Dinner for 800? No problem, with these dishes

The Absa Jewish Achiever Awards dinner is always a culinary challenge, and catering for more than 800 is overwhelming but a challenge.

I conquer the quantity by approaching it as “three functions of 270 people each”.

As they say, you can be a juicy peach, and there will always be people who don’t like peaches, but the brief is always very specific. I have selected three of the nine recipes that are versatile for summer and easy to recreate at home. I hope you enjoy them!

BEETROOT TARTARE

Great as a summer side dish or starter.

Boil one bag of peeled beetroot (about 10 medium beets). Once almost soft but still firm, remove from water and pat dry. Chop into tiny pieces.

Place on a baking sheet, and drizzle with sesame oil and sesame seeds. Roast beetroot for 45 minutes.

Once roasted, toss through.

Add a full tablespoon of mayonnaise, fresh chopped coriander, coriander pesto, a dash of Ponzu sauce, and more sesame seeds for some crunch.

Homemade Ponzu sauce

Half a cup soy sauce

Half a cup citrus juice

Zest of one lemon

Half a cup of dried mushroom finely chopped

One piece of kelp or kale or seaweed

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Steep in the fridge overnight or even longer. Strain out the pieces of lemon, seaweed, and mushroom.

Sweet potato vermicelli

Use a mandolin to shred two large, peeled sweet potatoes.

Deep fry in very hot oil to make a sweet potato vermicelli.

Serving

Place the beetroot tartare onto one big platter or serve in individual mini bowls. Top with vermicelli and add a radish and herbs for décor.

SALMON WITH HORSERADISH CREAM AND MANGO SALSA

Again, you can use a whole side of salmon or smaller portions. For this starter, I made small portions and served it in little saucers.

Place your fresh side of salmon on a piece of baking paper. Rub with a good quality fish rub.

Make a paste with soya, grated ginger, sesame, and a dash of squeezed lime juice.

Coat the fish with this sauce, and drizzle with sesame (or olive) oil. I allow 10 minutes for each centimetre thickness. Remove from the oven.

Top with horseradish cream and mango salsa.

Horseradish cream

I use white horseradish from the bottle (preferably homemade).

Add a dash of thick mayonnaise and a dash of Orley Whip or Rich’s topping, and one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, salt, black pepper, dry chives. For a milk meal, add thick cream.

Chop mango into tiny pieces, add a dash of sriracha sauce.

Top the salmon with the horseradish sauce.

Decorate with fresh herbs.

DECONSTRUCTED BEEF WELLINGTON

In essence, this is roast beef. Recipes call for tenderloin, which we substituted with scotch fillet. mushroom duxelles, and puff pastry, but here is my deconstructed version.

Work on 150g of scotch or beef per person.

Marinade for a day or two with pepper and steak spice.

Sear the scotch fillet on both sides, four minutes per side, until the surface is deeply browned. Finish off in the oven on 160 degrees centigrade for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how rare or medium you prefer your meat.

Let the meat rest while you prepare the other ingredients.

The below quantities work for six portions:

Wilted spinach

Wash and clean two large packets of baby spinach, removing excess water.

Sauté with three tablespoons of olive oil and crushed garlic or a herb salt such as Herbamare. Remember to toss gently while the spinach is cooking.

Add salt to taste if required after cooking.

Mushroom duxelles

Use one punnet white and one punnet Portobellini mushrooms.

Place mushrooms in a pot with a dash of oil – avocado oil or grapeseed. Add black pepper, spring onion, and mixed herbs of your choice – thyme, origanum, or mixed herbs.

Allow to simmer for at least 15 minutes.

Cool and then pulse gently or chop to the chunkiness of your preference to retain some texture.

Puff pastry squares – double up for a thicker pastry wedge

We used two layers of puff per square. Store-bought puff pastry is perfect.

Place your puff pastry on baking paper. Brush with egg wash. Bake in a preheated oven until crisp and golden.

Use a good quality Dijon mustard, and brush the underside of the puff pastry.

Place your spinach on the plate, and layer with beef and duxelles.

Add puff pastry just before serving.

For added moisture, drizzle a honey mustard over the dish.

• Delores Fouché is the director of Food by Flavours