Recipes for romantic dinner
Love is in the air and it is always a great idea to surprise your Valentine with some delicious food. Food prepared with aphrodisiacs like strawberry, chocolate, honey, seafood and olive oil can be a great way to get your partner in the mood for some romance. Try them out.
By : migrator
Update: 2017-02-12 05:40 GMT
Chennai
Spinach & strawberry salad
Ingredients
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced onion
300 gms fresh spinach, rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
1 kg strawberries, cleaned, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup almonds blanched and slivered
Method
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion.
Cover, and chill for one hour. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Recipe: Vamsi Krishna, Chef de Cuisine, The Flying Elephant, Park Hyatt
Love Bird's salad
Ingredients
Cherry tomato: 6 nos
Beetroot: 100 gms
Carrot: 60 gms
Zucchini: 60 gms
Coloured bell pepper: 50 gms
Assorted lettuce: 20 gms
Broccoli: 30 gms
Olive oil: 3 tbsp
Salt: to taste
Crushed pepper: 5 gms
Balsamic vinegar: 5 ml
Lemon juice: 5 ml
Honey: 5 ml
Mustard: 5 ml
Method
Blanch the vegetables.
Make a dressing with olive oil, salt, pepper, mustard and lemon juice.
Drizzle the dressing over the vegetables and arrange it on a plate.
Finish with a balsamic reduction.
Recipe: Chef Satish of Le Royal Meridien
Honeyed strawberry mousse
Ingredients
3 tbsp water
3 tsp powdered gelatin
400 gms fresh strawberries, hulled plus some halved to decorate
6 tsp honey
300 gms double cream
Method
Put the water in a small cup and sprinkle the gelatin, making sure that all the powder absorbs water. Set aside for 5 minutes to soak.
Puree half the strawberries with two teaspoons of the honey in a food processor or blender until smooth. Then pour in to a jug.
Stand the cup of gelatin in a small saucepan of simmering water and heat until it dissolves and the liquid is clear.
Stir three teaspoons of gelatin in to the strawberry puree and divide between 6 individual metal pudding moulds. Freeze for 15 mins until just set.
Puree the remaining strawberries with the remaining honey. Add the double cream and blend together. Gradually mix in the remaining gelatin and pour over the set strawberry layer in the pudding moulds. Freeze for 4-5 hours until set.
Dip each pudding mould in to just-boiled water, count to about five, loosen the edges with a fingertip, and then invert each one on to a plate. Holding the plate and mould together, jerk to release the mousse. Put freshly halved strawberries on top to decorate.
Recipe: Chef Suresh of Design Hotel
Honey almond cake
Ingredients
Flour: 150 gms
Almond powder: 100 gms
Baking soda: 5 gms
Baking powder: 5 gms
Vanilla essence: as desired
Oil: 150 gms
Sugar: 100 gms
Milkmaid: 100 gms
Curd: 250 gms
Whole milk: 100 ml
Almond flakes: 200 gms
For syrup
Orange or lemon juice: 1 no
Zest of orange or lemon: 1 no
Water: 150 ml
Sugar: 150 gm
Honey: 200 gm
Rosewater essence
Method
Pre heat oven to 180 degree Celsius, grease the cake mould and keep aside.
Peel the almond slices and keep aside.
In a mixing bowl mix oil, milk, vanilla essence and sugar, until the sugar is dissolved. Fold in the Milkmaid and the dry ingredients.
Pour the mix in the greased mould. Bake for about 45 mins.
In the meantime make the syrup in a medium sauce pan. Add all mentioned ingredients into it and simmer it until the syrup thickens. Brush this delicious syrup onto the baked cake.
Recipe: Jacob Justin, Head Chef, Courtyard by Marriott Chennai
Two-way grilled prawns
Ingredients
Prawns: 100 gms
Butter: 30 gms
Salt: taste
For pesto marinade
Basil leaves: 30 gms
Olive oil: 30 ml
Pine nuts: 15v gms
Garlic: 2 cloves
Sea salt: As required
Pecorino cheese: 20 gms
For tomato marinade
Sun dried tomato: 30 gms
Garlic: 2 cloves
Chilly flakes: 5 gms
Olive oil: 10 ml
Salt: As required
Accompaniments
Potatoes : 50 gms (for making cream mashed potatoes) Cream: 20 ml
Carrot : 1 no
Asparagus: 30 gms
Zucchini (Green and Yellow): 30 gms
Broccoli and Cauliflower: 30 gms
Beans: 20 gms
Black pepper crushed: 5 gms
For garnishing
Heart shaped croutons, parmesan chip and balsamic reduction.
Method
Clean and de-vein the prawns. Wash and keep aside.
Make the two marinade by blending the given ingredients. Keep them aside.
Divide the prawns for the two marinades, put them in their respective marinade and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Prepare the vegetables, cut them into lengthy diagonals. Boil and keep them separately.
Peel the potatoes. Grate and boil them and then cook with little butter and cream. Season it. Pass through a fine mesh. Keep aside.
Heat a thick bottomed pan and add the prawns. Grill on both the sides until tender. Heat the reserved marinades and cook it until raw flavour goes off. Keep them for food platting and glazing.
Heat butter and cook all the vegetables, except potatoes. Season with salt and little pepper.
For plating
Take a hot plate. Brush the plate with balsamic reduction.
Keep a quenelle of mashed potato.
Place the grilled prawns and keep the butter tossed vegetables accordingly on the side.
Spoon the cooked marinades over the prawns. Place the heart- shaped croutons in a row starting from the larger one to the smaller one. Place the parmesan chip and serve.
Recipe: Chef Anand of Hotel TuryaaRecipe
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