For many across the UK, the ritual of eating dinner on the sofa while watching television is a cherished, if sometimes messy, part of daily life. However, mastering the 'tea on knees' experience, particularly during the summer months, requires more thought than simply balancing a plate. Culinary experts suggest the secret lies in choosing 'easy bowl food' that minimises spills and maximises flavour without the need for extensive cutting.
Ella Risbridger, author of The Kitchen Book, is a proponent of daily sofa dining, advocating for meals that can be eaten with just one hand. This approach, she notes, is simpler in winter with stews and soups, but summer presents a challenge with its emphasis on sharing platters. These can lead to awkward 'lunging' and an increased risk of spillages, as Risbridger humorously attests, referencing a current turmeric stain on her own sofa.
The ideal sofa supper, according to Zena Kamgaing, author of Dinner Time, should deliver a variety of textures and flavours in every mouthful. Pasta, for instance, is a frequent choice due to its 'easy bowl food' nature. Kamgaing suggests a no-cook sauce for hot days, blending mascarpone with sun-dried tomatoes, harissa, and fresh basil. Risbridger, meanwhile, favours US-style chopped salads and Vietnamese-inspired dishes, recommending a julienne peeler to elevate simple salads and adding proteins like salmon or sliced steak, often paired with cold salad and warm rice or twirlable cold noodles.
When feeding more than one person, sofa dining becomes more complex. Risbridger highlights the challenge of navigating elbows and maintaining balance. Customisable options are key, with the author expressing her commitment to the 'taco bar as a way of life', or fajitas, where cocktail sticks can be used to skewer them closed for easier transport from kitchen to sofa. Alternatively, Risbridger suggests quesadillas, particularly a recipe from her book featuring a herby, spinachy, cheesy, mashed chickpea filling, which she describes as the 'sweet spot between healthy and pizza'.
For those willing to embrace a little mess, Kamgaing suggests dishes like chicken wings, which are ideal for movie nights. However, Risbridger ultimately returns to a specific recommendation: Hetty Lui McKinnon’s tomato salad with dumplings. This dish, made by combining chopped tomatoes, fried freezer dumplings, rice-wine vinegar, soy sauce, chilli crisp, grated garlic, and fresh basil, is lauded as the 'truly perfect summer sofa food', having been a daily staple for her for a month.
Source: The Guardian