Soup.
Soup is easy. Just cook some veg or use leftovers. Add cooked onion, cooked celery and seasoning and/herbs. Pulverise in your mixer/blender and slowly add some of the liquid from the base of the steamer - it will have some of the veg flavour in it. You can add wine if you want. Or stock. Once you have the right texture/flavour (keep checking) pour it back into the base of the steamer and reheat gently. (Or pour it into a container and freeze). You can thicken a thin soup with cooked potato. You can add cream either stirring it in at the end of the cooking or swirling it into the dishes once served. A swirl of e.g. pumpkin oil looks pretty. For tomato soup you can cheat and use tomato juice from a jar or carton but add the onion, celery, and other stuff. You can add small pasta shapes or rice or croutons.
An Italian ‘flag’
Sliced mozzarella cheese, sliced avocado and sliced tomatoes plus a sprig of basil or parsley. Simple, tasty and popular. (Stolen from our local Italian restaurant).
An idea from France (from the southern alps, to be exact)
Halve ripe peaches, and fill them with tuna chunks. Decorate with mayo and nuts - walnuts or hazel nuts are best. Serve with lettuce, tomato and olives.
Antipasto
Just buy lots of cooked meats, gherkins, olives etc. and present them on a large platter for people to help themselves.
Bruschetta
Slice and toast French bread or ciabatta, spread with olive oil and chopped garlic then add tomatoes and cheese. You can grill the whole thing gently.
Hummus
Use your mixer/blender. Combine a can of drained chickpeas, half a jar of tahini, the juice of a lemon, a little olive oil and a couple of cloves of garlic. Use some of the chickpea liquid if the mix is too stiff. Drizzle some more oil over the top to serve and maybe sprinkle some paprika. Serve with hot pitta bread.
The quantities aren’t exact. Experiment.
Prawn piri piri (see shellfish, under ‘fish’ in main courses).
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