Food / 1 February, 2020 / My Baba

Valentine’s Day Recipes For A Romantic Dinner For Two

Brown Butter-Poached Halibut with Celeriac Puree & Caper Crumbs

Ingredients:

• 200g butter
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 peppercorns
• 2 skinless, boneless halibut fillets, cut from the thick end, about 100-150g/4-5½ oz each
• cavolo nero, kale or spinach, to serve

For the puree:

• knob of butter (from the amount above)
• 300g celeriac, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 200ml milk
• 75ml double cream

For the crumbs:

• knob of butter (from above)
• 4 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 heaped tsp capers, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp roughly chopped parsley

Method:

• To make the puree, melt a small knob of butter in a saucepan, add the celeriac and cook over a medium-high heat until starting to brown a little, about 5 mins. Pour over the milk and cream, and season well – the celeriac should be just covered, so add more milk if needed. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 mins or until tender. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid, and transfer to a food processor. Blend until smooth, then sieve into a clean saucepan, pushing the celeriac through with the back of a spoon or spatula. Add a little of the cooking liquid to loosen the purée if needed, and taste for seasoning.
• To make the crumbs, heat a small knob of butter in a frying pan, add the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring, until golden brown. Throw in the capers and cook for 30 secs more. Tip into a bowl and leave to cool a little, then stir through the parsley.
• Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 2. Gently melt the butter in a small ovenproof saucepan or frying pan, big enough for the fish fillets to fit snugly. Once melted, add the shallot, bay leaf and peppercorns. Keep heating until the butter turns a light brown colour and smells nutty. Leave to cool a little. Gently lower the fish fillets into the warm butter, basting any exposed fish, and transfer to the oven. Cook for 3-4 mins, depending on the thickness of the fish, then turn the fillets over and cook for a further 3-4 mins or until just opaque and feeling firm
• While the fish cooks, reheat the purée and steam the greens. To serve, spoon the purée into the centre of each plate; use the back of the spoon to spread out slightly into a circle. Top with the greens, then carefully place the halibut on top. Drizzle with a little of the poaching butter and scatter with the crumbs.

Malabar Prawn Curry

Ingredients:

• cm piece of ginger
• 2 small red onions
• 150 g ripe tomatoes
• vegetable or coconut oil
• ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
• ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 12 fresh or dried curry leaves
• 1 tesapoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablepoon kokum or 20ml tamarind pulp
• 12 peeled king prawns, from sustainable sources
• 1 x 400 ml tin of reduced fat coconut milk
• 2 dried red chillies

Method:

• Peel and finely chop the ginger and onions. Chop the tomatoes.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan, and when it’s almost smoking, add half the mustard seeds, the fenugreek, ginger and half the curry leaves.
• Stir-fry for a few seconds, then add the onion and cook over a medium heat until it’s dark golden.
• Add the chilli powder, coriander and turmeric, and stir for a few seconds. Add the tomato and kokum or tamarind. Simmer until slightly reduced and you can start to see oil separating from the sauce.
• Add a few tablespoons of water to get the sauce back to the consistency it was before, season with sea salt and add the prawns. Simmer until the prawns are cooked and the sauce is quite dry.
• Add the coconut milk, bring back to boil and turn the heat down to low.
• In another pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil, the chillies and remaining mustard seeds and curry leaves. Fry for 10 seconds or so, then tip into the curry. Serve with steamed rice.

Monkfish with Spinach & Feta

Ingredients:

Spiced Sea Bass with Caramelised Fennel

Ingredients:

• 3 bulbs of fennel
• 40 g butter
• olive oil
• 2 whole seabass, gutted and scaled, from sustainable sources
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 1 lemon

Method:

Love Dumplings

Ingredients:

• 200 g raw peeled prawns, from sustainable sources
• 1 large shallot
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4 spring onions
• ½ a bunch of fresh coriander
• 16 round dumpling wrappers
• 100 g glass noodles
• 1 tablespoon unsalted peanuts
• 1 soft lettuce
• a few sprigs of fresh basil
• a few sprigs of fresh mint
• Lingham’s chilli sauce

Dipping sauce:

• 1 fresh red chilli
• 1 lime
• 4 tablespoons caster sugar
• 4 tablespoons fish sauce

Method:

• Start by making the dipping sauce. Finely chop the chilli, then combine with the lime juice (about 2 tablespoons), sugar, fish sauce and 8 tablespoons of water.
• Pour half into a cute bowl for dunking, and save the rest to dress your lettuce, herb and noodle salad.
• Smash the prawns with the side of your knife, then finely chop them. Peel and very finely chop the shallot and garlic, then trim and finely slice the spring onions (keep the white and green parts separate). Pick and finely chop the coriander leaves.
• Pop the prawns, shallot, garlic, coriander and the whites of the spring onions in a bowl, generously season with black pepper and a pinch of sea salt, and give it a good mix.
• Lay out your wrappers and spoon a teaspoon of filling into the middle of each. Brush the edges of one wrapper with water, fold it in half, then pleat and pinch the edges together to secure. Repeat with the others.
• You can steam the dumplings for 5 minutes, then fry the base until crispy. But the method I use is how I’ve seen it done in Japan. Place an oiled pan over a medium heat, add the dumplings and a splash of water, and cover. They’ll steam for 2 to 3 minutes, then once the water has evaporated, take off the lid and fry for a further 2 minutes.
• Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Toast the peanuts in a dry frying pan, then crush.
• Pick off and arrange the lettuce and herb leaves with the glass noodles on two plates, dress with the sauce and scatter the peanuts on top.
• Serve the dumplings sprinkled with the sliced green part of the spring onions, with bowls of dipping sauce and chilli sauce on the side.

Prawn & Tofu Pad Thai

Ingredients:

• 150 g flat rice noodles
• 1 Scotch bonnet chilli
• 1 fresh yellow chilli
• 2 limes
• sesame oil
• 2 red shallots
• ½ a bunch of Chinese chives
• ¼ a bunch of Thai mint
• ½ a bunch of Thai basil
• 140 g silken tofu
• 4 large raw Tiger prawns, peeled
• 25 g dried shrimps
• 50 g shelled unsalted peanuts
• 1 pinch of chilli flakes
• 1 tablespoon shredded sweet radish
• 1 large free-range egg

Method:

• Cook the rice noodles according to the packet instructions. Meanwhile, make the tamarind sauce. Coarsely grate the palm sugar into a bowl, then add the tamarind paste, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, a dash of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Mix well so the sugar dissolves, then have a taste and adjust the flavours if needed – it should taste sweet, sour and slightly salty.
• Halve, deseed and finely slice the chillies, then place in a bowl with the juice from 1 lime. Drain and toss the noodles in a little sesame oil.
• Peel and roughly chop the shallots, then trim and finely slice the chives. Pick and roughly chop most of the mint and basil leaves. Slice the tofu into rough 1cm chunks. Carefully slice through the back of each prawn, scrape out any black bits, then halve lengthways. Rinse the dried shrimps in cold running water, then dry with kitchen paper.
• Heat a splash of sesame oil in a large wok over a medium heat, then add the dried shrimps, peanuts and chilli flakes. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden. Take the pan off the heat, transfer half of the mixture to a pestle and mortar, then bash until lightly crushed. Set to one side.
• Return the remaining shrimps and nuts to a medium-high heat with another splash of sesame oil. Add the shallots and fry for around 2 minutes, or until turning golden. Add the chives, chopped herb leaves, prawns and shredded radish, then cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes, or until the prawns are almost cooked through. Beat and add the egg to the pan, cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then fold through. Add the tofu, noodles, beansprouts and tamarind sauce, then toss well to combine.
• Divide the pad Thai between your bowls, sprinkle over the crushed nut mixture and scatter the reserved mint and basil leaves on top. Serve with the pickled chillies and extra lime wedges for squeezing over.

Stilton & Pear Gnocchi

Ingredients:

• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 large pear
• a few sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 knob of unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons creme fraiche
• 50 g stilton
• 400 g gnocchi

Method:

• Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.
• Peel and finely slice the garlic, then peel, core and cut the pear into 2cm slices. Pick and finely chop the parsley leaves.
• Melt the butter in a large pan over a medium heat and add the garlic. Once lightly golden, add the pear and reduce the heat. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until softened slightly.
• Add the creme fraiche and stilton, and heat until the cheese melts.
• Add the gnocchi to the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes – they’re done when they rise to the surface; use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the frying pan.
• Add enough cooking water to loosen the sauce. Toss to coat, season well, add the parsley and serve.

Roasted Cod with Olives and Lemon

Ingredients:

• 3 small lemons
• 8 sprig fresh thyme
• 20 pimento-stuffed green olives
• 18 small red potatoes
• 6 cod fillets
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• ½ tsp. Sea Salt
• ¼ tsp. Freshly ground pepper

Method:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place lemon slices in a single layer on a large roasting or baking pan. Lay thyme sprigs over lemons and sprinkle with olives.
• Halve each potato, place in a large bowl, and fill with water to cover. Microwave until potatoes are easily pierced with a knife, about 10 minutes. Drain potatoes and scatter around the edge of pan.
• Place fillets on lemon and drizzle olive oil over fish and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to oven, reduce temperature to 325 degrees F, and roast until fish is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Serve fish with potatoes and olives.

Thai-style Mussels

Ingredients:

• 1 kg mussels, debearded, from sustainable sources
• 4 spring onions
• 2 cloves of garlic
• ½ a bunch of fresh coriander
• 1 stick of lemongrass
• 1 fresh red chilli
• groundnut oil
• 1 x 400 ml tin of reduced fat coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 lime

Method:

• Wash the mussels thoroughly, discarding any that aren’t tightly closed.
• Trim and finely slice the spring onions, peel and finely slice the garlic. Pick and set aside the coriander leaves, then finely chop the stalks. Cut the lemongrass into 4 pieces, then finely slice the chilli.
• In a wide saucepan, heat a little groundnut oil and soften the spring onion, garlic, coriander stalks, lemongrass and most of the red chilli for around 5 minutes.
• Add the coconut milk and fish sauce and bring to the boil, then add the mussels and cover the pan.
• Steam the mussels for 5 minutes, or until they’ve all opened and are cooked. Discard any unopened mussels.
• Finish with a squeeze of lime juice, then sprinkle with coriander leaves and the remaining chilli to serve.

Apricot & Nut Tiffin Recipe

Soy Bean Stuffed Peppers

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