A Veganuary dinner party menu even meat-eaters will love

Make your Veganuary dinner party as bold as your new year’s resolutions with this menu from Farmer J, says Hannah Twiggs

Turn your ordinary dinner into a plant-powered fiesta (Farmer J)

If you’re hosting a Veganuary dinner party, make the flavours as bold as your new year’s resolutions and ensure the only thing on the endangered list is boring food.

These recipes from Farmer J will turn your ordinary dinner into a plant-powered fiesta.

For starters, heritage tomato, vegan pesto and Superstraccia, a dairy-free and vegan cheese from Julienne Bruno, on toast. Tomatoes dancing with basil, Italian stracciatella-inspired cheese breaking out the moves, and vegan pesto making sure no taste bud is left uninvited. It’s a flavour explosion even your non-vegan pals will be high-fiving you for.

Now, onto the main act: vegan mac’n’cheese. Julienne Bruno’s Crematta and Superstraccia are here to prove that dairy-free doesn’t mean flavour-free. This dish is so comforting, minus the guilt. Creamy, dreamy, and just a tad rebellious.

And because every good meals needs a sidekick, have a plate of tahini aubergine chickpea salad. It’s so good, you’ll forget you’re eating a salad. Harissa chickpeas and roasted aubergines bring a flavour party, and the tahini dressing is the life of the celebration.

Starter: heritage tomato, vegan pesto and Superstraccia toast

Perfect for breakfast, lunch or even an afternoon snack (Farmer J)

Ingredients per person:

1 slice sourdough toast

2 tbsp Superstraccia Julienne Brunco

4 slices heritage tomato

150g basil (2 packs)

75g Prosociano plant-based cheese

1 clove garlic

30g toasted pine nuts

75g extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt

Method:

First, make the pesto. Start with the pickling liquid. Pick the basil leaves, add all the ingredient to the blender and blend. Try not to make the mixture too smooth – make sure it has some texture.

Next, assemble the toast. Start by slathering on a thick layer of pesto, then the Superstaccia, then place the tomatoes and a couple of leaves of basil.

Drizzle with a touch of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Done.

Main: vegan mac’n’cheese

Always a crowd pleaser (Farmer J)

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 Julienne Bruno Crematta

2 Julienne Brunco Superstraccia

100g broccoli

40g cavolo nero

50g cavolo nero

50g all purpose flour

500ml water

1 tsp sea salt

½ tsp black pepper

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp white miso

1 tsp soy sauce

250g macaroni

100g frozen peas

¼ lemon zest and juice

2 tbsp tapioca starch

Method:

Bring a large pan of water to the boil, blanch the broccoli and cavolo nero for 2 minutes then plunge into a large bowl of cold water. Drain then coarsely chop before setting aside.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Spoon out the tub of Crematta into a medium/large sized pan, set over a medium heat until it begins to melt. Gently whisk until the Crematta is entirely melted and begins to bubble. Add the flour, constantly whisking to combine until the flour cooks off and the roux style base is smooth and glossy. Pour the 500ml of water into the pan whilst whisking continuously. Turn down the heat, add half a tub of the Superstraccia and cook for 5 minutes allowing the sauce to thicken, whisking occasionally.

Add all of the seasonings then whisk vigorously to combine, remove from the heat before stirring through the chopped greens, peas, lemon juice, lemon zest and macaroni.

Spoon the macaroni mixture into your oven dish or skillet. Mix together remaining Superstraccia with the tapioca starch before evenly topping the dish, ensuring it is spread completely to the edges.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes until bubbling, and the top is golden. Finish under the grill on high heat for 5 minutes until the top is beautifully browned and beginning to char. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Side: tahini aubergine chickpea salad

This salad is not your ordinary ‘ho-hum’ bowl of greens (Farmer J)

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

For the salad:

500g chickpeas

1 tbsp rose harissa

300g cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 green pepper, cut into ¼ and thin slices

4 Shifka Pickled Chilli Peppers, chopped

30g preserved lemon, chopped finely

2 spring onion, sliced

½ bunch coriander, washed and chopped

1 aubergine, cut to 2cm dices

Olive oil

Salt

For the tahini dressing:

50g tahini

50g iced water

30g olive oil

15g lemon juice

2g salt

1g cumin

Method:

Preparing the harissa chickpeas:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.

2. Rinse the chickpeas under running water and drain them well.

3. Toss the chickpeas with harissa and a sprinkle of salt and roast for 6 minutes, then leave to one side to cool.

Preparing the aubergines:

1. Cut the aubergine into small dice, 2 to 3cm in size. In a bowl, mix the aubergine with salt and olive oil.

2. Spread the aubergine dice on a flat tray lined with baking paper.

3. Roast in a preheated oven at 200C for 15 minutes, until they turn a dark golden-brown colour. Let them cool.

Preparing the tahini lemon dressing:

1. Mix all the dressing ingredients with a whisk. Keep whisking even when the sauce looks like it has split, keep going and it will all come together!

Assemble the salad:

1. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the roasted aubergines.

2. Add the tahini lemon dressing and mix well.

3. Serve on a large plate and garnish the salad with the roasted aubergine dice.

4. Sprinkle with chopped coriander.