Best ever starter recipes

Kick off your dinner party with one of our easy yet impressive starters, from in-the-shell scallops to veggie cauliflower fritters or colourful tomato salad with ‘nduja

Looking for easy starter recipes? Try one of our dinner party starters for simple but impressive entertaining. We have vegetarian starter recipes from creamy burrata to stunning courgette flowers and smart soups with pickled mushrooms. Or try one of our seafood starters — scallops, ceviche, smoked salmon and more.

Seafood starter:

Giant champagne and lemon prawn vol-au-vents

Take your Christmas dinner starter to the next level by adding champagne to your king prawn vol-au-vents.

Ingredients

• puff pastry block 500g
• plain flour for dusting
• eggs 2, beaten
• Champagne 150ml (or any other sparkling wine)
• double cream 150ml
• cooked king prawns 300g
• lemons 2, zested and juice of ½
• dill a small bunch, roughly chopped

Method

• STEP 1
• Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured worksurface until about 40cm x 40cm and 5mm thick. Use a round 12cm cutter to cut 8 circles from the pastry. Put 4 of the circles onto a baking paper-lined tray, then use a round 8cm cutter to make rings from the remaining 4 circles.
• STEP 2
• Brush the 4 circles on the baking paper with beaten egg, then neatly lay over the rings onto each. Prick the middles with a fork. Put the inner circles onto the baking tray too and brush everything with more beaten egg. Chill for 20 minutes.
• STEP 3
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Give all the pastry another good brush with egg, then put into the oven for 20 minutes until risen and golden. Cool.
• STEP 4
• To make the creamy prawn sauce, tip the champagne into a small pan and reduce by 1/2. Add in the cream, season lightly with salt and lots of black pepper, and reduce until a thick coating consistency. Add in the king prawns, lemon zest and juice, and season. Stir in the dill.
• STEP 5
• Spoon the mixture into the vol-au-vents, put on the lids and serve.

Vegetarian starters

Grilled vegetable antipasti

Kick off a classic Italian meal with these gorgeous grilled veggies. Serve with fresh focaccia, olives and cured meats for an impressive spread.

Ingredients

• green, red and yellow peppers 1 of each, deseeded and cut into quarters
• courgettes 3 medium, cut on the diagonal into 1cm slices
• aubergines 2 medium, cut lengthways into ½cm slices
• garlic 3 whole cloves, bashed
• thyme a few sprigs
• olive oil
• sherry vinegar

Method

• STEP 1
• Put the peppers in a bowl with 2 tbsp of olive oil and lots of seasoning. Have 3 bowls ready.
• STEP 2
• Heat a large griddle pan over a medium/high heat. Griddle the pepper slices in batches until soft and grill-marked. As each batch is done drop them into 1 of the bowls and cover — the residual heat and steam will soften the peppers further.
• STEP 3
• Repeat this process with the courgettes and aubergines, making sure all of the veg is tender before dropping into the other 2 bowls (this is particularly important for the aubergines as they will be spongy if not fully cooked.
• STEP 4
• Once all the veg is cooked, add some garlic, thyme and a splash of sherry vinegar, along with another 2 tbsp oil, to each bowl. Leave at room temperature for at least 1 hour to marinate if you are eating that day. Otherwise chill for up to 3 days in the fridge. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Soup starters

Roast beetroot soup with caramelised onion and blue cheese toasts

Get your festive feast off to a vibrant start with our creamy beetroot soup topped with crunchy, cheesy mini sourdough toasts.

Ingredients

• beetroots 1kg, topped, tailed, scrubbed clean and cut into large pieces
• red onion 1, cut into wedges
• garlic 3 cloves
• thyme ½ a small bunch, plus a few leaves
• vegetable stock 500ml
• crème fraîche 100ml
• lemon ½, juiced

TOASTS

• sourdough 3 slices, cut in half
• caramelised onion chutney 4 tbsp
• blue cheese 150g
• walnuts a handful, roughly chopped

Method

• STEP 1
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Put the beetroot, red onion and garlic into a roasting tin, pour in 150ml of water, season well and scatter over the thyme. Cover with a double layer of foil and put into the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the beetroots are very tender to the point of a knife.
• STEP 2
• Remove the foil, then peel the beetroots and discard the skin, then chop into small pieces. Put into a pan with the onion, garlic and vegetable stock, bring to the boil then use a hand blender to whizz until completely smooth, or ladle into a blender and whizz. Season, then stir in the crème fraîche and lemon juice, and whizz again. Keep warm.
• STEP 3
• Heat the grill to high. Put the bread pieces onto a baking tray and toast on either side. Spread each piece with the chutney and then add a piece of blue cheese, some thyme leaves and walnuts. Grill until melted.
• STEP 4
• Spoon the soup into bowls and top with the toasts.