Sunshine spoiler alert:

if you are a huge barbecue fan, look away. Actually wait, let me elaborate. I am not a summer equivalent of a Christmas scrooge, with an anti-charcoal agenda. I adore lighting our barbecue, whether for an impromptu meal because the sun is out, or for a relaxed lunch with friends on a lazy afternoon. A mere whiff of the scent of those smouldering hot coals instantly makes me feel famished. A barbecue is a treat my whole family adores.

The problems come, in my view, barbecuing for larger groups. The grilling surface is rarely wide enough to let you cook and finish everything simultaneously. But the main problem when cooking for more than, say, four or six people is for the person doing the cooking. Everything must be cooked at the last moment, so the cook is not only blasted with heat but is wholly absorbed in the grilling and not part of the party going on across the garden. Delicious for everyone else, hard work for the cook.

So for elegant summertime entertaining, let some retro classics take the strain. A platter of beef wellington will give guests the meat fix they crave but, for a lighter alternative, consider a platter of salmon with summer vegetables. Better still, both can be prepared in advance, easing the strain for the cook without compromising taste or style.

Tea poached salmon, served cold, with summer vegetables

Recipes serve 6-8

150g Earl Grey loose-leaf tea

60g soft, light-brown sugar

3 lemons: 2 sliced for cooking with, 1 cut into thin wedges for serving

1 side of salmon (about 1kg) skin on

Method

1. When buying the salmon, ask the fishmonger to scale the side and remove the pin bones that run down most of the length of the fish. Boil four litres of water and pour it over the tea, sugar and lemon slices in a large container, then set aside to cool. Do this several hours in advance as it takes a long time to cool. Strain through a fine sieve over a container to collect the infused liquid and discard the tea leaves and lemon.

2. Pour the cooled liquid into a fish kettle or deep roasting tin big enough to hold the salmon. Place on the hob, across two rings. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat so the surface of the liquid is just trembling but bubbles break the surface. Lower in the salmon, skin-side down. (If the fillet isn't fully covered, top up with boiling water.) Simmer like this for one minute, then turn off the heat and leave to stand until cooled.

3. Carefully remove the salmon onto a large sheet of baking paper. Fold the paper over the salmon and use it as a support to turn the fillet over gently. Peel away and discard the skin. Scrape away and discard any brown-grey flesh. Serve the salmon with lemon wedges, bunches of watercress, cucumber rounds, batons of carrot, small radishes and finely sliced fennel, all raw, accompanied by mayonnaise sharpened with lemon juice.

Classic beef wellington

1 good beef fillet of around 1kg

3 tbsp olive oil

250g chestnut mushroom, you can include some wild ones if you like

50g butter

1 large sprig fresh thyme

100ml madeira

12 slices Parma ham

500g pack puff pastry, thawed if frozen

A little flour, for dusting

2 egg yolks beaten with 1tsp milk

1. Heat oven to 220C/gas mark 8. Sit the 1kg beef fillet on a roasting tray, brush with 1tbsp olive oil and season with pepper, then roast for 15 mins for medium-rare or 20 mins for medium. When the beef is cooked to your liking, remove from the oven to cool, then chill in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

2. While the beef is cooling, chop the mushrooms as finely as possible so they have the texture of coarse breadcrumbs. You can use a food processor to do this, but make sure you pulse-chop the mushrooms so they don't become a puree.

3. Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil and 50g butter in a large pan and fry the mushrooms on a medium heat, with 1 large sprig of fresh thyme, for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until you have a softened mixture. Season the mushroom mixture, pour over the madeira and cook for about 10 minutes until it has been absorbed. The mixture should hold its shape when stirred. Remove this mushroom mix from the pan to cool and discard the thyme.

4. Overlap two pieces of cling film over a large chopping board. Lay 12 slices prosciutto on the cling film, slightly overlapping, in a double row. Spread half the mushroom mix over the prosciutto, then sit the fillet on it and spread the remaining mushroom mix over. Use the cling film's edges to draw the prosciutto around the fillet, then roll it into a sausage shape, twisting the ends of cling film to tighten it as you go. Chill the fillet while you roll out the pastry.

5. Dust your work surface with a little flour. Roll out a third of the 500g pack of puff pastry to a 18x30cm strip and place on a non-stick baking sheet. Roll out the remainder of the 500g pack of puff pastry to about 28x36cm. Unravel the fillet from the cling film and sit it in the centre of the smaller strip of pastry. Beat the two egg yolks with 1tsp water and brush the pastry's edges, and the top and sides of the wrapped fillet. Using a rolling pin, carefully lift and drape the larger piece of pastry over the fillet, pressing well into the sides. Trim the joins to about a 4cm rim. Seal the rim with the edge of a fork or spoon handle. Glaze all over with more egg yolk and, using the back of a knife, mark or score the beef wellington with long diagonal lines, taking care not to cut into the pastry. Chill for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours.

Heat oven to 200C/Gas Mark 6. Brush the wellington with a little more egg yolk and cook until golden and crisp - 20-25 minutes for medium-rare beef, 30 minutes for medium. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving in thick slices.