Communion party - Salads / sides to make in advance

angeldaisy

I have a communion to cater in a couple of weeks, I'm going to be up to my eyes the day of the communion:eek: so to make things easier I want to get as much done in advance as possible.
I intend to cook a turkey and ham - serving cold and sliced.
I need to make some salads etc, but want to minimise work on the day. Any suggestions I can prepare the day before or throw together on the day.

So far I plan to do a roasted veg couscous, greek salad, mixed salad.
any other suggestions?

Any other suggestions gratefully received!

nozzferrahhtoo

Multiply this one up as much as you need.

Chickpea Salad

1 can chickpeas drained-
2 tablespoons pitted black olives sliced to as thin as you like.
1 finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Zest and juice of lemon
Salt and Peper to taste.
Olive oil to taste/preference

Mix everything except the oil together. Mash just enough to smash open the chickpeas but not to turn them to mush.

Add as much oil as you like. I preferably like it quite oily.

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Cous Cous is a great idea too as you already said. I recently co-opted Curry Addicts recipie for pilau rice here but made it without the rice. When the water/broth was made I instead poured it boiling into cous cous and covered for 10 minutes to absorb / steam itself. Ended up with tasty Yellow Pilau Cous-Cous. Mix in a few peas for color and flavor and good to go.

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Fruit Salad and Guacamole and Salsa are good things to make the day before. Especially as lemon or lime or both poured over the fruit.... as well as the lime in the Guacamole.... are great preservatives so it keeps things fresh and ready in the fridge for you. Then a big bowl of natural yogurt and some dippable crisps and people can just have at them as they will.

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Maybe the old student favorite of Tuna, Sweetcorn, Mayo all mashed together in a bowl, with or without skin-on (or skinless) wedges of potato can make for a filling hit.

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Finally this one from Yotam Ottolenghi impresses a lot of people for me and is as good cold the next day as it is hot from the oven.

Cauliflower and Parmesan Loaf

1 cauliflower
2 red onions
100 grams olive oil
teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
10 medium eggs
30 grams basil chopped
180 grams all-purpose flour
2.5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 a teaspoon ground turmeric
200 grams grated parmesan
Salt and black pepper
Butter, for greasing pan
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 180C. Break cauliflower into small florets and simmer until soft. Strain and cool in colander.

Meanwhile. Halve red onions and cut one slice of rings off each half and keep.

Coarsely chop the rest of the onion. Heat olive oil in a saucepan with the chopped onion and rosemary until soft. Remove and cool.

When cool whisk the eggs and this oil/onion mix together with the basil too.

Mix flour, baking powder, tumeric, cheese, pinch or two of salt and lots of pepper together and then whisk into the eggs mix. Whisk till as few lumps as possible left but do not obsess over it either. Stir the cauliflower into this mix of goo.

Line the bottom of cake baking oven dish (I use 9inch round) with parchment. Butter the sides a good bit and then toss seaseme seeds about in it till they are all stuck to the sides.

Pour in the cauliflower goo and sprinkle the top with the reserved onion rings from earlier. Bake until golden and set. 45 to 60 minutes. A knife stuck into the middle of it should come out relatively clean. Maybe not 100% clean but pretty clean when done.

Serves about 10 people or up to 16 depending on how thin you slice it.

MissFlitworth

Roasted baby potatoes with rosemary & full cloves of garlic. Really nice cold or you could pop them in the oven to heat up

Broccoli, feta, cherry tomato & toasted hazelnut salad

Spanish omelette

Charcuterie & cheese boards (easiest buffet ever: get meat & cheese, put on board)

Tabbouleh

Hummus with crudités/dippy things

sandy_c

I went to a demo for catering for a crowd and these were some of the recipes they covered. Dressing can all be done in advance which can save some time.

Baby Potatoes with pancetta and scallions:
1kg baby potatoes
bunch spring onions finely chopped
200g pancetta
2tbsp chopped chives/parsley
salt and pepper

Maple Syrup Dressing:
Makes 100ml

1 clove garlic crushed
1 tsp grainy mustard
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
8tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

• Combine all dressing ingredients and whisk together
• Boil baby potatoes in a large suacepan of salted water until cooked. Drain in a colander and leave for about 10 nins to cools. Slice and mix dressing through while still warm
• Cut the pancetta into 1 inch cubes and lay on a roasting tray, bake in oven at 180C for 10mins
• Chop the spring onions and add the roasted pancett and spring onions to potato salad. Garnish with chopped chives or parsley.
• Serve chilled.

Broccoli, feta, pine nut and sun dried tomato salad:

2 large head broccoli, cut into small florets
100g pine nuts (toasted)
200g sundried tomatoes (chopped up)
200g feta cheese (chopped up)

Dressing:
100mls extra virgin olive oil
30 mls red wine/balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp grainy mustard
1 tbsp honey
salt & pepper

• Place all the dressing ingredients in a blender and whiz for a min (this will keep for 2 weeks in the fridge)
• Put the broccoli in boiling water for a minute and then directly into ice cold water for a minute, to take the absolute rawness out it.
• Dry the florets off before placing in a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients.
• Add just enought salad dressing to coat salad just before serving.

Carrot Salad: (this one is my favourite, everyone asks for this recipe)
50g pine nuts
75g flaked almonds
50g pumpkin seeds
125mls extra virgin olive oil
4tbsp cider vinegar
4tbsp soy sauce
115g caster sugar
500g grated carrot
4 spring onions

• Toast all the pine nuts, almonds and pumpkin seeds on a dry pan.
• Bring the oil, cider vinegar, soy sauce and caster sugar to the boil in a pan. Whick and leave to cool.
• When ready to serve, mix the carrots with the dressing, spring onions, nuts and seeds and pile on lettuce.

angeldaisy

Brilliant - some great ideas - thanks everyone:D

Buyingcar2012

Those salads look great.

Layinghen

I'm drooling reading these recipes. Hopefully we will have a great summer and lots of barbecue evenings so I can borrow some ideas.

Jezek

tabulleh is a good salad - basically bulgur wheat, parsley, mint, tomato and onion with lemon juice . you can find loads of recipes online so I won't bore you with one, this can be done the day before no problem and it improves if it sits in the fridge for a few hours.

ibarelycare

Penne pasta with homemade pesto is always a favourite at our family gatherings. So easy, can be prepared the day before and is usually the first bowl emptied!