Best romantic recipes Impress your other half this Valentine’s weekend

LET’S be honest: it’s going to be hard to make Valentine’s Day feel special this year. But just because you will be stuck at home, it doesn’t mean that you can’t do your best to make your significant other feel spoiled. In fact, putting in the effort to make a romantic dinner is arguably more thoughtful than going to a restaurant would have been (provided that you don’t burn anything, of course). We’ve rounded up some of the best food and drink recipes that you can try out tomorrow to impress your other half… or your family, or even yourself.

LOBSTER SPAGHETTI FROM AMY ELLES

If you are looking for a dish that has a ‘wow’ factor, you can’t do much better than lobster. It might be expensive, but it will show that you’ve pulled out all the stops – not to mention the fact that lobster is considered to be an aphrodisiac. This delightful lobster spaghetti recipe comes from Amy Elles, chef patron of the Harbour Café in

Elie, a restaurant renowned for its quality seafood.

Ingredients (serves two)

400g dried spaghetti (De cecco if possible)

50ml butter

1 chilli (de-seeded)

2 garlic cloves

1 shallot

5 large ripe tomatoes – deseeded and diced

150ml white wine

Salt & black pepper

2x cooked Scottish lobsters (600gm) meat removed

Sliced spring onion or basil leaves for garnish

Method

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet. While the pasta is cooking finely dice the shallot, chilli and garlic. Then melt the butter in a large pan and add the onions, chilli, garlic and a little salt, cook them until soft (being careful not to let them get any colour).

When soft add the wine and bubble until reduced by half. When it has reduced enough add the tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes.

Then add in the lobster meat and gently heat through (be careful not to cook for too long or the lobster will overcook – a couple of minutes is enough to warm it through). Season with salt and freshly ground black to taste.

When the pasta is cooked drain it (but make sure you keep a little bit of the cooking water too) and add to the sauce. Mix well and serve garnished with basil or sliced spring onions and a drizzle of very good quality extra virgin olive oil.

Amy Elles is the chef patron of the Harbour Café in Elie- www.theharbourcafe.co.uk

RED ROSE COCKTAIL FROM THE HIGHLAND LIQUOR COMPANY Unfortunately, you won’t be able to take your partner out for cocktails to celebrate Valentine’s Day. But with this recipe, created by the Highland Liquor Company and Scottish Mixology, you can take on the role of bartender at home and impress with your mixologist skills. It combines Ullapool-based Seven Crofts gin, which has tasting notes of cardamom and coriander, with seasonal blood oranges and rose liquor.

Ingredients

60ml Seven Crofts Gin

20ml Blood Orangecello

20ml Rose Liqueur

10ml simple syrup

25ml Lime juice

2 egg whites (or 20ml Aquafaba for vegans)

2 drops cardamom bitters (optional)

Method

To make the simple syrup, combine sugar and water in a pan and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before using.

Combine all of the ingredients in a shaker and shake to combine. Add ice to the shaker and shake again before straining into a glass. Enjoy. www.highlandliquorcompany.com

ROAST CHATEAUBRIAND FROM GEOFFREY SMEDDLE

Cooking a Chateaubriand is undeniably impressive. But there’s a reason that it isn’t part of the repertoire of most home cooks, as it is both time-consuming and complex to make. But if you feel up to it, this recipe from Geoffrey Smeddle, chef patron of Michelin-starred Peat Inn, should more than do the trick.

Ingredients (Serves two)

1 beef fillet head or Chateaubriand, 400-450g, trimmed of any outer sinew 2 red onions peeled and cut into sixths 4 cloves garlic (skin on)

Vegetable oil and butter for cooking Several bushy sprigs of thyme

1 tbsp sherry vinegar

200ml red wine

Chips and salad as side dishes (optional)

Method

Remove the meat from fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Heat oven to 220C. Heat roasting tray in oven. After a few minutes, remove it and add two tablespoons of oil, the thyme, onions and garlic then return to the oven at once. Cook for five minutes, shaking

the tray once or twice.

Meanwhile, heat a frying pan over a high heat and add two tablespoons of oil. Season the meat all over with sea salt flakes. Place meat in the pan and leave to sear on the first face for two minutes until well brown. Give meat a quarter turn with tongs and continue browning all over. Once browned, place onto the roasting tray in the oven. Cook for eight minutes, turn over then cook for a further eight minutes.

This will give medium rare; add another minute to each side for medium, another for medium well and so on. Once cooked, lift the meat onto a plate. Season lightly with freshground black pepper lightly. Place onions and garlic with the meat. Cover with a loose tent of tin foil and rest for 15 minutes, turning the meat over once.

Place the roasting tray over a gentle heat, add vinegar and scrape at any sediment with a wooden spoon. Once the vinegar has boiled, add wine and reduce by three-quarters, then turn off heat. Add to the tray any juices that have collected under the meat. Transfer to a small jug.

Place the meat on a carving board and set on the table.

Slice thickly and arrange on two warmed serving plates. Add chips, roast red onions and garlic, a green salad and a dollop of horseradish or mustard. Share the cooking juices and enjoy.

Geoffrey Smeddle is chef patron of The Peat Inn, by St Andrews - www.thepeatinn. co.uk

CONFIT COURGETTE FROM JÉRÔME HENRY

If you or your significant other are vegan or vegetarian, you might be struggling to find a Valentine’s Day recipe that has the required panache. But this confit courgette, complete with a quinoa, pine nut and preserved lemon dressing, will prove delicious for herbivores and carnivores alike.

Ingredients (serves two)

2 courgettes

1 sprig of thyme, stalk removed 1 preserved lemon

1 tbsp honey (replace with a vegan honey substitute to make this a vegan recipe)

1 shallot

50g roasted pine nuts

100g quinoa

6 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for serving 3 tbsp lemon juice

1 small chilli, finely diced

Fresh dill

Fresh parsley

Fresh basil

Salt and black pepper

Method

1. First, make the confit courgette.

Peel the courgettes and then cut the flesh into cubes. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a pan and add the courgette. Cook gently and stir occasionally. Add one tablespoon lemon juice, thyme, honey and half a cup of water. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the courgette is tender. Slice the courgette skin and add it to the pot. Cook for a further five minutes then crush the courgette with a fork and season with salt and pepper.

2. Next, make the preserved lemon dressing. Chop the preserved lemon finely and then dice the shallot.

Mix the preserved lemon and shallot with four tablespoons of olive oil and two tablespoons of lemon juice. In a small pan, cook gently for about 4 minutes, just enough to tenderise the shallot.

3. Next, cook the quinoa. Rinse the quinoa and then put it in a pan with a fitted lid and cover with 200ml water. Cover the pan and cook over a medium heat for 15 minutes or until the quinoa becomes fluffy and the water has been absorbed. Set aside to cool.

4. Finally, crush the toasted pine nuts in a mortar and pestle and then mix with the quinoa.

5. To serve, mix the fresh herbs with a little olive oil and the chilli. Add the herbs to the plate and top with the quinoa, courgette and preserved lemon dressing. Season to taste and serve warm or cold.

Jérôme Henry was the head chef of Le Roi Fou in Edinburgh, which closed its doors last September

Lobster spaghetti