Planning a shindig this weekend? Cook up something special with these fabulous recipes for bank holiday weekend that are sure to be crowd pleasers.
Recipes for Bank Holiday Weekend – One pan sausage-meatball roast with British asparagus and new potatoes
An easy one pot dish that pairs seasonal superstars British asparagus and new potatoes with easy sausage meatballs and juicy vine tomatoes.
Serves: 4. Preparation time: 15 minutes. Cooking time: 40 minutes
You’ll need:
- 1kg small new potatoes
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 8 thick pork sausages
- 400g cherry vine tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 bunches British asparagus, trimmed and cut in half
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
What to do:
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.
Using a sharp knife, make a series of thin slices (about 2mm apart) all along the new potatoes, cutting down about three quarters of the way through so the potatoes stay intact at the base. Add to a large roasting tin and drizzle over the olive oil, sprinkle on the oregano and season with salt and pepper. Toss about to evenly coat. Roast for 10 minutes.
Cut each sausage into 4, peeling away and discarding the skins as you go. Remove the potatoes from the oven, scatter around the sausage pieces and slide back into the oven for another 15 minutes.
Remove the roasting tin from the oven once more, scatter over the tomatoes and the garlic and toss to coat, turning the potatoes so they are all cut side up. Slide back into the oven and roast for another 10 minutes. Finally, add the asparagus to the tin, tossing to coat and roast for 5 more minutes. Remove from the oven and serve straight away.
Recipes for Bank Holiday Weekend – Paysan Breton cheat’s carbonara with pancetta and mushrooms
A quick and easy spin on the Italian classic. This creamy carbonara-style pasta dish with pancetta and mushrooms is a real crowd pleaser.
Serves: 4. Preparation Time: 5 minutes. Cooking Time: 15 minutes
You’ll need:
- 250g spaghetti
- 100g cubed pancetta
- 6 mushrooms, sliced
- 1 carton Paysan Breton French Sea Salt cream cheese (at room temperature)
- A small handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
- Salt, pepper and grated
- Parmesan to serve
What to do:
Cook the spaghetti in boiling water as per the pack instructions.
Meanwhile, cook the pancetta in a large frying pan and once it is crispy, set to one side. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook until golden, you may need to add a splash of oil or a little butter if your pan seems dry. Put the pancetta back into the pan and add the cream cheese over a low heat and let it melt.
Drain the pasta, reserving half a mug of cooking water. Add the spaghetti to the pan with the chopped parsley and some black pepper. Stir everything together gently and add the reserved cooking water a little at a time to achieve a silky sauce. Serve immediately with grated Parmesan.
Recipes for Bank Holiday Weekend – Paysan Breton Croissant Bake
A guaranteed crowd pleaser and a one-pot brunch showstopper that will have everyone smiling and wanting more.
Serves: 8. Preparation time: 20 minutes. Cooking time: 25-30 minutes
You’ll need:
- Butter, for the dish
- 3-4 tsp Dijon mustard
- 8 plain croissants, cut in half lengthways
- 8 slices of ham
- 250g Comté, grated
- 4 eggs
- 300ml whole milk
- 1 tub Paysan Breton French Sea Salt cream cheese
- 150ml double cream
- Ground black pepper
- A small bunch of chives, chopped
What to do:
Pre-heat the oven to 180 º C and butter a large 35cm skillet pan or ovenproof dish.
Spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard over each croissant half and place a slice of ham in each one. Divide up the grated Comté between the 8 croissants and then arrange them across the bottom of the dish.
In a large jug or bowl, whisk together the eggs, whole milk, ¾ of the cream cheese (save the rest for later) and double cream and then season well with freshly ground black pepper.
Pour over the croissants and leave for 10 minutes to allow some of the liquid to get soaked up.
Bake the croissants in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
Dollop over the remaining cream cheese and chopped chives and serve immediately.
Recipes for Bank Holiday Weekend – Radish and Celery goodness bagel
Crunchy and fresh, this made-in-minutes toasted bagel with hummus and crisp veg is a really quick idea for a healthy lunch or snack.
Serves: 2 Prep time: 5 minutes. Cooking time: 2-5 minutes
You will need:
- 2 seeded bagels
- 120g hummus
- 1 stick of celery, sliced
- 4-6 radishes, sliced
- ½ avocado, de-stoned, peeled and sliced
- ½ pack salad cress
What to do:
Toast the bagels. Spread one side of each bagel thickly with the hummus.
Top with layers of the sliced celery, radish, avocado, then finish with some salad cress.
Recipes for Bank Holiday Weekend – Claire Thomson’s Roasted Isle of Wight Tomato Falafels
Serves: 4. Preparation time: 1 hour. Cooking time: 15 mins
You’ll need:
- 350g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in cold water, drained
- 2 – 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
- 500g Isle of Wight tomatoes, cut in ½, or use Isle of Wight
- cherry tomatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp sweet unsmoked paprika
- 50g Isle of Wight smoked sundried tomato, drained & chopped, or use 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 litre neutral cooking oil for frying the falafel
What to do:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Roast the tomatoes with a big pinch of salt and 2 tbsp of olive oil, skin side down for 15 – 25 mins until very soft and starting to caramelize a little. Remove from the oven and cool.
- Using a food processor, blend the roasted tomatoes with the garlic until smooth.
- Add the chickpeas to the food processor with the blended tomatoes. Add the shallots, sundried tomatoes or puree, spices and salt and blend until you have a coarse paste. Chill the mixture in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C.
- Heat 5cm of oil in a saucepan at high heat to fry the falafel mixture in
- The mixture is quite wet and the oil is very hot so do be careful from here. Use two spoons- one to shape and one to scrape the mixture off. Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil. It should bubble and fry, quickly turning crisp and golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip the falafel over to fry on the other side for 1 ½ – 2 minutes more. Work in small batches, 3 or 4 at a time, removing the falafel with a slotted spoon when crisp and golden brown.
- Work in batches keeping the cooked fried falafel warm in the oven until you have used up all the mix.
Recipes for Bank Holiday Weekend – Shallot, sundried tomato, olive and chicken traybake
With everything on one tray, this recipe is so simple to put together.
Serves: 4. Preparation Time: 10 minutes. Cooking Time: 35 minutes
You’ll need:
- 4 large echalion shallots, peeled and quartered, root attached
- 8 chicken thighs, skin on
- Salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 100g sundried tomatoes (we used Isle of Wight slow roasted plum tomatoes)
- 100g olives (we used Real Olive Co Kalamata olives)
- 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
- Thyme leaves
What to do:
Preheat the oven to 200⁰c
Put the shallots and chicken on a shallow baking sheet, season well, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes.
Remove tray from the oven and add tomatoes and olives and return to the oven for five minutes.
Drizzle with sherry vinegar, sprinkle with thyme leaves and serve.
Recipes for Bank Holiday Weekend – Somerset fondue with British asparagus & new potatoes
Serves: 4. Preparation time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 15 minutes
You’ll need
for dipping
- 1 bunch British asparagus spears
- 250g new potatoes
for the fondue
- 25g butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- 250ml Thatchers Katy dry cider
- 3 fresh sage leaves
- 200g Godminster Cheddar
- 200g Godminster brie
- 1 tsp Suffolk Mud English mustard
- Salt & freshly ground black pepper
What to do
Put the potatoes into a pan with cold water, bring to the boil and cook until tender.
Whilst the potatoes are cooking, melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan and stir in the flour to form a roux. Cook for a minute over a low heat, being careful not to let the roux burn.
Pour in the cider, whisking vigorously until you have a smooth thickened sauce. Simmer for a couple for minutes and add the sage leaves and mustard, then reduce the heat to as low as possible.
Cut the cheese into small cubes. Begin to gradually add them to the hot cider sauce stirring well and making sure the cheese is fully melted before you add more. Once all the cheese in incorporated season to taste.
Cook the asparagus in boiling water for 4-5 minutes until just tender. Drain and arrange on a platter with the cooked potatoes.
Transfer the fondue to a fondue bowl or eat straight from the pan, dipping in the asparagus and potatoes.
Recipes for Bank Holiday Weekend – Claire Thomson’s Isle of Wight tomatoes, bread, mustard butter and ricotta pudding
Serves: 4. Preparation time: 30 mins Cooking time: 45 mins
You’ll need:
- 60g soft butter, plus more to grease the dish
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard, plus extra to serve
- 1 day-old focaccia or baguette, about 200g, thinly sliced
- 250g ricotta
- 350ml milk
- 300ml double cream
- 1 tbsp thyme leaves, or use chives
- 5 eggs, beaten
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 400g Isle of Wight cherry tomatoes, halved
- 80g cheddar, gruyere or comté cheese, coarsely grated
- 200g Isle of Wight vine-on cherry tomatoes, optional
- Green salad, to serve
What to do:
- Heat oven to 165°C degrees and butter a 25cm baking dish.
- In a bowl, beat the mustard into the butter.
- Butter the slices of bread on one side with the mustard butter, and on the other side, spread each with a layer of ricotta. Arrange the bread, buttered side up, in overlapping rows to fill the dish.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the milk, cream, thyme and eggs and season well with plenty of freshly ground pepper and a good pinch or two of salt. Pour this mix over the bread. Let the dish settle for 15 minutes before baking, then add the tomatoes to the top of the dish.
- Add the cheese and if using, the vine-on cherry tomatoes. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes until the custard in the centre is set but a little wobbly, the top is golden brown, and the sides are bubbling.
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 – 15 minutes. Serve warm with extra Dijon and a green salad at the table.
Fancy a kiwi cocktail this weekend?