Please share your favourite recipes when cooking for 10+ people.

[PinkToadstools]

I love to cook for other people but sometimes lack inspiration for something new. I’m thinking ahead to autumn and winter and hoping for some new ideas. Not just the usual lasagne, chilli, curry. I want exciting recipes for meat eaters and vegetarians. Also I like to cook a variety of dishes that go together so there is plenty of choice. Always help yourself style.

Feast by Sarah Rankin

Tapas, but in large platefuls for help-yourself buffet.
There's a huge variety, plenty of dishes for all dietary choices.
A lot can be frozen/fridged in advance, so less work on the day.

A bit unusual but I have done a DIY reuben sandwich buffet before. That always goes down well.

A platter of sliced rye sourdough
Little bowls of soft butter
Different pickles and gherkins, plus quality sauerkraut
Sliced gruyere
And a big joint of hot home made pastrami (it needs brining for up to 10 days and either sousviding for 2 days or pressure cooking so not a last minute feast)

Everyone makes up their own sarnie and takes it to the bbq where its grilled till the sourdough is toasty and the cheese is melty 😍

Doesn't accommodate veggies though but it is divine and cost effective too. Although I suppose you could offer aubergine steaks or halloumi quarter pounders as an alternative sandwich filling to the pastrami? Or cheddar to go with the pickles and make up a grilled ploughmans

BBC Good Food have an excellent recipe for slow cooker pulled pork. Can be done with buns/baked potatoes/rice etc as a side.

For sit-down dinners I would do a good stew (Boeuf Bourgignon or Osso Buco, and a vegetarian stew), as they can be prepared a day or two before and taste better that way. I have a really big casserole dish and love the low washing-up load.

For a buffet I would do a few hearty salads, maybe a gratin (Ottolenghi has a wonderful sweet potato and sage one) and something like a side of salmon or a couple of roast chickens. A few years ago I made this excellent Rick Stein recipe (note that the recipe says it feeds 4 but that would work out at about 500g salmon each. From memory, I think I doubled the recipe to serve 15 or so in a buffet). https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/roastedsalmonwithsal_78565

Went to a friend’s for a housewarming party the other night with about 10 guests. She did paella (just a normal deep large sauté pan of it), plus nice crusty loaves with butter, salad and olives/antipasti. It worked really well. She did Eton mess for pudding, but lemon posset would work nice too and is dead easy to make with store bought shortbreads.

We are a large family I cook daily for 9 people daily….its draining and I moan to myself thinking of what to cook haha but equally when some of the kids aren’t home for tea and I have to cook for less people I just can’t do it. I do a lot of ‘fakeaways’ usually a big hit. Doner kebab in air fryer and chicken kebabs (but I don’t mess around with skewers. Fajitas is a big hit. I do a lot of ‘one pot/pan’ dishes Google it, some great recipes. Often I’ll do a theme night so if Italian yes boring lasagne but I’ll do a selection of pasta dishes so like a buffet. Indian night, different curries. Chinese again a selection. Paella. I do find that when cooking for a large number a selection is usually a big hit covers everyone’s taste that way.

I have posted this on here before and people liked it!

Parboil chunks of pumpkin. When cooled a bit, slice.
Make your favourite Italian tomato sauce.
Layer pumpkin and tomato like lasagne. Scatter bits of crispy bacon or crumble a little feta for a salt hit.
Cheese on top with a few breadcrumbs and into the oven until golden and crispy.

Filling, forgiving, keeps well.

The easiest is a couple of large joints of neat eg beef and a turkey crown, hummus, plus salads , accompaniments, bread and cheese.

Things that have worked well in the past for us when feeding a large number.

Beef Stifado
Soufiko a veggie stew

Various sides such as greek potatoes, orzo.
Starters typically low key pitta and tzatiziki both homemade
Skordalia

They're very forgiving dishes too so can just get on with the day.

Things I've done that have worked well:

Paella
A lovely lamb caserole served with couscous. But I do feel these works for slightly smaller groups as with a big group, I can't explain it, but it feels too simple. Perhaps I should come up with some interesting sides that could work with either of these.

Our favourite is probably a large roasting joint that's forgiving - lamb shoulder or rib of beef are my favourites but sometimes I'll do two chickens - and then I do it with loads of sides (not roast dinner style). So I might go mediterranean and do things like flatbreads, taboulleh, tzatziki, baba ganoushe in summer or lemon roast potatoes, roasted veg and humus in winter.
or I'll go for lots of lovely fresh salads like a tomato salad, a big green salad, new potatoes etc.
Or in winter I like to do it with something rice based like a risotto or pilaf with piles of fresh greens on the side.

In each case, I'll roast the meat with appropriate seasoning to match.

Basically, I feel like roasted meats are too often lumped into the "roast dinner" category and they can be so much more.

I was going to recommend exactly this recipe! It also freezes very well if you are cooking for less than ten so can be a batch cook.

Similarly, also from Good Food, this recipe https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/lamb-souvlaki-skewers for Lamb Souvlaki Skewers also makes ten and I have made it several times. I suppose if there are vegetarians you could also make vegetable skewers or similar with halloumi