Easy entertaining: Middle eastern feast

Ah, now this is the way to entertain … have your friend bring a few kilos of lamb and rice from her favourite Lebanese bakery in Arncliffe, plus a kilo of fattoush salad. Accessorise with a haloumi, pumpkin and rocket salad (just so you feel you’ve contributed something). Scoop a few pre-made dips into ceramic dishes. Toast some pita bread. Graciously accept another guest’s offer to bring a layered berry mousse cake for dessert.

Sorted!

I don’t have the recipe for the lamb and rice, obviously, but you can order your own from El-Zahraa Bakery, at 27 Belmore St, Arncliffe (9597 6017).

I do have the recipe for the haloumi salad I whipped up, which Husband pronounced a winner. Here it is …

Recipe: Haloumi, pumpkin and rocket salad

200g haloumi, thickly sliced

2 tablespoons of pine nuts

1/2 a small pumpkin, peeled and cut into cubes

200g rocket leaves

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon olive oil

METHOD: Preheat oven to 180C. Toss pumpkin in olive oil and arrange on a sheet of baking paper on an oven tray. Roast until golden. Cool. Heat a dash of olive oil in a pan and fry the haloumi until golden. Remove and cool, then cut into chunks. Toast the pine nuts in the pan. Remove and cool. Toss rocket, pumpkin, haloumi and pine nuts together. Mix together the lemon juice, honey and olive oil. Drizzle over salad. Serve.