Modern Dinner Party Best-selling food writer Ella Mills of Deliciously Ella is on hand to help you prepare a healthy and utterly delicious feast for friends or family, whatever the occasion. Wo r d s H a n n a h H o p k i n s
Why do you think more people are choosing to host than go out for dinner? I think there’s something really lovely about hosting people at home – it’s normally a much more intimate, relaxed atmosphere and it’s a lot cheaper too. I absolutely love cooking delicious food for people, making great cocktails and having a long dinner that can go on for hours and hours. What is your number one rule when hosting a dinner party? Make your guests feel incredibly welcome. The beauty of going out for dinner is not having to wash up or tidy and I like to recreate that for my friends and family, so that they can really enjoy the evening. I try to tidy all my cooking mess before everyone arrives, light candles, have music on, get lots of nibbles out and have drinks at the ready. What are some cheat snacks for the table? Big bowls of hummus are perfect, it’s so easy to make and it always gets finished really quickly. Doing a twist on it, like a roasted carrot hummus or a sun-dried tomato and butterbean hummus is great as it sounds fancy but it couldn’t be easier to do. I love making little
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socca pizzas, mini bite-sized baked potatoes stuffed with cashew sour cream and little beet and sweet potato crisps. What are your favourite easy but impressive dishes? Indian food is a real favourite of mine, as it’s full of flavour and really satisfying, but it’s pretty easy to do. I often cook big pots of chana masala with aloo gobi and coconut rice for friends, which are always demolished really quickly. For quick kitchen suppers I love spiced potato cakes with garlicky tomato sauce and French beans. Sharing plates are popular these days, can you recommend any? I love sharing plates, as it allows everyone to try lots of different foods. My favourites are sesame coated sweet potato falafels with miso and sesame glazed aubergines, sesame and harissa greens, garlicky black beans and some hummus – it’s a nice way of building mix and match bowls so that you get lots of different flavours and textures. Balancing nutrition with dinner party food can be tricky. Do you have tips for making
I love VEGGIE dishes that prove EATING WELL isn't all about RABBIT food something wow-worthy that doesn’t leave you feeling bloated afterwards? Everyone is so different but I love making veggie-based dishes that highlight that eating well isn’t about rabbit food. I always assumed that healthy food was iceberg lettuce with cucumber and tomatoes but once I started learning to cook I realised it could be the absolute opposite. I often make things like courgette and pea risotto using brown rice with lemon, garlic and mint; marinated cauliflower steaks with chili quinoa and bean stews with chili, coriander and a mango salsa.
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