I delight in cooking for friends and family, I love how happy good food makes everyone and I find it so satisfying to have been the person who made that happen.
We don’t manage a family meal every night of the week due to work commitments, but our Friday night dinner is sacrosanct. Maybe it’s an echo of my Jewish heritage craving a Shabbat meal. The food is always something a bit more special, requiring a bit of effort, and we eat it together at the table with proper manners, no devices and open conversation. We talk about the week, highlights and low points, and what we’re looking forward to at the weekend. No topic is off the table.
I was brought up on rowdy, animated family meals, sharing food and talking (occasionally shouting) about any and all subjects. I’m so glad to be able to introduce that noisy, loving happiness into my own home as an adult, not only for family, but for friends too. I’m intrigued by the mixing of individuals and groups from different parts of my life. Nothing as grand as dinner parties, just informal social gatherings, often accompanied by music and a bottle of prosecco. I could take or leave bars and clubs at this stage in my life (honestly, at pretty much every stage in my life), but the joy of having my people, sitting together and eating something delicous together is unparalleled.
Because I’m one of life’s planners, of course the food is always mulled over extensively and planned out in advance. I like to plot a whole feast, a generous spread of dishes coaxed together, thinking and re-thinking until it feels just right. Here are a few of them.
- Roast chicken
- Roast potatoes
- Sausage and chestnut stuffing
- Carrot mash
- Broccoli
- Gravy
- Lamb and pistachio koftas
- Chicken marinated in yogurt and saffron
- Jewelled rice pilaf
- Green beans
- Rocket and orange salad
- Harissa yogurt
- Satay chicken
- Vietnamese spare ribs
- Summer rolls
- Mango salad
- Prawn crackers
- Bbq ribs
- Fried buttermilk chicken
- Roast sweet potato wedges
- Ottolenghi winter slaw
- Green salad
- Lime coriander yogurt
- Patatas bravas
- Albondigas
- Chorizo with sherry glaze
- Sweet potato, onion and spinach tortilla
- Prawns with chilli, garlic, lemon, parsley
- Bread
- Green salad
- Sliced manchego
- Beetroot salad
- Lamb rogan josh
- Aubergine tomato curry
- Basmati rice
- Deep fried crispy bindhi
- Pani poori
- Chicken tikka skewers
- Mango chutney
- Raita
Sophie cooks 