta mentions it in the recipe intro, apparently butterbeans are known as 'natures gnocchi' in the culinary world. who knew?

Paella? Doesn’t have to be seafood! Ottolenghi does a nice vegetable one

Vietnamese noodle salad. I take it to bbqs minus the chicken and it's universally popular. Easy to scale up

www.langbein.com/recipes/vietnamese-roast-chicken-noodle-salad/

Chicken breast in macaroni sauce and penne pasta.

Pulled pork but put in burritos (with grated cheese, black beans, salsa etc)

Some type of slow cooked lamb or beef roast? Cook, slice once cold, and reheat in sauce. Sauce can be transported seperately in tubs. Reheats very quickly in pot on stove.

This is very tasty @OMGitsnotgood

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chicken-chorizo-jambalaya

I haven't made it myself, but a friend made this Ottolenghi pulled pork vindaloo as part of spread and it was a favourite of most people there. Similar situation where it was prepped at home and just reheated. The slaw on the page is great too and not last minute prep in case you wanted/needed a side to go with it.

Spanokopita is nice and would make a change if others are doing meat.

Beef Wellington - transports really well uncooked and you just have to bung it in the oven. Alternatively pork tenderloin stuffed with a mushroom duxelle - just assemble and tie with string and then wrap in foil for the journey to keep it in shape and remove foil when you're ready to brown and cook it.

I want that pork tenderloin, sounds delicious.

Spinach and ricotta cannelloni?
Moussaka?
Chicken cacciatore?

Something like this slow cooker chorizo and chicken stew which could be cooked the day before and reheated once there?

I'd get those large aluminium trays.

One with chicken Kiev's or chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto (maybe with asparagus, tomatoes or some kind of cheese under the prosciutto)

One with mash (cheesy mash and option)

One with a saucy ratatouille.

All ready to bung in the oven for 45 minutes before dinner.
Prep it all at home before you go.