Dishes that are delicious whether or not it's hot or cold

Hot, cold, hot, cold, sunny, grey, sunny, grey; the weather can never decide at around this time of year and this causes endless lunch and dinner party worries.

Lunch mainly: will your guests be stuck in an icy gale, with the first spring blossoms stuck in their eyelashes? Or might everyone be wilting under a violently blazing sun, all prickly and grumpy in sweater-dresses?

You won't know until the day, no matter how hard the weather people try. So what to serve?

The answer is foods that work both hot or cold - temperature decided upon at a moment's notice.

That's easy if you believe the weird people claiming that lasagne, macaroni cheese and even porridge are just wonderful cold (depends on what you've been smoking, I suppose). But, if you're looking for something that doesn't smack of leftovers you need to be more picky.

My favourite lifesaver here is beetroot soup (see recipe below). Wonderful hot, with sour cream and chives; just as great chilled, with yoghurt (and again chives). Black pepper in both cases works wonders.

Another dish, or item really, that you can plan a meal around and then serve hot or cold is beef steak; more specifically rump, sirloin or fillet.

If the day look grey, serve the steak hot, with steaming baked baby potatoes and tzatziki on the side.

If things are looking summery by an hour before the meal, let the potatoes cool and then mash them coarsely, skins and all, with some olive oil and vinegar; then slice the cooled steak into thick tranches and serve scattered with fresh herbs, lemon and chilli.

The tzatziki will happily swing both ways.

HOW TO MAKE BEETROOT & ORANGE SOUP

This soup is delicious served hot or cold; it's a recipe liked even by beetroot despisers.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil

500g freshest beetroot, coarsely chopped

200g onion, coarsely chopped

1 litre water

Rind and juice of two oranges

Sugar and salt, to taste

Toppings:

Sour cream (if you'll be serving the soup hot) or yoghurt (if you'll be serving it cold)

Chives, chopped

Black pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a thick-bottomed pot, and sauté onion and beetroot very slowly until onion is softening but not browning.

2. Add the water and simmer, half-covered, on the lowest heat for 30 minutes or until beetroot is soft.

3. Cool slightly and put everything through blender until smooth.

4. Pour back into the pot, and reheat, while adding most of the orange juice and rind, plus salt and sugar to taste.

5. Add remaining orange if you think it needs it, and balance sweet and salt again (hot usually needs less sweet, more salt; vice versa for cold).

6. Serve with the toppings and, if it's the hot version, some good bread on the side.

• This article was originally published in The Times.