Michael’s Veganuary Joy dinner party recipes

January 21, 2026 | The Victoria | 4 minute read

This month we are making vegetables the stars of the show with three vegan courses from our January Joy menu. Tried, tested and polished off by all of us, we hope you’ll find them as delicious as we did! All recipes serve four people.

Starter – roasted cauliflower, muhammara, kale, pomegranate and chimichurri

Ingredients

1 cauliflower
Rapeseed oil
Salt and pepper
1 pomegranate
100g kale
Jar of chimichurri sauce

For the muhammara
4 roasted red peppers (tinned)
1 cup tomato puree
1/2 white onion
1/2 cup chopped roasted walnuts
½ tsp chilli flakes
½ cup white breadcrumbs
½ tsp sumac
2 garlic cloves minced
2.5 tbsp pomegranate molasses
6 tbsp best rapeseed oil
2 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cumin
Fresh mint leaves, and pomegranate seeds to garnish

Method

Trim the cauliflower into bite-sized florets. Parboil or steam until tender then roast with rapeseed oil and salt and pepper.

Make the muhammara – place all the relevant ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth. Place in a covered bowl until needed.

Shred the kale – if you like you can bake this in the oven with rapeseed oil, salt and pepper for just a few minutes to make it crispy.

Cut open the pomegranate and remove the seeds.

To serve, place a generous dollop of muhamarra on the plate. Top with the cauliflower florets and kale and finish with a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds and a drizzle of chimichurri.

Main – warm salad of harissa roasted squash, pearl barley, spinach, sprouts and chestnuts

Ingredients

For the barley
300g pearl barley
1 carrot peeled and finely chopped
1 onion finely chopped
4 sticks celery
1 leek finely chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
2 sprigs thyme
1 litre good vegetable stock (may need more or less depending on barley)
50ml best rapeseed oil

For the squash
1 large butternut squash
5 dsp harissa ( more or less depending on personal preference)
1tsp salt
1tsp cracked black pepper

For the salad
500g sprouts shredded and lightly sautéed
250g cooked chestnuts roughly chopped sautéed with the sprouts
200g baby leaf spinach added to mix at last second

Method

First prepare the barley. In a thick bottom pan add the oil and carrots and sweat for couple of minutes.

Then add the onion, celery, leeks, garlic and thyme and sweat for 2-3 more minutes.

Now add the barley and stir well before adding ½ the vegetable stock.

Cook until the barley is tender adding more stock until the desired texture is obtained.

Once cooked remove and chill until required.

Next peel and de-seed the squash and cut it into dice.

Place in a bowl and stir in the harissa and leave to marinade for 45 minutes.

Place on a lined baking tray, sprinkle with the salt and pepper and bake at 180c until just cooked.

Set aside to cool slightly.

For the salad, shred the sprouts and roughly chop the chestnuts.  Place them both in a pan and sautée. Add in the spinach at the last minute so that it lightly wilts.

To serve, gently combine the barley mixture, squash and vegetables. Taste and add salt and pepper if required, then spoon out onto plates.

Dessert – fruit and vegan yogurt sundae topped with toasted hazel nuts

Ingredients

A selection of your choice of seasonal fresh fruit and/or frozen berries
Vegan yogurt (we like Alpro vanilla flavour soya yogurt)
Vegan vanilla ice cream
Hazelnuts – toasted

Method

Peel and dice the fruit, add any berries and mix together in a bowl.

In sundae glasses add a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream. Add a layer of fruit then a layer of vegan yogurt. Add another layer of fruit and top off with the final layer of vegan yogurt. Sprinkle with the toasted crushed hazelnuts.