Cheap & simple but tasty dish for a pot luck type thing?

[iona]

My jiu jitsu club's grading is on Saturday and we're all bringing food to share afterwards. This is what other people have said they're making so far -

Falafels
Vegan sushi
Tortilla
Meat
Curry
Eton mess
Cake, possibly chocolate & salted caramel

Idk what to take, thought maybe a salad but I'm open to other ideas..? Preferably something that's not a huge faff to make, doesn't require loads of expensive ingredients and can be eaten cold. Not essential but vegan or at least vegetarian would be nice as some people there are.

(I have a couple of round cake tins, some loaf tins and two mini muffin trays as well as the usual saucepans etc)

Thanks

 

[not-bono-ever]

When you say tortilla, do you mean Spanish omelette or that Mexican thing ? The Spanish one is a winner and easy to cook

 

[May Kasahara]

Some sort of tasty slaw?

 

[iona]

When you say tortilla, do you mean Spanish omelette or that Mexican thing ? The Spanish one is a winner and easy to cook

That's what someone else has said they're bringing. I don't know any more than that.

 

[not-bono-ever]

oops, sorry, didn't read properly

 

[not-bono-ever]

Some sort of tasty slaw?

yes, fresh slaw is always a winnder

 

[JimW]

This one's good if you have an oven: Tomato & chickpea bake

 

[iona]

Just thinking about slaw of any kind gives me the boak.

Sorry Appreciate the suggestion though!

 

[iona]

This one's good if you have an oven: Tomato & chickpea bake

I have an oven, but not a casserole dish and only shallow roasting trays...

 

[JimW]

I have an oven, but not a casserole dish and only shallow roasting trays...

There's spicy roasted chickpea recipes about too which might go better in a tray. Just thought they're cheap if you get dried.

 

[Artaxerxes]

Hash Browns.

Emphasis on the hash.

 

[AnnaKarpik]

Make up some couscous, add a pile of different vegetables (both cooked and raw) dress with plenty of oil and lemon juice and stir.
I usually fry onions, garlic and peppers and add turmeric, paprika and cumin and also use stock to make up the couscous.
Then add cooked peas or broad beans, raw tomatoes, spring onions or chives, sweetcorn and cucumber. Also olives, pappadew peppers and anything else knocking around, and parsley and/or mint and/or coriander.

 

[Treacle Toes]

I have an oven, but not a casserole dish and only shallow roasting trays...

You can buy a foil one from a local pound-ish shop for £2?

 

[Boudicca]

I make this salad a lot and it always goes down well. The tedious bit is chopping everything really small so that you get all the flavours in one mouthful. I skin the tomatoes and miss out the chili.

 

[belboid]

Caponata - How to cook the perfect caponata

(ignore the bit about salting the aubergines)

 

[Saffy]

Potato or pasta salad?

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Tabbouleh for everyone

Chicken drumsticks that have been marinated and baked for those who eat meat.

 

[danski]

Salsa and guacamole?

 

[SheilaNaGig]

My favourite contribution to something like this is a simple green bean and mushroom salad. It goes like this:

- Slice button mushrooms quite thin (or buy them ready sliced if you’re short on time and have the extra pennies).

- Sautee the mushrooms on a medium high heat with plenty of butter and chopped garlic. Add the garlic halfway through so it don’t scorch. You want to cook them on a highish heat so they don’t go soggy.

- Meanwhile, take a large pack of long beans. Either chop the ends off while they’re still in the pack (knock them level on the counter top and slice straight through with a sharp knife) or buy them already topped, if you have the extra pennies.

- In a largish pan over a medium to high heat, put about an inch of water, a tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper, and the juice of half a lemon juice and/or the zest of the lemon. Add the beans and clap on the lid. Let the water boil to steam the beans, but don’t let them cook all through! You want them crispish.

- Open the pan and check to see how much water is left. Swill and mix the beans with the oily lemony water to make sure it’s well incorporated. Drain off any remaining water (it may mostly be gone) or just hoik them out with a slotted spoon.

- Add the buttery mushrooms to the oily beans and mix together well. You can add a scanty dash of soy sauce or balsamic vinegar at this point too, but only a hint.

- Can be served hot, warm or cold.

And it’s really easy ti double this recipe for large groups, and any leftovers don’t go to waste because it’s good cold.

 

[miss direct]

Can things be served hot? They definitely need some veg or salad. I'd do a whole batch of honey roasted vegetables.

 

[Stanley Edwards]

Go with salad. No-one is going to blame you when everybody gets the shits

Find some broad bean and potato salad recipes on Google. I love them. Dead simple. Boil potatoes and beans. Allow to cool. My favourite is adding a small amount of crushed chili, finely chopped garlic and coriander. Drizzle a bit of quality olive oil and squeeze the juice of a fresh lime. I prefer coriander, but mint, or basil are good also.

You can do loads of variations on these, and they're piss easy, and won't kill anyone

 

[iona]

Can things be served hot? They definitely need some veg or salad. I'd do a whole batch of honey roasted vegetables.

Preferably something that's not a huge faff to make, doesn't require loads of expensive ingredients and can be eaten cold.

Roast veg is good eaten cold in salads though. Think I'm probably going to do a salad with leaves, green veg, roast veg and some combination of grains / pulses / nuts / seeds / fruit and herbs, spices etc.