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Eddie's Kitchen: Valentines Dinner For 2

Posted by Eddie's Kitchen from Torfaen - Published on 14/02/2012 at 11:30
5 comments » - Tagged as Culture, Food & Drink, Topical

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Yn Gymraeg

OK guys and girls, even though I'm against the whole Valentines Day thing, I still believe that people should be able to share their love for others, so below is all you will need to woo your partner this Valentines Day.

This is a three course meal for two; salad with a home-made raspberry dressing for a starter followed by a lamb or beef fillet steak for the main, and finishing with a home-made mixed red fruit meringue. So let's begin!

Starter

Ingredients:

Fresh salad leaves (rocket, red lettuce, iceberg lettuce - a bag of pre-prepared is OK)
1 punnet of fresh raspberries
1 lemon
20g caster sugar
10ml white wine vinegar
1 tomato (finely sliced)
Cucumber (finely sliced)
20ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Method:

In a small saucepan add your EVOO, caster sugar, white wine vinegar, and the juice of one lemon - stir well and simmer until the sugar has dissolved
Crush half of the punnet of raspberries into a pulp and add to your simmering sauce, whisk in and allow to simmer for five minutes
Add the zest on half a lemon
Taste your sauce - if too sweet add a bit more vinegar, if too sharp add a bit more sugar
Allow sauce to cool
Wash your salad leaves, tomatoes and cucumber

Plate Up:

Make a bed of salad leaves, then place around your slices of tomato and cucumber
Sprinkle over 5-8 raspberries onto each plate
Drizzle over your raspberry vinaigrette

Serve and enjoy!

Main Course

Ingredients:

2 fillet steaks (beef or lamb - if you're vegetarian, use your preferred alternative)
10 baby carrots with the greens still on
8 stalks of asparagus
4 slices of Parma ham (miss out if you're veggie of course!)
12 baby new potatoes
100g fresh garden peas (frozen is OK as is petit pois)
A little EVOO
Unsalted butter (50g)
Fresh chives (20g finely sliced)

Method:

Season your chosen meat (salt, pepper and EVOO) and allow to sit and take in all the flavour of the salt and pepper
Wash your baby new potatoes and place in a pan of salted water, place on the hob and bring to the boil - simmer until the potatoes are soft
While your potatoes are cooking, wash and trim the greens off of your carrots, leaving 1.5cm of greens on the top, then place into a separate pan of salted water and cook until soft
As your carrots and potatoes cook add your peas to a pan of water with a teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of salt - cook until tender
Prepare your asparagus - break off the tough bit of the stem, if fresh from the shop this should have already been done - and steam until soft, then remove from pan and allow to drain
Now for the steak - heat a large frying skillet until smoking hot (if you do not have a skillet, a standard frying pan will be OK)
Place the steak into the pan and allow to cook halfway through (you will be able to see a colour change as it cooks)
Flip the steak and cook on the other side until cooked (for rare - cook for 2-3 minutes each side, medium-rare - 4-5 each side, medium well - 5-7 each side, well done 7-8 each side)
Remove steaks from pan and allow to rest on an oven tray covered with foil
Back to the asparagus - wrap 2 shoots with 1 slice of Parma ham, then return to the skillet and cook through the Parma ham until crispy
Once your potatoes, carrots and peas are cooked, drain them and return to the pans after turning off the heat
Add the butter and the chives to your potatoes and mix thoroughly crushing the potatoes a little so they absorb all the flavour

To Plate Up:

Slice your carrots in half down the middle and place like a sunburst pattern on one side of the plate
Place your asparagus and Parma ham wraps beside the carrots (one either side)
Place a spoonful of potatoes in the centre of the plate
Slice your steaks on an angle and place onto the plate in a starburst pattern opposite the carrots
Drizzle the juices that have come out of the steak as it was resting over each plate.

Serve and enjoy!

Dessert

Ingredients:

4 meringue nests
4 strawberries
16 raspberries
4 small bunches of redcurrants
Raspberry coulis
250ml extra thick double cream
250ml clotted cream
Dark chocolate (a few shavings to garnish)

Method:

Place 2 meringue nests on a plate then a dollop of the clotted cream on one of the nests and a dollop of the extra thick cream on the other nest
Place your fruit on top of the cream
Drizzle over your raspberry coulis
Sprinkle over your dark chocolate shavings

Serve and enjoy!

I hope that you enjoy this recipe and have a lovely evening!

Click here to see Eddie's recipes

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