Cathy Gayner’s Ultimate Dinner Party Menu

Wondering what to cook for your next supper party? New book Recipes from a London Kitchen by Cathy Gayner is filled with 125 recipes that look stunning but, essentially simple, are filled with clever tips for saving time. Not only is it a beautiful book, all proceeds go to charities that support the vulnerable young and lonely elderly. Here Fiona Duncan, a friend of the author who has contributed the book’s Introduction, gives us some background and shares a few of her favourite recipes from the book. 

3 Recipes From Cathy Gayner’s Recipes from a London Kitchen

Cathy Gayner is the best cook I know. I happen to be one of the lucky ones who has spent many evenings at her well-worn kitchen table in Pimlico, lingering over delicious things, but if you settle down with Recipes from a London Kitchen, you too may count her as a friend. 

As with her previous much praised book, Recipes from Le Rouzet (Cathy’s home in France), all proceeds will go to charities that support the vulnerable young and the lonely elderly, causes for which Cathy has devoted much of her life. She is not a professional cook (though she easily could be); instead, she is a true home cook who provides wonderful, instinctive yet thoughtful dishes for family and friends purely for the love of cooking and of them.

I used to dream of stealing the notebooks in which Cathy has carefully compiled all her recipes over the years; now I don’t have to. In deft brushstrokes, Cathy draws in the reader and quietly paints a self-portrait of a gentle but authoritative guide to cooking with care, calm and contentment: the very opposite of today’s glossy tomes that operate, essentially, as instruction manuals. If you want to entertain friends, whether to lunch or supper, with the greatest ease and the most pleasing results, then allow these Recipes from a London Kitchen to work their magic.

Here’s a starter, main course and pudding, all of which look and taste pretty and sophisticated but take so little time to produce.

Cucumber ‘Sushi’

Serves 6

Pretty as a picture, this light (and healthy) first course can be quickly and easily made hours in advance – it’s more construction than cooking.

Ingredients:

• 2 cucumbers
• 200g packet of cream cheese
• 6 slices of smoked salmon (I use trimmings)
• 1 large avocado
• Kecap manis or mirin
• Sesame seeds

Method:

1. Don’t bother to peel the cucumber but using a potato peeler, slice along its length until you reach the seeds.
2. Lay the slices side by side on cling film so that you end up with 2 large rectangles.
3. Spread the cream cheese across both rectangles. Then along the bottom border of each, lay the smoked salmon followed by the sliced avocados. Roll the rectangles up so that you have two long, thin, green tubes.
4. Using a bread knife, cut the tubes into slices (I find that the easiest way to do this is to cut where the cucumber joins are) and you will end up with sushi-like rolls.
5. Arrange on a serving dish and, just before serving, dollop some kecap manis (or mirin) on each one, followed by a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Nota Bene

A wintery version of this – which takes a moment or two longer to make – replaces the cucumber with courgettes, sliced in the same way and cooked in oil until they are soft and golden. Then substitute Parma ham for the smoked salmon and balsamic vinegar glaze and pine nuts for the kecap manis and sesame seeds.

Duck Breasts with Coriander Noodles

Serves 4

I pulled this recipe out of a magazine years ago, so I have no idea of its origin. It’s simple and delicious and needs no accompaniment.

Ingredients:

• 2 plump duck breasts
• 2 tsp Chinese 5 spice
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 4 nests of medium egg noodles
• 4 tsp sesame oil 
• 2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted
• 4 spring onions, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Make a few slashes in the skin of each duck breast and rub in the Chinese 5 spice.
2. Mix together the honey and the hoisin sauce.
3. In a very hot pan, dry fry the duck breasts skin side down for a couple of minutes until the skin starts to brown, then turn them over and sear the other side.
4. Transfer them to a small roasting tin and cover with the honey mixture. You can do all this hours in advance.
5. When you are ready to serve the duck, cook it in a preheated oven at 200°c/Fan180°/Gas 6 for 12 minutes.
6. While the duck rests, cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet, drain and toss in the sesame oil, coriander, spring onions, salt and pepper. Then stir in most of the marinade and pile onto a serving dish. Slice the duck thinly, arrange on top of the noodles and scatter over the sesame seeds. 

Nectarine Tart

Serves 6

Plums and apricots also work beautifully in this recipe but don’t be tempted to use peaches as they fall to pieces. All you need with the tart is a bowl of crème fraiche.

Ingredients:

• A block of puff pastry, the best you can buy
• 250g golden marzipan
• 4 nectarines, sliced
• 20g flaked almonds, roasted
• 20g butter, melted
• 2 tbs apricot jam to glaze (this is fine whatever fruit you are using)

Method: 

1. Roll out the puff pastry to a rectangle about 15cms x 30cms. Put it on a sheet of baking parchment in a roasting tin.
2. Roll the marzipan out to fit within this rectangle, leaving a margin of about 3cms.
3. On top of the marzipan, arrange the sliced nectarines or plums in rows, cramming in as many as possible. If you are using apricots, cut them in half and arrange them closely together.
4. Dribble over the butter and cook in a preheated oven at 200°c /Fan 180°/Gas 6 for 20-30 minutes or until the pastry surround is golden.
5. Dissolve the jam in a tablespoon of water and glaze the tart before scattering on the nuts.

Nota Bene

Ready rolled pastry is too thin for this recipe. If you can’t find really good puff pastry, use whatever you have but roll it out to double its size, spread it with a thick layer of butter, fold it in half and re-roll it to use as you want.

Recipes from a London Kitchen by Cathy Gayner (£16.99, available from cathygayner.com).