Drizzle and Dip Delicious Mother’s Day lunch recipe ideas

Mother’s Day is the perfect excuse to gather your favourite people and celebrate the mum in your life. In the past, I’ve shared a few recipes that work well for brunch, along with some tips on how to build a simple but beautiful menu. Today I’m sharing a few of my go-to recipes for a Mother’s Day lunch.

Since I like to cook seasonally, I’ve divided the list by hemisphere. In South Africa, Mother’s Day falls in autumn, while in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s spring. Some of the recipes work well for both seasons, so feel free to mix and match.

Autumn Mother’s Day Lunch menu ideas

🍁 What’s in season in autumn – Southern Hemisphere (March to May)

Here are a few of the fruits and vegetables that are in season now (autumn) to give you inspiration for recipes.

Vegetables:
Butternut, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, spinach, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, leeks, mushrooms.

Fruits:
Apples, pears, figs, grapes, pomegranates, guavas, quinces, persimmons, peaches, nectarines, plums.

To Start

Pear, blue cheese and walnut salad with maple vinaigrette

This is the perfect Autumnal salad and great as a starter for an indulgent feast. Allow the pears to ripen to their full potential for this salad.

A classic pear, blue cheese & walnut salad with maple vinaigrette on a serving plate

Twice-baked, make-ahead cheese soufflé

This delicious recipe can be prepped in advance and would be good all year round. I love the mixed salad with brown butter braised sultanas, which add a pop of sweetness and tart acidity to offset the richness of the dish.

Twice-baked make ahead cheese souffle in a baking dish

Broccoli and Cheddar soup

A hearty and comforting soup if the weather is a little chilly.

For Mains

Roast chicken with orange & Ginger

A crowd-pleasing roast chicken recipe. The orange and ginger are a perfect flavour combo and adds to the delicious pan gravy.

Herb & fennel crusted salmon with roast sweet potato wedges

This is an easy, hands-off way to cook salmon—and it feels a little elegant too. I added whole, bruised garlic cloves and fennel to the tray of sweet potatoes for extra depth of flavour.

A classic Beef & mushroom pie with ale

This is a hearty dish that is perfect for a Sunday lunch in cooler months.

Roast chicken in white wine, herbs, garlic & potatoes

This is a one-roasting-pan wonder where time does all the heavy lifting. Blanched green beans or broccoli would be a perfect side.

I have another version of this, which is so delicious if you can get your hands on proper Italian sausage.

Roast chicken with intalian sausage and potatoes recipe

Whole baked trout with herbs and lemon

This is one of my all-time favourite fish dishes. It is low in effort and therefore great for entertaining. Served with a bright and zesty new potato salad and green beans or asparagus.

A platter of whole roasted trout with a new potato and herb salad

Three delicious slow-braised dishes that can be made in advance are: Joel Robuchon’s Beef Bourguignon, osso bucco with risotto Milanese and the best coq au vin (available in my ebook Comfort, see below).

A classic Osso Bucco recipe with risotto Milanese

Jamie Oliver’s chicken cooked in milk

This is a delicious and unique dish and perfect comfort food for cooler weather.

Two hearty vegetarian main course dishes are my butternut, ricotta and phyllo pie or my perfect spinach and three cheese phyllo pie.

Spinach and 3 cheese phyllo pie recipe (Spanakopita)

I have put my eBook COMFORT on SALE for Mother’s Day, and it is now R100 and available to download here.

I have put my eBook COMFORT on SALE for Mother’s Day, and it is now only R100 ($5.5 USD or £4 GBP or €4.8 Euro) available to download here (until 11 May).

It is worth buying Comfort just for the coq au vin recipe, and I also include an option to make it into the most delicious pie. My eBook also has the best ox tail recipe I know.

For dessert

Marion Burro’s famous purple plum torte is my favourite way to use up the last of the summer stone fruit. It makes the perfect dessert served with a dollop of cream or chantilly cream.

A slice of Marion Burro's famous purple plum torte recipe

The best apple and berry crumble

This is the most lovely dessert and great to feed a crowd. Make your crème anglaise (it’s so easy) to take things to another level. Otherwise, serve this with vanilla ice cream.