I am not the world’s most accomplished cook. There, I said it.
I’d love to frame this as some sort of feminist praxis, my valiant attempt to resist the decades of societal conditioning that mandate we women are innately domestic creatures. But the truth is ... I am lazy.
And yet I’m also a committed epicurean, and I love nothing more than a lavish spread and the conviviality that comes from sitting around a table with loved ones, the only agenda for the evening to eat until the button on your jeans threatens to make a bid for freedom.
In order to reconcile these two sides of myself, over the years I’ve perfected the art of whipping up an impressive spread with minimal effort. Reader, let me introduce you to the concept of the “no cook” dinner party, the ideal late-summer dining solution for when you’re exhausted from months of sweating over the barbecue.
The concept is simple – an assembly-only meal made up of the following component parts: plates of cured fish, such as anchovies, smoked mackerel and sardines, heaped on a large serving platter. Tonight, there’ll be no roasting trays of wanly seasoned red peppers to be politely picked at and left uneaten. For your veggie component we’re talking roughly torn gem lettuce leaves, doused in plenty of fresh lemon juice and topped with handfuls of finely chopped herbs – parsley, dill and mint all work equally well here – and finished off with capers or pickled red onions. (I’ll let you in on a secret: every salad is delicious if you add enough condiments, so don’t skimp on any of the above accoutrements.)
Crusty white sourdough bread and a good quality olive oil for dipping are essential; plus some aioli or really good salted butter.
And you’ll want to wash it all down with a bottle or two of McGuigan Reserve Pinot Grigio – made with premium fruit selected from New South Wales’s finest wine regions. It’s the perfect wine to share with friends on these late summer evenings, the ideal accompaniment to a few hours spent putting the world to rights.
This is a MYOM (make your own meal) dinner, the goal of which is to trick your guests into thinking you’ve cooked, when in fact you’ve done little more than chop and plate a few simple ingredients that you can pick straight off the shelf, ready for guests to dive into as they see fit. Note: this trickery is more easily achieved if you take time to find the best quality ingredients.
Et voilà, a memorable dinner party – and you didn’t even have to switch on the stove.
McGuigan Wines are available in most UK supermarkets. For more information, please go to mcguiganwines.co.uk
