Summer solstice supper, a full program

June 21 is the longest day of the year. In the northern temperate latitudes it holds light until nearly 10pm. A summer solstice supper is the dinner that uses that light — starting in the garden in the afternoon, moving to the table as the sun drops, and ending when the first stars come out. The timing is part of the menu. Here is a full program.

4:00 pm — garden work

Begin by going into the garden. The meal starts here, physically. A solstice supper is not built in the kitchen and then brought out; it is partly assembled in the garden itself. Cut what you need for the flowers. Pick anything edible that's ready (the first broad beans, the last of the spring peas, the early raspberries).

Cut blooms with garden shears, stems at least 40 cm long. For a solstice table, the traditional palette is white and blue:

• Cornflowers for the blue
• Ox-eye daisies or marguerite daisies for the white
• Hydrangea in cream or pale blue (if your shrub is old enough to have flowers by late June)
• A sprig or two of fennel for its frothy green-yellow
• One statement stem of something unexpected — a single borage flower, a stalk of larkspur, a long lavender stem

Bring it all into the kitchen. Put the stems in a tall bucket of cold water. Come back to them at 5pm.

5:00 pm — first arrangement, and the lamb goes in

Set the table now. Linen runner down the middle. Three small posies (see above on posy construction), spaced along the length. Plain glass or brown-glass vessels. Candles placed, but not yet lit.

In the kitchen, put the slow-cooked dish of the evening on low heat so it's ready by 8. The dish that works best for solstice is a shoulder of lamb, slow-roasted with rosemary and garlic. Season the shoulder in the morning; roast it at 150°C for about 4 hours; it should be falling off the bone by the time you sit down.

If you're not a meat eater, substitute a whole roasted celeriac rubbed in miso and black pepper, or a whole side of salmon poached in court-bouillon. The principle is the same: one piece of protein that cooks slowly while you're doing other things.

6:00 pm — apron off, drinks in the garden with a neighbour

The dinner proper doesn't start until 8pm. Don't collapse the afternoon into the dinner. Use the two hours in between.

Pour a glass of something bitter — a small Campari-and-soda, a white vermouth with ice, a Kir — and go into the garden with whoever is helping. Stand, don't sit. Check the light. This is the magic part of the day and you should actually experience it, not spend it finishing table linen.

If a neighbour comes by, invite them for a glass. Not dinner necessarily — but a drink in the garden before you sit down. This is the informal, English, late-June version of entertaining. You do not build a dinner around a neighbour; a neighbour walks by, and a dinner happens to include them for twenty minutes.

7:00 pm — light the candles, check the food

One hour before the table. Light all tapers. They should begin weeping into the brass by the time the first course is served.

In the kitchen, take the lamb out to rest (cover loosely with foil; it will hold for 45 minutes). Pre-warm the serving platter in a low oven. Toss the broad beans and peas with a bit of butter and mint at the last minute — they go on the side of the lamb.

Cold course prep: the first course is a cold pea soup with mint and crème fraîche. Blend frozen petits pois (yes, frozen — they're sweeter than fresh peas by late June unless your peas were picked this morning) with cold stock, a handful of mint, salt, lemon juice. Chill. Serve in small bowls with a spoonful of crème fraîche and one mint leaf on top.

8:00 pm — sit down

By 8pm the sun is still up but descending. The light on the table is warm gold. This is when you eat.

The menu

1. Cold pea soup with mint — the first course. Use the smallest bowls you have. Cold, bright, instantly refreshing.
2. Slow-roasted lamb shoulder with broad beans, peas, and new potatoes — the main. Pull the lamb apart at the table, with a spoon. Serve with the vegetables and a bowl of good olive oil for the potatoes.
3. Strawberry and tarragon tart — dessert. Strawberries at peak ripeness (late June is exactly when), sliced, over a crème pâtissière on a blind-baked tart shell. Chopped tarragon (just a few leaves) over the top. Don't overload the tarragon — a hint. Serve with crème fraîche or plain yogurt.
4. One plate of cheese — optional. If included, keep it very small. A wedge of aged goat's cheese and a bowl of honey. That's all.

Wine

A crisp white for the first course (Grüner Veltliner, Sancerre). A lighter red for the lamb (Pinot Noir — Burgundy or Oregon). A pale rosé for anyone who wants to stay with one wine through the whole meal (Provençal Tavel has enough body for lamb).

9:30 pm — dessert, and the light starts to go

By 9:30 the sun is finally setting. Bring out the tart. The candles have been burning for 2½ hours and the brass is covered in wax — this is the look. Eat slowly. Don't rush dessert.

Coffee or herbal tea afterwards is optional. On solstice, I'd skip coffee — it breaks the ambience. Fennel tea or a mint tisane suits the moment.

10:00 pm — the long moment

The sun is now gone. The candles are low. The stars are just starting to be visible. Nobody should get up from the table until someone first notices the stars. Often this is the longest part of a solstice dinner. This is the point.

What NOT to do

• Don't put a course count on the table. This is not a Michelin tasting menu. It's a summer dinner with the door open.
• Don't plan a "solstice activity" beyond the meal itself. No bonfires (in most gardens, a fire hazard). No drumming. The day is the activity.
• Don't end early. A solstice dinner that breaks up at 10pm is a missed opportunity. The light holds until nearly 10:30; the table can hold until 11:30.

The short version

Garden at 4. Table at 5. Drinks at 6. Candles at 7. Dinner at 8. Dessert at 9:30. Stay until the first star. Cold soup, slow lamb, strawberry tart, one wine each course. Don't rush. The day is longer than any other — use it.