4 three-course menus for January

Thea Everett

Deputy editor (audiences) Thea loves to be in the kitchen and has a particular interest in cooking on a budget and deep frying. She thinks Sri Lankan and Indian food is the food of the gods. Discover her recipes and tune in to our Instagram feed, which she runs on a daily basis.

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January gets a bad rap: cold and dark, with money sometimes scarce after the extravagance of Christmas, it’s a wonder many choose to make it the month of austere eating, too.

We think the start of the year is a great time to put on a feast, and these 4 three-course menus back us up. There’s an impressive date night menu that’s as showy as it is tasty, and a Chinese-inspired vegan menu. Our weeknight Italian meal is the perfect way to liven up Blue Monday, or any blue weekday for that matter, and we’ve got a Sunday lunch menu for lovers of the roast.

The date night dinner menu

January is a budget month for many, but that doesn’t need to mean BORING. Brighten things up on the flavour front with this spectacular date night menu. Start as you mean to go on with an elegant starter of scallops with squid ink sauce. It takes twenty minutes but looks so impressive, just as a date night dinner should.

Next, opt for parma ham-wrapped pork fillets on a bed of creamed spinach and butter beans. It’s simple to do, and you’ll be thankful for any leftovers as it tastes incredible. ⁠

Finally, our coffee crème caramels with espresso syrup makes an invigorating end to a romantic meal.

The spirit-lifting midweek menu

Bring a touch of the restaurant to your dining table with a charcuterie board starter on a weeknight – because – why not? Pair that with a classic Negroni sbagliato and you have yourself a Wednesday night January dinner which dreams are made of.

Next, opt for something a little spicy with ‘nduja meatballs topped with grated parmesan and basil leaves. There’s nothing quite like a spaghetti and meatball dish to lift the spirits!

Finish up with a slice of crowd-pleasing chocolate sponge pudding that takes just 10 minutes to prepare – you’ll be seeing grins from ear-to-ear ’round yours.

The vegan dinner party menu

Little else beats Chinese starters, and these vegetable spring rolls are legit! For main course, spicy dan dan noodles finished with a drizzle of chilli oil, sesame seeds and spring onions are sure to offer tingly tongue thrills for your guests. You can make it in half an hour, and it’s easily scaled up. Enjoy those with black bean tofu and baby pak choi for lip-smacking goodness that friends will go home thinking about.

To finish, vegan crèmes caramels with seasonal fruit that can be prepared in advance: yes please!

The Sunday dinner menu

Sunday lunch is a weekly opportunity to share a lovingly-cooked feast with the special people in your life.

Start with a whisky aperol hot toddy… why? Because you can! And there’s nothing like cooking with a glass of something delicious to sip on.

The star of the show is this incredible roast leg of lamb with rosemary and garlic pesto. Serve that with bay smashed potatoes – they have that fluffy inside, crunchy outside ratio to a T – as well as a generous helping of simple cavolo nero and gravy. For pudding, celebrate the coming of blood orange season with our blood orange and campari steamed pudding, which is as gorgeously bright and beautiful as it is delicious.