When you invite family or friends over to share your festive feast, you will more than likely search for the best recipes. You want to make sure that the meal is appealing to the eye as well as the taste buds. If you’re planning a roast and your dessert is also already planned but starters are still unknown, here are some great ideas.
Soups
During winter, there’s nothing better than a hearty soup. It’s usually a good idea to offer two options. One of which being a regular vegetable or beef soup. Your second option could be something creamy like a butternut soup or brocolli and cheddar soup. Make sure that there’s enough of each soup for everyone. You never know how many of your guests will opt for the same soup.
Seafood
Fish makes a great starter in the form of calamari, prawns, or even a shrimp cocktail. The key is to serve your fish with a basic salad and the appropriate sauce. Don’t worry too much about trimmings. You don’t want your guests to load up on carbohydrates or else they’ll never make it to dessert!
Mushrooms
Crumbed mushrooms or garlic mushrooms also make a fantastic starter. These are best served on long platters so that your guests can help themselves. Crumbed mushrooms taste particularly delicious with garlic bread.
Vegetable Kebabs
Since you will most likely enjoy a fair bit of meat when the main course is served, why not serve some vegetable kebabs as starters? Keep the veggies as large as possible and include a variety of colours for flavour and appearance. Some great options include mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers. If you are not planning on serving chicken as part of the main course, you can add chicken cubes to your skewers.
Cheese sticks
Crumbed cheese sticks can be fried or baked. The latter obviously being healthier for obvious reasons. Serve your cheese sticks with the appropriate dipping sauce and, if desired, you can pair this delicious starter with garlic mushrooms.
Remember, the key is to make sure that your starters are enough to wet the appetite but not so much that your guests hardly have room for the main course. Always consider what you plan on serving as the main course before choosing your starters. It’s also good to offer more than one option just in case any of your guests are vegetarian or on a specific diet (such as a gluten-free diet).