How to host a healthy dinner party

Party tips from a top chef

A top chef explains the new rules of healthy home entertaining. Image: iStock

From everyday entertaining to an intimate dinner party, here’s proof that you can put on a delicious, healthy meal (minus the meat) in 30 minutes or less.

What’s the difference between hosting a good dinner and a great one? The menu, of course. When it comes to what you serve up to hungry guests, dishes that are next-level delicious and universally appealing can be tricky if you’re also committed to quality nutrition.  

That’s one of the reasons the former chef of raved-about Sydney restaurant Fred’s, Danielle Alvarez, has captured all of her most crowd-pleasing recipes in one handy book: Recipes for a Lifetime of Beautiful Cooking. That, and to prove serving vegetarian mains doesn’t have to send meat-loving guests running for the hills. 

“At home, all I really care about is how delicious something is,” says Alvarez. “If the goal of eating out is to indulge in something you can’t have at home, shouldn’t eating at home be a celebration of the dishes that are at their very best there?” 

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Her hot tip? Go back to basics. No expensive ingredients, no fancy techniques, just the bits and pieces you’d typically find in your fridge. Keeping your ingredient list simple - and loaded up with veggies - is what eventually leads to restaurant-level flavours and textures, she says. And who doesn’t want to impress their friends with restaurant-quality food that looks super-fancy, even when it’s a cinch to throw together?

Entertaining soon? Here are two hot favourites from the book to get the festivities started. Your dinner company will love you for it.

Soba noodles with sesame dressing

Soba noodles with sesame dressing

Serves 2, double ingredients for every extra 2 people

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 180g (6 ½ oz) dried soba noodles
• 1 bok choy, split in half
• 2 teaspoons neutral oil 
• 100g (3 ½ oz) mushrooms (shiitake, oyster or wood ear), sliced
• 6 spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced 

Sesame dressing

• 1 teaspoon red or white miso
• 2 tablespoons tahini 
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons light soy sauce 
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup or honey 
• 2 tablespoons water
• Pinch of fine sea salt 

To serve: 

• Crunchy chilli oil, to taste 
• 100g (3 ½ oz) French shallot (about 2 large shallots), finely diced
• 250ml (9 fl oz) neutral oil
• 40g (1 ½ oz) garlic (about 8 cloves), peeled and thinly sliced 
• 40g (1 ½ oz) sliced almonds, finely chopped 
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 star anise pod 
• 3 tablespoons Aleppo or Korean chilli flakes
• A pinch of fine sea salt
• 2 teaspoons white (granulated) sugar 

Method

1. Combine the shallot and oil in a small saute pan and place over medium heat. Cook until the shallot is starting to turn golden. Use a skimmer, or soon, to scoop the shallot out of the oil and set it aside. Add the garlic, almonds, sesame seeds and star anise to the oil and let them sizzle until everything is caramelised and golden. Turn the heat off and add in the chilli flakes, salt and sugar. Set aside to cool. 
2. Pour the chilli oil into a clean glass jar and store it in the fridge. This oil will happily keep for months. 
3. To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add a little more water if the mixture is too thick - it should be the consistency of thick pouring cream and completely smooth. 
4. Bring a pot of water to the boil and cook your noodles according to the package instructions. Add the bok choy into the same pot with noodles for the last minute of cooking. Strain and rinse everything under cold running water and set aside in a colander to continue to drain.
5. Heat a small saute pan over medium heat and add the neutral oil. Saute the mushrooms in the oil until they’re cooked, about 2-3 minutes. Set them aside.
6. To serve, place your noodles and the bok choy in a bowl and drizzle them with some of the sesame dressing and the Crunchy chilli oil (use as much or as little of the dressing and oil as you like and save the rest for another time). Serve the noodles either at room temperature or cold, topping them with the sliced spring onions and the sauteed mushrooms. 

Spaghetti Alla Nerano

Spaghetti Alla Nerano 

Serves 4

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 small zucchinis (courgettes) (about 400–500 g/ 14 oz–1 lb 2 oz)
• ½ cup (125 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
• 400 g (14 oz) dried spaghetti
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 50 g (1¾ oz) unsalted butter, cubed
• ½ cup (50 g) freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 2 cups (60 g) basil leaves (about 1 bunch), loosely packed, plus extra to garnish
• Fine sea salt

To serve:

• Parmigiano Reggiano, for grating
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• Good-quality extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges

Method

1. Slice the zucchini into very thin rounds using a mandoline (or a very sharp knife).
2. Heat a large pan over a medium–high heat. Add the olive oil and when it’s hot, add a third of the zucchini slices. Fry until they are lightly golden, stirring occasionally. Use a skimmer or spoon to scoop them out onto a plate. Fry the remaining zucchini in another two batches and set aside.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in your spaghetti and cook until al dente.
4. Pour out half the olive oil used to fry the zucchini and save it for another use. Return the pan to medium heat and add the garlic, letting it sizzle until it becomes fragrant. Add in the fried zucchini and scoop a ladleful of the pasta water into the pan. Stir and crush the zucchini so that some pieces break down and some remain intact. 
5. Reserve a mug of the pasta water before draining the pasta. Add the pasta to the zucchini pan and stir in half of the reserved water. Turn the heat to high. When the liquid is almost completely reduced, turn the heat down to low and add in the butter, parmesan and basil. Toss vigorously, using a wooden spoon or tongs, to combine and create a creamy sauce. Add more of the pasta water as needed. Taste the pasta for seasoning and adjust with salt.
6. Divide the pasta between four bowls and top with more grated parmesan, the extra basil leaves, pepper and a drizzle of good-quality olive oil. Serve with wedges of lemon.

 

How to dial up serious flavour, fast

“A well-stocked pantry or larder is the key to making everyday food interesting, diverse and flavourful,” according to Alvarez. And while she has 12 ingredients on her ‘must have’ list, these three are her top picks for packing a big flavour punch.

#1. Spices, dried herbs and chillies

“In order to have a good spice cabinet, you need to use your spices regularly – buy them fresh and keep rotating them. They work magic when they are lively and aromatic. My most used are freshly cracked pepper, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cayenne pepper and chilli flakes.

#2. Anchovies

“A really good anchovy is one of the greatest flavours on the planet: briny, meaty, and deliriously happy with a lick of good butter on fresh bread or straight from the jar. Good anchovies are also wonderful cooked, imparting an umami richness that compliments tomatoes, garlic, lamb and olive oil so well.

#3. Miso

“This fermented rice and soybean paste, introduced to Japan from China some 1,300 years ago, adds a deep, baseline saltiness and umami to dishes. It’s one of those culinary wonders that crosses the sweet-salty divide. I find it works particularly well with sweet things like corn, sweet potato and chocolate.”

Originally published as How to host a healthy dinner party