Elevate winter entertaining: An elegant three-course menu for an intimate dinner party

There is something about winter entertaining that feels a little more special. The colder weather encourages slower afternoons, longer conversations and tables filled with rich, comforting food shared among close friends.

If you are planning an intimate lunch at home this season and want to truly impress your guests, this elegant three-course menu is exactly the kind of spread that will leave everyone talking long after dessert.

Created by Executive Chefs Godfrey Kinyanjui and Gary Msane Opperman, alongside Pastry Chef Rahul Bansee from The Fig Tree Restaurant, the menu brings together bold seasonal flavours with restaurant-style elegance.

From a gooey brie and caramelised pear tart starter to a buttery seafood boil served with fried rice, and finally a decadent brûlée fig tart, each course feels indulgent without losing the cosy comfort that winter dining is all about.

It is the kind of menu best enjoyed with candles lit, good wine poured, and guests lingering around the table for hours.

Starter: Brie and caramelised pear tart

Ingredients (for the short crust pastry)

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 7 tbsp unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1cm cubes
• 3 tbsp ice cold water (+ more as required)

Ingredients

150g – 200g Brie cheese sliced

2 ripe pears, thinly sliced

1 - 2 tbsp butter

1 - 2 tbsp brown sugar or honey

Cinnamon and/or nutmeg to taste

Optional: Fresh thyme, chopped walnuts/pecans, red onion

Method

• Prepare the short-crust pastry: Combine all ingredients to form a dough. Chill before rolling out to line the tart tin and blind bake for 10 - 15 minutes until lightly golden. (Blind baking helps prevent a soggy crust. All you need to do is line the dough with parchment paper and place a handful of beans or rice at the centre before baking.
• Caramelise the pears: Melt 1 tbsp butter in a pan with 1 - 2 tbsp brown sugar and spices (cinnamon/nutmeg). Sauté pear slices for 5 - 7 minutes, until tender and caramelised, then set aside to cool slightly.
• Layer the ingredients: Spread sliced brie cheese over the centre of the pastry. Arrange the caramelised pear slices over the brie, either in a fan pattern or overlapping rows.
• Add toppings: Sprinkle with chopped walnuts or pecans and drizzle with honey.
• Bake and serve: Bake in a preheated oven at about 175 degrees for 5 – 10 minutes until the cheese is gooey. Garnish with fresh thyme leaves or a balsamic glaze before serving warm. Serve with a garlic bruschetta.

Main: Fig Tree seafood boil with fried rice

Ingredients

• 100g baby potatoes
• 2 cups water
• 5g smoked paprika
• 5g garlic powder
• 5g oregano
• 5g onion powder
• 5g lemon-and-herb seasoning
• 5g garlic, minced
• 25g fish stock
• 2.5g cayenne pepper (optional)
• 250g sweetcorn on cob
• 200g mussels
• 150g prawns, cleaned
• 110g calamari tube
• 80g chorizo
• 90g lemon
• 120g butter

For the Sauce

• 110g onion, finely chopped
• 5g Cajun spice
• 5g smoked paprika
• 5g garlic powder
• .5g oregano
• 5g onion powder
• 5g lemon-and-herb seasoning
• 150g Fish Fillet

Method: Seafood Boil

• To boil the veggies and seafood, place the potatoes in a colander. Place the water, spices and garlic, and stock in a pot and place the colander over the pot, then bring to a boil to cook the potatoes. Add the sweetcorn to the colander and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add the mussels and cook for 5 – 7 minutes. Add the prawns and cook for 5 minutes. The seafood cooks at different rates, so be sure not to add both at the same time, or you’ll have overcooked prawns.
• For the sauce, in a large pan, melt 30g butter and fry the onion until soft.
• Add spices for the sauce, and cook for about 3 – 4 minutes, until fragrant.
• Add the remaining butter (90g) and melt. Add 1 cup of the seafood cooking liquid, then squeeze in some lemon juice.
• Remove the seafood from the pot and add to the butter sauce with some of the seafood cooking liquid. Add the corn and potatoes and toss to coat well in the sauce.

Ingredients: Fried Rice

115g cooked white rice30ml vegetable or canola oil, divided80g onion, finely chopped80g carrot, peeled and cut into small dice30g spring onion5g cloves garlic, minced5ml soy sauce5ml toasted sesame oil1g salt1g ground white pepper1 large egg50g frozen peas

Method

• If you are using day-old rice, transfer to a medium bowl and use your hands to break rice up into individual grains before proceeding.
• Heat 1/2 tablespoon (7ml) vegetable oil in a wok over high heat until smoking.
• Add half of rice and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring and tossing, until rice is pale brown and toasted and has a lightly chewy texture.
• Transfer to a medium bowl. Repeat with another 1/2 tablespoon oil and remaining rice.
• Return rice to wok and press it up the sides, leaving a space in the middle.
• Add 1/2 tablespoon (7ml) oil to the space. Add onion, carrot, scallions, and garlic and cook for about 1 minute, stirring gently until lightly softened and fragrant.
• Toss with rice to combine. Add soy sauce and sesame oil and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.
• Push rice to side of wok and add remaining 1/2 tablespoon (7ml) oil.
• Break egg into oil and season with a little salt. Use a spatula to scramble egg, breaking it up into small bits. Toss egg and rice together.
• Add frozen peas and continue to toss and stir until peas are thawed and each grain of rice is separate. Serve immediately.

Dessert: Brûlée Fig Tart

Ingredients for the crust

• 168g unsalted butter, preferably French-style with 82% fat, at room temperature.
• You’ll also need a bit more to prepare your pan
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• ⅓ cup almond flour, sifted
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 extra-large egg, beaten
• 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour or cake flour, sifted

Ingredients for the tart

• ⅔ cup almond flour
• ¾ cup confectioners' sugar
• ¾ tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp cake flour or all-purpose flour
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter. Preferably French-style, at room temperature
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp almond extract
• 1 extra-large egg, beaten
• 1 Tbsp dark rum
• ½ cup fig jam
• 500g fresh figs
• 100g confectioners’ sugar for brûlée

Method

• Begin by preparing your crust. In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sea salt on medium speed for about a minute.
• Scrape down sides of bowl and paddle with a rubber spatula and add confectioners’ sugar.
• Combine with butter at low speed.
• Once incorporated, scrape down bowl and paddle. Add almond flour and vanilla extract and combine at low speed.
• Gradually add egg and a quarter of the flour (approximately 55g). Beat at low speed until just incorporated.
• Scrape down bowl and paddle, then gradually add remaining flour and mix just until dough comes together, stopping from time to time to scrape in any mixture adhering to sides and bottom of bowl.
• Be careful not to overbeat. Your dough should be soft to the touch.
• Separate dough into two equal portions. Gently press each portion into a ½-inch-thick rectangle. Double-wrap airtight in plastic wrap. Refrigerate one dough portion for at least four hours, preferably overnight; chill or freeze the second portion for another use.
• Very lightly (you should not be able to see the butter) butter a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 10 ½-inch circle, ¼ inch thick. Dust work surface and dough often and work quickly so dough remains cold.
• Gently roll dough over lightly dusted rolling pin and transfer to pan, gently easing it in and trimming the top edge. Chill uncovered for at least 1 hour, preferably longer, if you are able.

Prepare the tart

• Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees.
• Sift together almond flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch and flour into a medium bowl.
• Place butter, salt and vanilla and almond extracts in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat for 1 minute at medium speed.
• Scrape down bowl and paddle and add almond flour mixture. Beat at medium speed for 1 minute, until incorporated. Stop, scrape down bowl and paddle, then turn on machine and gradually add egg.
• Add rum and beat at medium speed until egg and rum are incorporated.
• Remove tart shell from refrigerator and place on a baking sheet. Using a fork, pierce rows across surface of crust, about 1 inch apart. Scrape almond cream onto crust and, using a small offset or rubber spatula, spread evenly over crust.
• Place in oven and bake for 40 minutes, until crust and almond cream are golden brown and the tip of a knife comes out clean when inserted into cream.
• Remove from oven and let cool for 40 minutes on a rack. Keep an eye on it as it may not need the full 40 minutes.
• Using a small spatula, spread fig jam over surface of tart in an even layer.
• Remove stems from figs. Cut small and medium figs into quarters, large figs into sixths or eighths. Arrange in concentric circles, starting with the rim, with the stem end down. Slices should angle upwards.
• If you are not serving right away, refrigerate. Sprinkle with sugar and “burn” just before serving to create your brûlée.

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