Recipes and photographs by Katelyn Williams

Harvest feasts and family-style dining are taking over our tables this season, as delicious spreads are created for friends and family to tuck into.

Creating a Harvest Table

A big, lavish spread is an impressive way to entertain but it doesn’t need to involve long hours in the kitchen. Here are a few clever tips to avoid a marathon cooking session but still pull out all the stops.

1. Savvy shopping is the best way to cut corners if you’re time-strapped. Store-bought rotisserie chicken can easily be jazzed up with a sprinkling of chopped herbs or chargrilled vegetables. Buy crusty rolls from a good bakery and pop them in the oven to warm up before serving in a pretty basket. Your guests will be none the wiser.
2. You don’t need fancy platters or plates to show off your feast; serve the food in the roasting trays and pots you’ve prepared them in for a rustic, homely feel.
3. Plan your menu carefully to include foods that can be made ahead. Dishes that can be served hot or cold will prevent the stress of having to serve everything hot all at once.
4. Use seasonal ingredients. The harvest table idea comes from old America where a feast was prepared for friends and family using the bounty from the harvest. Food prepared from seasonal ingredients is not only true to its roots but has more flavour and saves you money too.
5. Over or under-catering is any hostess’s worst nightmare. Work on about 300g of food per person to ensure everyone leaves with a full belly.
6. Variety is important: make sure there are different types of meat and vegetable dishes in an assortment of colours to create a visual feast.
7. If all else fails, opt for a potluck feast instead and ask each guest to bring a dish to add to the spread. That way, all you’ll have to worry about is who’s going to do the dishes! 

 Step-by-step Sweet Spread

Every occasion needs a dessert table and, as Julia Child famously said, “A celebration without cake is just a meeting”. Here’s how to wow guests with the sweet stuff.

1. Have one utterly gorgeous dessert that is the star of your sweet feast.
2. Different shapes and levels create variety: think circles, long rectangles and squares.
3. Always include a chocolate something. Do we even need to tell you why?
4. A healthy, low-fat dessert is essential to give the taste buds a break in between all the decadence.
5. No summer dessert spread is complete without a frozen treat – scoops of ice cream, sorbet or ice-cream cakes are refreshing in the heat.

Salmon with almond crust and caramelised lemons

Serves 4 – 6 EASY 20 mins

The flavour combinations

250ml (1 cup) fresh breadcrumbs

2 fresh lemons

100g flaked almonds

30ml (2 tbsp) fresh parsley, chopped

1 large egg

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

500g salmon fillet, deboned

olive oil

How to do it

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Combine the breadcrumbs, zest of 1 lemon, almonds, parsley, egg and seasoning.
3. Place the salmon on a greased and lined baking tray, skin-side down. Rub with olive oil and season well.
4. Sprinkle the crust mixture over the salmon and press down lightly.
5. Slice 1 lemon thinly and arrange on top then drizzle with a little more oil.
6. Roast the salmon in the oven until the flesh just turns opaque and begins to flake, and the crust is golden, 8-10 minutes. Serve immediately with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Bacon-wrapped butternut

Serves 4 EASY 1 hr

1 whole medium butternut

250g streaky bacon

olive oil, for drizzling

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Cut butternut into quarters, lengthways.
3. Wrap each piece of butternut with 4-5 strips of bacon, making sure that the bacon strips overlap and that the ends are tucked underneath to avoid the bacon unravelling during roasting.
4. Place the wrapped butternut wedges on a greased roasting tray and drizzle with olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper, and place in the preheated oven to roast until golden brown and soft, 25 – 30 minutes.

Crispy potato salad with roast garlic sour cream dressing

Serves 4 – 6 EASY 1 hr

The flavour combinations

1kg baby potatoes, washed

60ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Dressing

1/2 head of garlic

250ml (1 cup) sour cream

zest and juice of 1 lemon

15ml (1 tbsp) chopped chives

100g watercress, washed, to serve

How to do it

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Boil the potatoes until al dente and set aside to cool before cutting each in half.
3. Heat the oil in a medium roasting dish in the preheated oven and roast the halved potatoes, turning every now and again, until crisp and golden, 30 – 45 minutes. Season.
4. Wrap the garlic in foil and place in the oven at the same time to roast.
5. For the dressing, mix the sour cream, lemon zest and juice, chives and seasoning.
6. When the garlic has roasted, squeeze the caramelised cloves into the dressing and stir well.

Serve the warm roast potatoes with watercress and drizzle with the dressing.

Pickled green beans and broccoli

Serves 4 – 6 EASY 15 mins

300g green beans, trimmed

200g tenderstem broccoli, trimmed

15ml (1 tbsp) olive oil

1 shallot, finely chopped

15ml (1 tbsp) yellow mustard seeds

45ml (3 tbsp) red wine vinegar

30ml (2 tbsp) castor sugar

How to do it

1. Blanch the green beans and broccoli in boiling salted water until al dente then refresh in ice water before draining and setting aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and saute the shallot gently until softened.
3. Add the mustard seeds and toast for 30 seconds.
4. Add the vinegar and castor sugar. Stir to dissolve then pour over the drained beans and broccoli. Allow to cool before serving.

Fragrant roast chicken with baby aubergines and pine nuts

Serves 4 – 6 EASY 1 hr 30 mins

The flavour combinations

1 whole chicken, trimmed and giblets removed

30g (3 tbsp) butter

1 lemon, halved

olive oil, for drizzling

5ml (1 tsp) ground cinnamon

5ml (1 tsp) ground allspice

2,5ml (1/2 tsp) ground cloves

300g baby aubergines, halved

30ml (2 tbsp) honey

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

To serve

30ml (2 tbsp) fresh mint, chopped

30ml (2 tbsp) pine nuts, toasted

30ml (2 tbsp) pomegranate rubies

How to do it

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Place the chicken in a roasting tray, lift the skin off the breast and push the butter underneath the skin, on top of the breast.
3. Insert the lemon halves in the chicken cavity and rub the chicken with olive oil.
4. Combine the cinnamon, allspice and cloves, and sprinkle half over the chicken.
5. Place the halved baby aubergines in the roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and honey, and sprinkle with the rest of the mixed spices. Season the aubergines and chicken well.
6. Roast the chicken in the preheated oven until the juices run clear when a knife is inserted into the leg, 30 – 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes.
7. Serve the roasted chicken sprinkled with fresh mint, pine nuts and pomegranate rubies.

Camembert rosemary bread wheel with honey walnuts

Serves 4 – 6 EASY 2 hrs

The flavour combinations

850g wholewheat bread flour

15ml (1 tbsp) sugar

15ml (1 tbsp) salt

55g unsalted butter

360ml milk, scalded

240ml warm water

7g active dried yeast

olive oil, for brushing

30ml (2 tbsp) fresh rosemary, chopped

250g Camembert wheel

100g walnuts, toasted

30ml (2 tbsp) honey

How to do it

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Stir the flour, sugar and salt together.
3. Stir the butter into the warm milk and allow to cool to room temperature.
4. Place the water in a bowl and add the yeast. Wait one minute before whisking and adding the cooled milk.
5. Stir in the flour mixture to form a rough dough. Knead the dough until perfectly smooth, either by hand or machine. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
6. Knock the dough down by kneading it gently to push out the air. Break off a fist-size piece of dough and roll into a small circle. Wrap the dough around the sides of the Camembert and set aside.
7. Roll the rest of the dough out into a rectangle, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with chopped rosemary.
8. Roll the dough up into a sausage and then cut the sausage in half lengthways, leaving the top still attached. Twist the two pieces around each other and form into a circle around the Camembert, pressing the two ends together. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
9. Brush with olive oil and bake at 200°C until golden and firm, 30 – 40 minutes. The bread is ready when it makes a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom. Sprinkle walnuts on top, drizzle with honey and serve while still warm.

Say Cheese

1. It’s important to create a good balance of flavours (strong to mild), textures (soft, semi-hard, hard), colours and shapes.
2. Think ‘something old, something new, something goat and something blue’. ‘Old’ refers to aged cheeses like Cheddar, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Gruyère and Gouda. ‘New’ cheeses include mozzarella, burrata, ricotta, mascarpone and feta.
3. Three to five different cheeses make a really good board – work on about 100g per person.
4. Unwrap the cheese and let it breathe at room temperature. Cover the board with a clean, damp tea towel to stop the cheese from drying out until ready to serve.
5. Separate soft cheese from really stinky cheese to avoid them absorbing each other’s flavours.
6. Get creative with home-made preserves, jams, pickles, fruit and nuts to accompany the cheeses. A variety of crackers, flatbreads or fresh crusty bread is a must.

Pistachio dacquoise with masearpone and peaches

Serves 8 – 10 A LITTLE EFFORT 2 hrs 30 mins

The flavour combinations

100g pistachios, shelled + extra, for sprinkling

4 egg whites

210g (1 cup) castor sugar

15ml (1 tbsp) cornflour

250g masearpone, softened

160ml fresh cream, whipped

45ml (3 tbsp) castor sugar

4 ripe peaches, stoned and sliced

How to do it

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Grease and line a 20cm x 30cm baking tray.
2. Grind the pistachios as finely as possible using a spice grinder or pestle and mortar, and set aside.
3. Whisk the egg whites until stiff peak stage then gradually add the sugar in a stream. Whisk until thick, glossy and all the sugar granules have dissolved.
4. Fold in the pistachio powder and cornflour. Place in a piping bag fitted with a fluted nozzle and pipe strips of meringue onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until just turning golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
5. Place the masearpone in a bowl and fold in the cream and castor sugar. Line a loaf tin with wax paper and cut the pistachio meringue to fit the base.
6. Sprinkle with sliced peaches, top with the meringue and repeat the process, ending with meringue. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 1 – 2 hours or until firm. To serve, unmould the dacquoise, arrange peach slices on top and sprinkle with extra pistachios.

Chocolate millionaire’s shortbread cake

Serves 12  LITTLE EFFORT 2 hrs

The flavour combinations

Chocolate Cake

500ml (2 cups) water

270ml vegetable oil

450g brown sugar

200g dark chocolate, chopped

115g cocoa powder

4 large eggs

325g cake flour

5ml baking powder

2ml salt

10g bicarbonate of soda

Shortbread

250g butter, softened

1/4 cup castor sugar

60g cornflour

180g (11/2 cups) cake flour

Salted Caramel

160ml fresh cream

120g butter

180g (1 cup) muscovado sugar

a pinch of sea salt flakes

Chocolate topping

375ml (11/2 cups) fresh cream

450g dark chocolate

How to do it

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
2. Boil the water, add oil and sugar, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Pour over the chopped chocolate. Stir until smooth.
3. Whisk eggs lightly then stir into the chocolate mixture. Stir in the combined dry ingredients. Let the mixture stand, covered, for 1 hour.
4. Place the batter into 2 x 24cm springform cake tins lined with baking paper and bake in the preheated oven until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool the cakes slightly before turning out.
5. For the shortbread, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add the combined dry ingredients to form a soft dough. Roll out the dough and cut into 1 x 24cm disc. Place on a greased baking sheet, prick the base with a fork and bake until crisp and golden, 10-15 minutes. Bake any leftover shortbread to use as decoration.
6. For the salted caramel, combine the cream, butter and sugar in a saucepan and stir until dissolved. Turn up the heat and simmer until thickened, about 8 minutes. Add sea salt flakes. Allow to cool, up to 3 hours.
7. For the topping, heat the cream to boiling point and pour over the chopped chocolate. Stir until smooth then allow to stand or refrigerate until slightly thick.
8. Assemble the cake by starting with the shortbread layer. Spread one-third of the salted caramel on the shortbread then place the chocolate cake on top followed by some of the chocolate topping. Place another cake layer on top followed by chocolate and a drizzle of salted caramel. Decorate with leftover crushed shortbread and biscuits.

Yoghurt brûlées with fresh fruit

Serves 6 EASY 15 mins

The flavour combinations

400ml plain low-fat yoghurt

75g light brown sugar fresh strawberries, quartered

fresh pineapple, chopped

How to do it

1. Divide the yoghurt among 6 pretty cups and sprinkle with brown sugar.
2. Using a blowtorch, caramelise the sugar to form a thin, golden crust. Top with the fresh fruit and serve immediately.

Cook’s tip

Flavour the yoghurt with rose water, a few vanilla seeds or a drizzle of your favourite liqueur.

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