Light Summer Luncheon Menu for 20: A Country Buffet

A summer luncheon in the country should feel easy for the guests and for whoever is cooking it. This menu was built for a hot July day, when nobody wants a heavy plate and the oven should be off by the time people arrive. Almost everything is served cold or at room temperature, most of it can be made the day before, and the only thing that needs a knife at the last minute is the bread. It feeds 20 at a buffet, with enough left for the cook's supper.

The menu

To start

• Watermelon gazpacho, served in small glasses

From the buffet

• Summer chicken rolled with a basil ricotta filling, sliced, with artichoke mayonnaise on the side
• Asian chicken salad with cashews on the side
• Mixed greens with seasonal fruit and blueberry vinaigrette
• Cherry tomato and mini mozzarella salad with basil vinaigrette
• Moroccan grain salad
• French bread and sweet butter

Dessert

• Lemon cake with lemon curd filling and lemon buttercream, with fresh blueberries

Why it works

The menu has two chicken dishes, which sounds like a mistake until you see them side by side. One is a cool, sliced roulade with a creamy herb center and a rich sauce; the other is a crunchy, tangy salad with sesame and ginger. They taste nothing alike, and between them they cover the guests who want a proper lunch and the ones who will make a plate of salads. The four salads move from leafy to juicy to hearty, so a plate built from them feels like a meal even without the chicken. The grain salad is the one vegetarians and anyone avoiding meat will lean on, so make plenty.

The colors help too: pink soup, green and white chicken, red tomatoes, blueberries scattered on the greens and again on the cake. A buffet that looks like summer gets eaten.

Quantities for 20

Because there are two chicken dishes, you need less of each than if either stood alone. That is why the roulade is planned at about 4 ounces a person and not the 6 I would plan for a single main.

The prep timeline

Two days before

Make the lemon curd and refrigerate it. Bake the cake layers, cool, wrap and refrigerate or freeze. Make the blueberry vinaigrette and the basil vinaigrette.

The day before, morning

Make the gazpacho; it improves overnight. Mix the basil ricotta filling, roll it into the pounded chicken breasts, tie or wrap them, and roast at 375°F (190°C) until the center reads 165°F (74°C), about 35 to 45 minutes depending on thickness. Cool and refrigerate whole; they slice far more cleanly cold.

The day before, afternoon

Poach the chicken for the Asian salad and shred it. Make the dressing. Make the grain salad without the herbs. Stir together the artichoke mayonnaise. Fill and frost the cake, and refrigerate it.

The morning of

Halve the tomatoes and toss them with the mozzarella. Wash and dry the greens and prepare the fruit (peaches, strawberries or melon, depending on the week). Toss the Asian salad with its vegetables and dressing, leaving the cashews in a bowl beside it so they stay crisp and so guests with nut allergies can skip them.

One hour before

Slice the roulade on a slight angle, about 1/2 inch thick, and fan it on a platter. Add the herbs to the grain salad. Dress the tomato salad. Chill the gazpacho glasses.

At serving time

Dress the greens. Slice the bread. Scatter blueberries over the cake.

Buffet layout

For 20 guests, one table about 8 feet long is enough, with the gazpacho on a small separate table or tray near the door so guests take a glass as they come in. On the main table, run left to right: plates, mixed greens, tomato and mozzarella, grain salad, Asian chicken salad with the cashews, the sliced roulade with the artichoke mayonnaise beside it, then bread and butter, then napkins and forks. Dressed salads first means people take smaller portions of the chicken at the end of the line, which keeps it from running out.

Cold food on a summer porch needs watching. Set the chicken platters and the mayonnaise in larger trays of ice, or bring them out in two rounds and keep the second round in the refrigerator at 40°F (4°C) or below. Nothing creamy should sit out longer than 2 hours, or 1 hour if it is over 90°F (32°C). If you are having the main dishes made by a kitchen and dropped off, the food-only catering guide covers the setup.

The cake goes out after lunch, on its own small table, with the coffee and a pitcher of iced tea.

Swaps for dietary needs

• Vegetarian. Double the grain salad and add chickpeas to it. A roulade of grilled eggplant around the same basil ricotta filling makes a vegetarian main.
• Nut allergies. The cashews are already on the side. Check the grain salad if you like to add almonds or pistachios.
• Gluten-free. Use quinoa in the grain salad and serve the Asian chicken salad with a tamari-based dressing.
• Dairy-free. The gazpacho, the Asian salad, the greens and the grain salad are dairy-free as written.

For another fruit-and-greens salad that works on a buffet, the winter greens with pears and cashews uses the same idea in a colder month.

The gazpacho

This is the dish people ask about. It is sweet, sharp and cold, and it can be made a full day ahead.

From the recipe box

Watermelon gazpacho

About 3 quarts, 24 small glasses

Prep

30 min

Cook

0 min

Rest

4 hr

Total

4 hr 30 min

Show amounts in

US cups & spoons metric

Soup

• 10 cups1.5 kg seedless watermelon, cubed (from about an 8 lb melon)
• 1 lb450 g ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped
• 1 large1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 11 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup75 g red onion, chopped
• 11 jalapeno, seeded (optional)
• 1/4 cup60 ml fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp30 ml red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup60 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp10 ml kosher salt, plus more to taste

To serve

• 1/2 cup75 g finely diced cucumber
• 1/4 cup15 g chopped mint or basil

Method

1. Set aside 2 cups of the watermelon cubes, finely diced, for garnish; refrigerate them.
2. Working in batches, blend the remaining watermelon with the tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, onion and jalapeno until smooth.
3. Pour each batch into a large bowl or pitcher as it is done.
4. Whisk in the lime juice, vinegar, olive oil and salt.
5. Taste: it should be sweet first, then bright, then a little savory. Add salt or lime a little at a time until it is.
6. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight, until very cold.
7. Stir well before serving, since it separates as it stands.
8. Pour into small chilled glasses and top each with diced watermelon, diced cucumber and a pinch of herbs.

Notes from the kitchen

• Make it the day before; the flavors settle and it chills through.
• For a smoother soup, press it through a coarse sieve after blending.