FOOD:Daytime entertaining can mean more than a few eggs and cups of tea, with just a little imagination, writes DOMINI KEMP.
YOU KNOW YOU'RE getting old when you've decided that brunch parties are much more appealing than dinner parties. Think about it: guests have to leave at a decent hour and are much less likely to end up singing along to some 1980s ballad, with red-wine stained teeth and a reluctance to go home.
Do I sound bitter? Maybe a tad. But my good friends have cottoned on to the fact that I quietly slink off to bed once the clock hits midnight, leaving them to finish their wine and let themselves out the front door.
Apparently, they feel like I am abandoning them, or some such nonsense. (Personally, I think it's more to do with the fact that they are too lazy to order taxis for themselves).
Anyway, they are a rude and ungrateful bunch (you know who you are, by the way). So when I said I was inviting them over for brunch, they shouted down the phone: "We're not trekking over to your gaff for a few eggs and cups of tea. There'd better be something nice to eat. And some booze."
So I came up with a few ideas: non-alcoholic bloody Marys, low-fat panna cotta and a good alternative to eggs Benedict . . . for my friends to enjoy at my new swanky brunch parties.
Light vanilla panna cotta
This is ridiculously simple to make. For some reason, I am always reluctant to dig out gelatin sachets, probably because they're hidden away in the Loch Ness depths of my kitchen cupboards.
You can use vanilla yoghurt, which is quite sweet, instead of plain yoghurt, but if you do, you need neither the vanilla pod nor the honey. This recipe makes enough to fill four small espresso-sized cups or ramekins. If you are feeding six, then make sure you double the recipe.
2 tablespoons honey
1 vanilla pod
2 teaspoons gelatin (one sachet or about 10g)
500g plain yoghurt (low-fat works grand)
A few fresh berries and crushed pistachios or any kind of
nuts to garnish
In a jug or small glass bowl, mix the honey with two tablespoons of boiling water. Stand the jug/bowl in or over a saucepan of boiling water that has been taken off the heat. Split the vanilla pod and scrape the seeds into the honey water.
Remove the jug/bowl from the hot water and sprinkle the sachet of gelatin on top and stir until the gelatin dissolves.
If it feels like it's going a bit lumpy and not quite liquid, then put the bowl/jug back in the boiling water so that the mixture can heat up again. This will help the gelatin to dissolve.
Once the mixture is smooth enough, add the yoghurt. Taste and sieve the yoghurt mixture so that it is extra smooth and any lumps of gelatin can be discarded. Spoon the mixture into four moulds or ramekins and chill for about three hours or overnight. Garnish with berries and nuts.
Sweet corn fritters with tomato salsa
Enough for 6-8 guests as part of brunch
250g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon smoked paprika (don't worry if you
don't have it)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 eggs
125 ml milk
1 tin sweet corn, drained
1 bunch spring onions, chopped
Small bunch coriander, roughly chopped
Sunflower oil for pan-frying
Dump the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Make a well in the centre of the bowl. Beat the eggs with the milk and pour into the centre of the well and mix thoroughly.
Then add the sweet corn, which will help loosen the mixture a little. It should be the consistency of thick, gooey porridge. Plop spoonfuls into hot sunflower and panfry on both sides. Pat them down slightly as they are will cook better if a bit thinner. Serve with bacon, pancetta or some grilled Parma ham and the tomato salsa below.
Salsa
4 tomatoes, finely diced
1 small red onion, peeled and very finely diced
½ teaspoon caster sugar
1 small red chilli
1 teaspoon sweet chilli sauce
Small bunch coriander, finely chopped
Juice of 2 limes
Salt and pepper
Mix all the ingredients together and leave to marinate for 30 minutes before serving.