Twice Baked Goats Cheese Souffles with Apple and Walnut Salad – Lamb Tagine with Cous Cous – Eaton Mess

My style of cooking for our dinner parties is fairly basic, but tasty (I hope) and easy to. The hardest part is to think up different menus, so I don’t repeat anything, and also when you are hosting, it is nice to prepare and cook as much as you can in advance, or dishes that do not need to be cooked when your guests are ensconced, so you spend most of the time with your guests rather than being in the kitchen. You can read about my style of cooking here

Dinner Party Menu Idea for 4 People

STARTER:   Twice Baked Cheese Souffles  (Serves 6)

Ingredients

100g unsalted butter
100g plain flour
600ml full fat milk (warmed)
2 tbsp grated parmesan
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 tbsp chopped thyme leaves
4 large eggs, separated plus 1 large egg white (use the yolk, see below)
175 goats cheese crumbled

Parmesan Glaze

50ml double cream
25g grated parmesan
1 large egg yolk

For the Apple and Walnut Salad

Handful of mixed baby salad leaves, washed
Handful rocket, washed
1 red apple cut into fine matchsticks
1 tbsp chopped chives
50g walnut pieces chopped
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

 Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and use about 1 tbsp to grease 6 souffle dishes.  Place remaining butter back on the heat and scatter over the flour and mix well.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Gradually whisk in the warm milk a little at a time, until you have a thick, smooth mixture.  Stir in the parmesan, mustard and thyme, set aside to cool slightly.

Beat the egg yolks, fold through the goats cheese, season with salt and pepper, then transfer to a large bowl

In another bowl whisk the egg whites until they just start to stiffen and hold peaks.  Use a metal spoon to fold them into the cheesy mixture, in 3 additions

Heat oven to 200c or 180c for a fan oven.  Spoon the mixture into the soufflé dishes.  Sit them in a roasting tin and pour boiling water into the tin, halfway up the sides of the dishes.  Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until they are risen and coloured

Remove the dishes and set aside for 10 minutes.  Run a knife around the edges, then turn out onto an ovenproof tray.  They can now be kept covered in the fridge, overnight or they can be frozen and kept up to a month.  If freezing defrost thoroughly before reheating as below.

Make the parmesan glaze by whisking the cream, parmesan and egg yolk until combined.

About 15 minutes before you are ready to eat, heat oven to 200c/180c for fan.  Drizzle the tops of each soufflés with the glaze and cook for 10 minutes, then flash under the grill until the tops are golden

Toss the salad leaves, apples, chives and walnuts.  Mix the red wine vinegar and olive oil together, season then dress the salad.

Place the soufflés in the centre of the plates and scatter the salad around each

MAIN COURSE:  Lamb Tagine with cous cous, bread and olive oil

Ingredients (serves 6)

¼ tsp saffron threads
150 ml hot water
3 tbsp olive oil
1.5 kg boneless shoulder of lamb, well trimmed and cut into 2.5 cm cubes
1 fennel bulb or 4 celery stalks trimmed and sliced crossways
2 green peppers, halved seeded and cut into strips
1 large onion sliced
30g  plain flour
½ tsp ground ginger
450ml lamb or chicken stock
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
125g  ready to eat apricots  halved (or you can halve the quantity and add some ready to eat prunes halved)
1 – 2 tbsp clear honey
Salt and pepper
Mint sprigs to garnish

Method

Prepare the saffron, by putting the threads into a small bowl and adding the measured hot water.  Leave to soak for 10 minutes

Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole, add the lamb in batches and cook over a high heat for 5 minutes until browned.  Lift out and drain on kitchen towels

Lower the heat, add the fennel or celery, peppers and onion and cook gently stirring for 5 minutes

Sprinkle the flour and ginger into the vegs and cook, stirring occasionally for 1 minuted.

Add the saffron liquid to the casserole, return the cubes of lamb then add the stock, orange zest and season with salt and pepper.  Bring to the boil, cover and cook in a preheated oven at 160c for about 1 hour

Add the orange juice, honey, apricots (and prunes if using) and cook for about 30 minutes or until the lamb is very tender.   Taste for seasoning and garnish with mint sprigs before serving

Cous cous (you can flavour your cous cous to your own taste)

Do enough cous cous  and cook as stated on the packet depending on how many diners

Ingredients (serves 4)

100g dried raisins
500ml boiling vegetable stock
50g toastedflaked  almonds
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp tbsp chopped fresh coriander and 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint (although I do use dried)

Method

Put the  cous cous and raisins in a large bowl and pour over the boiling stock.  Stir well then cover with a plate and set aside to soak.

Stir in the almonds, chopped (or dried) mint and coriander, lemon juice and oil in to the cous cous.

When ready to serve spoon the cous cous to one side of the plate and then spoon the lamb tagine into the other side

Serve with Mediterranean bread or bread of your choice and serve with olive oil for dipping

DESSERT:  Eton Mess

Ingredients

Meringues (see my receipe for Pavlova) and instead of making a large base, spoon smaller quantities onto a baking sheet, or you could buy shop bought ready done meringues

Double Cream (guess work I am afraid
Strawberries sliced

Method

Whisk up the double cream until stiff (but not too stiff)

Break up the meringues and spoon with the strawberries into the cream

Serve in tall glasses

Dinner Party Ideas and suggestions of what I think goes together best

See my other dinner party menus suggestions here