Put your love into serving a home-cooked meal for two
The way to a man’s – and, arguably, woman’s – heart is through their stomach so homecooked meals set the tone for Valentine’s romance. But save yourself the trouble of poring over countless websites or recipe books trying to come up with the perfect dinner. A recipe box, complete with all the ingredients and instructions to create a three-course feast, has been produced by greengrocers Rafters of Driffield in conjunction with Hanro van Eck, founder of The Sizzling Swine.
The options include a starter of flaked Wansford trout, main course of roasted Leven duck leg and dessert of rhubarb cheesecake or a vegetarian box containing a starter of honey and thyme roasted carrots, main course of beet wellington and dessert of rhubarb crumble.
The Deluxe Valentine’s Box (including flowers and prosecco) is £100 and the Deluxe Valentine’s Box (vegetarian)£90 – visit myvegbox.com website.
Want a lighter meal that doesn’t take too long to prepare with leftovers for the following day? Try this recipe which serves four.
Tomatoes, burrata and asparagus salad
(preparation: ten minutes, cooking: five minutes)
Ingredients
500g mixed tomatoes Large bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked
1 lemon, juice and zest 5 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
280g asparagus
20g pine nuts
200g burrata
Method
Slice tomatoes and place on a sharing plate. Half fill a wide shallow pan and place on medium heat to bring to the boil.
Place basil, lemon juice and zest, olive oil and seasoning into a food processor and blitz until nearly smooth.
Once the water is boiling, blanch the asparagus in the pan for three to four minutes until just cooked through. Immediately place in a bowl of iced water to make sure they keep their colour.
In a small pan toast the pine nuts and keep an eye on them as they burn easily.
Assemble the asparagus on top of the tomatoes, place the burrata in the middle of the plate and sprinkle over the toasted pine nuts.
Drizzle over the basil oil and a sprinkling of sea salt.
Get your Valentine’s Day off to a good start with this recipe created by Nourishing Amy in conjunction with Jason’s Sourdough.
Vanilla Berry Sourdough Toast
(serves two)
Ingredients for toast
180ml plant-based milk 1 tbsp maple syrup
20g chickpea flour (alternatively, substitute with 50g white flour)
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp vanilla
A pinch of salt
Vegan butter/coconut oil 4-6 slices Jason’s Sourdough White Ciabattin
For the toppings
200g mixed frozen berries ½ tsp vanilla essence
To serve
2 tbsp coconut yoghurt, extra syrup, pomegranate, chopped chocolate
Method
Add milk, syrup, chickpea/white flour, cinnamon, vanilla and a pinch of salt to a large bowl and whisk well.
Heat a large frying pan with some vegan butter/coconut oil. Dip each slice of sourdough into batter on each side and transfer to the pan, cooking one or two at a time depending on the size of the pan. Cook for a few minutes on one side until golden, flip and cook on the other side until crisp.
Warm berries in a microwave or saucepan with a splash of water and ½ tsp vanilla until softened. Serve French toast stacked, topped with coconut yoghurt, warmed berries, extra syrup, pomegranate and chopped chocolate.