The one-hour dinner party menu

Don’t let the time and effort of cooking put you off from hosting a knockout dinner party. Our quick dinner party menu is super-speedy – ONE HOUR! – low on fuss and tastes fantastic.

Plus, you can adapt it to suit meat-eaters and vegetarians alike.

The one-hour dinner party menu

You’ll notice that these dishes total 45 minutes so you don’t need to rush each course. The dessert can be made in advance too, to save you even more hassle!

For starters…

Grilled asparagus and parma ham on toast (10 minutes)

This is a brilliant starter because you can customise it to suit whoever you’re feeding. Hosting vegetarians? Leave out the parma ham. Asparagus not in season? Tenderstem broccoli or green beans would work too. Not a fan of feta? Go for goat’s cheese – it has a similar salty tang. The point is that this starter takes just 10 minutes to make – and it looks gorgeous.

For main course…

Leek risotto with lemon crumbs (30 minutes)

A simple, oozy risotto always has that wow-did-you-just-make-that factor and is seriously easy to make. The crunchy lemon breadcrumbs on top give the dish an extra touch of fancy flair.

For dessert…

Nutella mousse (5 minutes)

Whether you make this dessert for a dinner party or as a midweek treat to yourself, it’s so astonishingly simple and speedy that there really are no excuses not to try it. Mix all the ingredients, pop in elegant glasses and chill until needed. Swap the Nutella for an alternative like Nutvia or Vego if you like.

Check out all of our dinner party main course and dessert recipes.

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