/ 09 January 2024

How To Entertain This Month, With Alexandra Dudley

Alexandra Dudley is a food columnist, cookbook author and host of the Come For Supper podcast. In this instalment of her monthly column, she shares a pressure-free dinner party menu that makes the most of warming spices.

By Alexandra Dudley /

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We don’t often think of January as a celebratory month. There are tax bills to pay, resolutions to stick to, and all the projects and plans that come with a new year to keep us busy. But I think January is a wonderful time to entertain. The pressure to be the ‘host with the most’ is off and I find there is something soothing and reassuring about entertaining in January. After the richness of Christmas food, I crave fresh and fragrant flavours – think lots of herbs, chilli and ginger. This month’s menu is one that, for the most part, is vegan. Aubergine with peanut sauce is a nod to the excellent satay from my local Thai, with slightly smoky roast aubergine and a flavourful peanut dressing. A cabbage slaw brings all the crunch and zing we need in January, and there are fudgy brownies for pudding, spiked with more ginger for good measure.

I’ve always added a splash of orange bitters to my martini, but only very recently have I been exploring the simple art of enjoying a splash of bitters with sparkling water. It is delicious. My current favourite is the light Seasn bitters, which happens to be entirely alcohol free too.

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Roast Aubergine On Peanut Sauce

Inspired by my go-to takeaway order (chicken satay with peanut sauce), this is a really good vegetarian main course. The peanut sauce is rich and indulgent and goes really well with some accompanying rice. Make sure you go for good quality peanut butter; I like ManiLife

Serves

Total Time

45 Minutes

Ingredients

3 aubergines

100ml of olive oil

1 tsp of smoked paprika

25g of roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

1 handful of coriander leaves

For the peanut sauce:

Neutral oil (such as ground nut or sunflower)

2 cloves of garlic, finely grated

1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled & finely grated

1 birds eye chilli, very finely chopped

1 tbsp of tamarind paste

1 tbsp of palm sugar or light brown sugar

3 tbsp of tamari or soy

200g of crunchy peanut butter

300ml of water

Method

Step 1

Preheat oven to 180°C Fan. Halve the aubergines length-ways and then slice each half into 3 thick strips. Combine the oil and smoked paprika in a small bowl. Paint the aubergine strips with the paprika oil and place on a roasting tray, skin side down leaving a little space between each one (you may need to use two so as not to crowd them). Roast for 30 minutes until soft and golden brown.

Step 2

Heat a glug of neutral oil in a frying pan, add the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook gently over a low-medium heat for about five minutes until fragrant and beginning to turn translucent.

Step 3

Stir in the tamarind paste, sugar and tamari. Then stir in the peanut butter and add the water slowly, stirring until the mixture is gently bubbling and you have a thick glossy sauce.

Step 4

To serve, spoon roughly two thirds of the peanut sauce onto a serving plate. Stack the aubergines on top, spoon over the remaining sauce, and finish with coriander leaves and chopped peanuts.

Hispi Cabbage Peanut Slaw

This is a really satisfying crunchy side for this time of year. The dressing has a good kick from the chilli and ginger and it has a good peppy zing. Feel free to make it ahead and toss just before serving if you like.

Serves

Total Time

10 Minutes

Ingredients

1 hispi cabbage

50g of roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

1 large handful of coriander, leaves removed

For the dressing:

2 tbsp of toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp of tamari or soy sauce

2 tbsp of runny honey

1 cloves of garlic, finely grated

1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled & finely grated

1 birds eye chilli, finely sliced

Method

Step 1

Combine all the dressing ingredients together into a small bowl.

Step 2

Peel away the outer leaf of the cabbage, slice the cabbage in half length-ways and finely slice.

Step 3

Add the shredded cabbage to a large bowl with the dressing and most of the peanuts and coriander (reserving some to garnish). Toss everything with your hands until well coated then transfer to a large serving plate and top with the remaining peanuts and coriander.

Chocolate & Ginger Brownies

Think of this as a grown-up take on a fudgy chocolate brownie, with hits of zingy ginger.

Serves

Total Time

45 Minutes

Ingredients

200g of unsalted butter

200g of 70% chocolate (plus 150g, chopped into chunks)

200g of light brown sugar

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1 tbsp of ginger syrup (from the stem ginger)

90g of plain flour

30g of cocoa

1 pinch of fine salt

1 tbsp of finely chopped stem ginger

Method

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 180°C Fan and line a 30cm square tin with baking parchment.

Step 2

Place the butter and chocolate into a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering until melted.

Step 3

Whisk in the sugar and set aside to cool slightly.

Step 4

Whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract and ginger syrup.

Step 5

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in the chopped chocolate.

Step 6

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry, adding the chopped ginger and half of the chopped chocolate halfway through. Fold until just combined, then pour into the prepared tin, top with the remaining chocolate and bake for 25 minutes.

Step 7

Allow to cool fully before slicing into nine squares.

For more from Alexandra, follow her @AlexandraDudley or visit AlexandraDudley.com