Delicious Minimal Cooking Buffet Lunch
I love any meze style meal, no matter what the cuisine, if I can have a spoon of that and a bit of this, I’m in heaven.
With the upcoming festivities I thought that this could be a great between Christmas and New Year menu healthy minimal cooking menu. Delicious menu items that you can add to other meals or pop together and have a lovely healthy but feels like a treat cold buffet. The items can be scaled up to feed a crowd or small bowls can be served to a few friends. There were 5 of us around the table shown below with leftovers for my family.
Smoked duck slices on a bed of rocket with slices of orange
Tinned cannelloni beans with lots of chopped parsley, finely chopped onions, tomatoes and a lemon olive oil dressing.
A bowl of naked salad leaves.
White crab meat (fresh if you can find it or the tinned white John West white crab chunks work very well), lots of chopped coriander, chopped mango pieces and lemon juice.
Luxurious smoked salmon and wedges of lemon or a bowl of My Quick Smoked Salmon Pate.
Roasted aubergine slices (can be made a day ahead), fresh tomatoes and crumbled feta cheese with drizzled balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
A cheese board with fresh grapes.
A plate of crackers for the cheese board and a plate of melba toast both can be topped with the cheese, crab, tomatoes and aubergines, duck and cannelloni beans.
The salad leaves can be eaten plain, as a Mediterranean salad with the tomatoes and aubergines, as a fresh tasting crab salad, a smoked salmon salad or duck salad.
I have lovely homemade dressings (a balsamic dressing, Peppadew Salad Dressing and my Raspberry Vinaigrette) in jars on the table. A few menu items can morph into whatever your guests fancy.
It is a wonderful interactive spread that leaves you feeling like you have been spoilt but with goodness rather than the usual Festive overindulgent heavy feeling.
This menu is also great in Summer or Winter.
Dessert
Keeping it really simple around the festive season you could add mince pies or a slice of Christmas cake to the mix. My simple idea is to buy some ready made mini all butter pastry cases or if you have the time make your own, add my custard from the Quick and Easy Milk Tart Recipe, add teaspoonful of lemon curd, passionfruit and or fig jam and then top with a shop bought mini or homemade mini meringues.
A few pieces of baklava on the dessert plate goes well with a cup of coffee or tea. You can also skip dessert and serve a slice of cake (Easy Chocolate Cake, Carrot Cake, or Lemon Drizzle Cake)
I hope you can magpie an idea from the menu that will help you when you are next catering.
These buffet ideas look really helpful, thank you!