One Pot for Party

[VeronicaDean]

Hosting up to 25 people for an evening ahead of Christmas and after some inspiration for food ideas.

I'm thinking of doing a large beef stroganoff with rice but want a second option. Looking for ideas beyond chilli, curry or pasta - ideally a one pot recipe so I can have two big dishes / pans on the hob for everyone to help themselves to.

Any dietary needs eg this dish needs to be veggie/vegan? I’d be thinking root veg curry (sorry), squash/chickpea/halumi bake, or maybe like a cauli-broccoli cheese which could go alongside the beef?

No dietary requirements ☺️ All meat eaters. Some not huge fans of mushrooms or onion so wanting to do something different to the stroganoff partially for that reason.

Marry me chicken with extra peppers/tomatoes? Though maybe that’s two creamy options.
I often do the sausage, pepper and fennel tray bake (Sainsbury’s many years ago).

A thick/chunky soup with lots of nice bread?

I share this all the time because it’s delicious but you might not want two beef dishes? https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/braised-beef-onepot

Do you need a veggie option? I do a gorgeous wild mushroom, cashew, kale and puy lentil dish someone linked here ages ago on a veggie recipe thread. It tastes much nicer than it sounds.

Or Jamie Oliver's filo pastry with feta, pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes, mint and spinach. You can make it in a ring to cut it more easily, and serve with salads

Confit duck on a base of sofritta, leeks, lentils is also delicious and can be made in advance.

I know you said not chilli but I did a chili for friends over the weekend with steak pieces and black beans, simmered for three hours and it went down a storm. I used good ingredients and dark chocolate and then put out extras in a bit of a “build your own” bar (salad, guac, salsa, sour cream, feta, spring onions, tortilla chips and rice)

Otherwise what about chicken and chorizo stew or Tuscan chicken or Greek lamb? Those all stand up to low and slow which takes pressure off timings.

I often do the Hairy bikers Somerset chicken

Beef carbonade is very nice, and easy.

Thank you all so much for your input.

I'm now thinking:

• big pot of beef stroganoff
• marry me chicken (either just as is to go with rice or done as Orzo) ... But I'm going to check out the Greek lamb
• rice
• some sort of veggie third dish or side

Great suggestions on here - thank you - would any of you send me recipes for the potential veggie dish / side you've recommended?

What about Paella? I like to do that for big groups - it's not the most authentic, but it works - and I tend to do chicken and chorizo and cook the chicken, chorizo and veg (I use peppers and onions) in advance and then when we're 20 minutes away from eating, I add the stock and leave to cook.

My other go to is a large slow roasted joint of meat. But that does usually require a selection of salads to go with it.

Ottolenghi's confit chickpeas. https://ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes/confit-tandoori-chickpeas

I made it for a party three years ago and got many useful tips on this thread: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/food_and_recipes/4941260-ottolenghis-confit-chickpeas-anybody-made-it

Standing up or sitting at a table to eat?

We have room to properly seat 16 people at a table / island, plus another 4 on additional stools around the island. I think we're now at nearly 30 guests but I doubt they'll all come. 4 or 5 are young children (under the age of 5). There are also a couple of rooms with settees for people to sit and eat from their laps, if they do wish. I guess everyone can be sat down at the same time but not all at a proper table. That said, I appreciate some will be finishing their food as others are just serving up. Last year, everyone either sat at a table or at the island, or perched around the island.

I guess I don't want anything too messy / difficult to eat so, for those who don't have a proper place to sit, it's not uncomfortable for them (and no risk of turmeric staining my carpet if anything gets dropped!).

A lot of "so" in there, so-rry.