What would cook for 20 walkers?

Wanno

Hello all
I have drawn a short straw and am 'hosting' the end part of a nice country walk with about 20 people attending in October.

Ordinarily these events have a big lasagne with jacket spuds and odds and sods that people bring along (coleslaw, random bits of salad, cake).

I'd lovely to have some ideas of what you would do for the main part of the meal? Nothing too fancy, but comforting, tasty food that can be prepped and just heated up/cooked after the walk. And ideally not too costly!

VfM4meplse

Easy: pizza! You can pre-cook the bases and add a range of toppings, and it needn't break the bank. Although my favourite toppings - spinach and black olive - may not be everyone's cup of tea

A big bowl of pasta of curry and rice is also a good option. Anything carb rather than protein based will go down a treat and be a lot quicker to cook. Finish off with chocolate cake - who's going to say no to that?

questionss

Chilli and either rice or baked pots

Lilyplonk

Massive big Pan of Scouse (or Hot Pot) - accompanied by Crusty Bread, Pickled Red Cabbage and/or Beetroot.

Pollycat

I'd second a big pan of chilli, precooked and reheated.

I used to do this for a twixt Xmas & New Year family get-together and did garlic bread (I used bought baguettes and made my own garlic & parsley butter, you can freeze these) and also served with a big dish of roast potatoes (bought frozen).

Or how about a pan of sausage & bean casserole?
Grill (good quality) sausages, cut links into 4 pieces, add to cooked onions, mushrooms, peppers and add chopped tomatoes, baked beans, chilli beans, cannellini beans, butter beans - whatever you fancy.
To make it a one pot dish, I sometimes add some cooked new potatoes cut into bite-sized pieces.

Or corned beef hash with some lovely thick cut buttered fresh bread - Tiger bread is great.

thriftwizard

I might do a big corned beef hash; two tins should feed 20, as it's mostly spuds. Wash (don't bother to peel) & chop about 5Kg potatoes (off the top of my head; 2.5 Kg used to feed my tribe & any hangers on, usually about 10 on CBH nights!) - reds work best - into cubes and fry in a big pan in batches until golden. Drain each batch on absorbent paper & keep in a big ovenproof dish. When the last batch is nearly done, add 3-4 finely chopped onions & keep frying; when they are transparent, chop the corned beef & stir that in too, until it turns dark & crumbly. Then mix into the rest of the spuds. A sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley to garnish just before serving looks good too, or chives would be a fine substitute. Serve with a large pot of baked beans, and perhaps some side salad for those who don't like beans. It's possible to reserve a helping or two of the spuds & onions before adding the corned beef, for vegetarians (there usually seem to be one or two in any gathering; we have a resident one!) and 'complete" the taste of these with a good dash of Lee & Perrins.

aliplim

Get a couple of slow cookers on the go with a nice filling casserole or stew and make some dumplings ready to just drop in

Wanno

Thank you all so far for these suggestions. Some suggestions there that I hadn't even thought to do!

pigpen

I used 5 enormous potatoes and 4 tins of corned beef for our dog hash last night (fed 10) .. how do you get away with 2??

I'd say no to curry and chocolate cake

Jackets spuds and pasta with a selection of veg and a couple of meats.. chicken portions and mince/onion probably.. cheap, quick and filling

psso

I'd avoid curry or chilli, not everyone likes/can eat spicy foods, and I personally would not like chocolate cake. Bleurgh.

wiogs