4 three-course menus for August

The Greek feast

Begin a meal with fried cheese and you’re already off to a flying start.

Nibble on feta saganaki before diving pitta bread-first into this lamb and aubergine stew, served on a bed of creamy houmous.

And to finish? It’s got to be crispy, syrup-laden baklava, preferably enjoyed with dollops of thick Greek yoghurt and jammy figs.

The easy-like-Italian menu

You can always trust Italians to do simple food well.

For starters, pair roasted tomatoes with burrata, focaccia and a speedy basil pesto.

You’ll be making this crab linguine dish regularly once you see how easy the sauce is (it’s just as good with dried linguine too!).

Finish with white chocolate and berry semifreddo – it’s a make-in-advance pud that takes the stress out of the sweet course.

The Middle Eastern-inspired menu

There are SO many Middle-Eastern recipes we love but baba ghanoush, a simple, smoky aubergine dip, has got to be one of our favourites. Serve with crisps as a nibble or warm flatbreads for a more substantial starter.

Then, impress with a platter of marinated lamb served on a samphire and sumac salad – you could easily cook the lamb on a barbecue too.

Warn guests to save room for this rich pistachio, orange and cardamom tart – its spectacular colour and flavour is like nothing you’ve tried before and requires a spoonful of tangy yoghurt to cut through the sweetness.

Tapas small plates (that all happen to be vegetarian)

For the guests who always want to try a little bit of everything, tapas-style plates are always a winner.

Munch on crunchy halloumi fries drizzled in honey and yoghurt and watch everyone go in for thirds of crowd-pleasing patatas bravas.

Plus, these artichoke, olive and pine nut tomatoes prove that life is most definitely NOT too short to stuff a vegetable…

Serve it all with piles of warm bread and good-quality olive oil.

Want more seasonal recipes for August?

Then have a good rifle through our August recipe collection – stars of the season include aubergines, scallops, courgettes, tomatoes…