Some people find it difficult to prepare dinner for six to eight people. Still, it is not that difficult. It’s a matter of planning and making sure everything is prepared. Some dishes can be prepared a day earlier and often this only benefits the taste, such as with leg of lamb.
Appetizer: Tomato soup with basil
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 750 grams of pomodori (plum tomatoes)
- 8.5 dl hot vegetable stock
- 50 grams of ground almonds
- 1.5 dl low-fat cream
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 3 tablespoons of fresh basil in small pieces
- 1 quart basil paste from a jar
- Add salt and pepper to taste
Skin the tomatoes by scaring them in hot water. Cut the tomatoes into small pieces and fry them briefly in olive oil. Add the tomato mixture with 8.5 dl water and bring it to the boil with 1.5 to 2 vegetable stock tablets. Boil for ten minutes. Roast the ground almonds in or under the grill until golden brown. Remove the soup from the heat and puree until smooth. Can be sieved but not necessary. Seeds and small pieces of tomato can remain in the soup. Add the basil paste.
Put the pan back over the fire and stir in the cream, roasted almonds and fresh basil. Add salt and pepper to taste if necessary. Serve immediately.
The soup is also possible be prepared a day earlier. Just add the roasted almonds and basil leaves immediately before serving.
Intermediate dish: Poached scallops
Ingredients
- 50 grams of butter
- 1 dl dry white wine
- 4 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 24 scallops
- small cup of crème fraîche
- 150 gr cave mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- cup of milk
- Add salt and pepper to taste
Fry the butter in a skillet until brown. Add the dry white wine and lemon juice. Poach the scallops for no more than ten minutes (cut the coral, that is the orange part, away. Not necessarily, but the taste is less tasty than that of the white meat).
Get the shells from the pan and keep them warm in one pre-heated oven. Stir the flour and milk together in a bowl until smooth and add the crème fraîche. Pour the smooth mixture over the baking and let the sauce simmer for a while and stir until smooth with an even color. Add a little salt and pepper. Fry the mushrooms separately in a frying pan with a knob of butter. Add the mushrooms and the shells to the sauce and let it simmer for another minute. Serve in preheated ramekins.
Main course: Leg of lamb in the frying pan
Ingredients
- 50 grams of butter
- 1 kg leg of lamb (boneless by the butcher)
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 1 tin or jar (300 grams) pitted black olives, drained
- 1 large onion
- 2 teaspoons of ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ginger powder
- 1 orange, squeezed
- 1 lime, squeezed
- 1 bottle of cheap red wine 7.5 dl.
- Add salt and pepper to taste
Fry the onion cut into pieces in the butter until translucent. Add all ingredients and bring to the boil. Then let the mixture simmer for two hours on a very low heat. Stir every now and then so that nothing sticks. The moisture has thickened considerably and does not need to be bound. Taste if the taste is in balance, otherwise add some salt and pepper. Can be prepared a day in advance.
Dessert
Preferably a fresh fruit salad of fresh fruit cut into pieces with a dash of whipped cream. Ice cream is not allowed either, but certainly not a cake or heavy pudding. Numerous examples can be found on the internet.