THE VALENTINES ONE
THESE RECIPES WILL GET YOU LAID
MENU TO SERVE 2
SPINACH, RICOTTA AND PROSCIUTTO CROSTINI
STUFFED PEPPERS
LINGUINE AL CARTOCCIO
RHUBARB KNICKERBOCKER GLORY
Going out for dinner on Valentines is a fool's errand. It is always a bit awkward to sit in a room full of couples, plus I can tell you from experience it’s the restaurant's worst nightmare. Trying to seat, cook for and serve endless tables of 2 is really, really trying for both FOH and BOH. I haven’t been out on Valentine's day in years. When I was single I would always host Galentines or Palentines and it was glorious, and since being in a relationship we’ve made a special dinner at home for each other, and that’s what this is.
Longstanding subscribers might remember that around 6 months ago I created a date night dinner, The Summer Lovin’ One, which was angled for that all important first meal you cook your new lover in your home. That would absolutely work for Valentines too, but if you’re looking to push the boat out even more and spoil your sweetheart then these dishes will do just that.
I wanted to reimagine and show love to some classics for this menu, because I think that is one thing that Valentines Day offers us. I’m sure it’s not everyone's perception of this arbitrary celebration but, for me, it’s a day to take stock of the loves in my life, appreciate myself, my partner and friends and celebrate romance, which can often get sidelined. I translated that into the dishes here and I love what I have created.
Firstly our snack - you might be thinking “it’s spinach and ricotta, not rocket science”. But spinach and ricotta is an exceptionally delicious and canonic pairing that you very often only see inside pasta, cannelloni, lasagne etc. It’s yum, easy to make, plus it looks great, so why not smother it on one of humanities best inventions - toast? And then top it with a piece of ham that looks vaguely like a Valentines flower? It will take you no time to prepare but when your lover walks in and sees these cute lil crostini they will know they are loved and appreciated.
For a stunning (and unintentionally phallic) sharing antipasto I had a vision of plump, stuffed yellow peppers bathed in a sweet, creamy yellow pepper sauce. So often a stuffed pepper is BEYOND disappointing; to all my veggies out there I am sorry you’ve had to put up with dry rice or couscous in ridiculously undercooked vessels. NO LONGER, I SAID. These are so juicy and vibrant - just riotously good. When my boyfriend tried them he said they were in the top 3 things I’ve ever made him and that man has eaten 100% of the food I’ve made for this newsletter so you know he’s done his research.
One of the restaurants said boyfriend had the satisfaction of introducing ME too when we started dating was Ciao Bella in Bloomsbury. I think the most effective way to describe it would be that it is a classic Red Sauce Joint that refuses to use an online booking system and has a huge menu but with only two pasta shapes - spaghetti and penne. The dish to order is their Spaghetti al Cartoccio - a seafood pasta that is finished in a parchment bag in the oven. The staff make a HUGE deal of opening the bag onto your plate in front of you, sometimes splattering your clothes and always getting lots of laughs and oohs and ahs. This is the fun kind of cooking that is perfect for your Valentine - joyful, exciting and heavenly to eat. I’ve made it our main, swapped the spaghetti for linguine because I prefer it and amped up the juicy sauce. It’s a gorgeous little showstopper.
And finally pudding is the iconic ice cream dream that is a Knickerbocker Glory. It’s rhubarb season so I HAD to use this opportunity to share my favourite ways to cook it - into a delicious compote with vanilla and a super easy, hands off way to get perfectly tender pink spears by oven poaching. We use them both in this sensational and camp as hell pink pudding, along with a Valentine's essential - squirty whipped cream and sprinkles because why not. You can assemble your knickerbockers together and if you get carried away with the whipped cream then… my work here is done.
SPINACH, RICOTTA AND PROSCIUTTO CROSTINI
One of the most popular combinations reimagined as a pleasing green toast, adorned with a frilly pink ruffle of good ham (or not if you’re veggie). These are wonderfully simple and tasty, a lovely soft start to a great dinner. This recipe would also work as a filling for pasta or would be lovely stirred through mashed potato, or indeed whip in a couple of eggs and a splash of milk and it will work in a tart too.
Makes 6-8 crostini
3 tbsps olive oil
250g ricotta
100g baby spinach
1 clove garlic, peeled
20g parmesan, finely grated
60ml double cream
A really good grating of fresh nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
1 small loaf of ciabatta, sliced into 6 slices
3 slices of prosciutto - around 50g
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees fan. Place the sliced bread on a tray, drizzle over 2 tablespoons of the oil and then pop into the oven to toast for 12 - 15 minutes until lightly golden. Heat a large, non stick pan on a medium heat with a splash more oil. Add in the spinach when the pan is hot and gently wilt it. It shouldn't fry, it should simply wilt and soften, which will only take a couple of minutes. Transfer the wilted spinach into a sieve and, when it has cooled a little, squeeze it out to get rid of any excess liquid.
Add the spinach, ricotta, parmesan, double cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper to a blender and blitz until you have a green flecked mix.
When the crostini are done, remove from the oven and rub with the garlic clove. Top them with a generous dollop of the spinach and ricotta mix and then take half a piece of prosciutto and drape it on top so that it looks a bit like a rose. Serve immediately with something crisp, dry and fizzy.
MAKE AHEAD -
The mix can be made and kept in the fridge up to 3 days ahead.
SUBSTITUTIONS -
Blanched kale, cavolo nero or swiss chard would work well here, please note these are tougher leaves though so require cooking through in water for perfect results.
You can use vegan cream cheese if you prefer.
Anchovies would be lovely instead of the prosciutto if pork or meat isn’t your thing.
STUFFED PEPPERS
When I had first trained as a chef I got a real bee in my bonnet about stuffed peppers. I couldn’t understand why these dry, boring things were being wheeled out so often. They screamed old fashioned, lazy cooking to me and I thought they were the epitome of bad taste. I think I must have just had a few rubbish ones though, because actually a stuffed pepper, or any stuffed vegetable, is a joyous thing. I love how these command a plate in their golden glory, not to mention the filling is lush, aromatic and moist and the sauce is a creamy drop of luxury. I am suggesting them here as an antipasti but you could happily do them as a main too with some stocky rice, buttery potatoes or herby beans.
Serves 2
For the peppers
4 yellow or orange long romano peppers
70g fresh breadcrumbs
140g sausage meat (roughly 2 sausages)
30g green olives pitted and roughly chopped
40g golden sultanas
15g parmesan, finely grated
1 clove of garlic, peeled and grated
The zest of half a lemon
A small handful of fresh basil, finely chopped
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
For the sauce
1 clove of garlic
100ml double cream
Salt to taste
A pinch of smoked paprika to serve
Preheat the oven to 180 fan. Make the stuffing by combining the breadcrumbs, sausage, olives, sultanas, parmesan, garlic, lemon, basil, chilli flakes, salt and pepper and 1 tbsp of oil. Mix well, I like to use my hands. Cut the tops of two of the peppers, ideally the two largest, and carefully remove as many of the seeds and membrane as you can from the inside without breaking the pepper. Keep the top. Take spoonfuls of the mix and push it into the pepper gently, use the back of the spoon to help you. Fill both peppers to the top and then pop their lids back on loosely, it doesn't matter if they don’t cover it perfectly. Take the other two and cut into quarters lengthwise, removing the seeds. Place the stuffed and quartered peppers on the same tray, drizzle with a bit more olive oil and pop into the oven to roast for 20 - 25 minutes. Check the inside of the stuffed peppers is piping hot, and if not cook for another 5 minutes.
When the peppers are cooked, cover the stuffed peppers in foil to keep warm while you make the sauce. In a bullet blender or jug blender pop the pieces of hot roasted pepper, double cream, garlic and a pinch of salt and blend until very smooth. You might want to add a spoonful of hot water if it feels too thick. Warm the sauce in a pan and then plate the peppers and drizzle it all over them. Sprinkle over some hot smoked paprika and serve immediately.
MAKE AHEAD -
The peppers can be stuffed up to 2 days ahead, if cooking from cold add 15 minutes to the cook time and cover with foil for the first 10 minutes.
The sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead.
SUBSTITUTIONS -
If you can’t get romano peppers bell peppers will work, they may take a little bit more time to cook though as they tend to be a bit tougher.
Sausage can of course be veggie or vegan sausage, similarly with parmesan and cream.
LINGUINE AL CARTOCCIO
I love a bit of pomp and ceremony on a date night and this dish provides both. However if you can’t bring yourself to do the paper bag bit, then don’t worry, you don’t have to. You can simply toss your linguine with the sauce and let it finish cooking in there instead. I just love the surprise that the bag gives though, it’s so fun and keeps them guessing!! You can adapt this to seafood that suits you but I wouldn’t skip on the clams or mussels - they provide an incredible salty liquor for the linguine to bathe in. By the way - these are BIG portions. I sort of feel like if you’re doing seafood pasta you go all out. Feel free to reduce it if it feels like too much.
Serves 2
250g linguine
4 tbsps olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and diced (or 1 if you prefer)
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
120ml dry white wine
300g fresh clams
300g fresh mussels
160g squid or 1 medium sized squid, cleaned and sliced into rings (ask your fishmonger to do this if you prefer)
6 large shell on king prawns
10g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
2 large sheets of parchment paper
Start by cleaning your shellfish. Pop the clams into a large bowl and cover with water, adding a couple of teaspoons of salt. Discard any that are broken or open - tap the open ones on the surface and if they close they are fine. Leave them for an hour to purge - you will see little air bubbles coming out which is the clams breathing and this will get them to shake off any sand inside them. Rinse well and keep covered by a damp cloth in the fridge until needed.
For the mussels, do the same but only soak for 20 minutes. Then, rinse them off well under cold running water. Check for any broken or open mussels that don’t close and discard them. Then you need to debeard them - take hold of the mussel in one hand and then seaweed “beard” that hangs out of one side in the other. Pull the beard down sharply towards the hinge of the mussel, ie. where it never opens. It should come out and won’t damage the mussel inside. Then scrape off any sand, debris or shell attached to the mussels. Rinse well and keep covered by a damp cloth in the fridge until needed. Remember the golden rule with shellfish - if it’s uncooked and open, bin it, if it’s cooked and never opened, bin it.
Season the squid and prawns well with salt and pepper and keep in the fridge until needed.
In a large saucepan with a lid, heat the oil and then add the garlic and chilli. Fry on a medium heat for 1 minute before adding the tomatoes. Turn up the heat and let them cook together for 2 minutes, then add the clams, mussels, white wine and clamp the lid on. Cook the clams and mussels for 3 - 5 minutes until they have all opened, sometimes clams take longer than the mussels. Remove the lid and check for any that never opened, then take the pan off the heat. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and preheat the oven to 200. Pop the linguine in the water and cook for 4 minutes only - it will be very al dente still. Meanwhile stir the squid and prawns through the hot sauce but don’t “cook” - they require less cooking, the heat left in the pan will be enough and they will finish cooking in the oven with the pasta. After 4 minutes, toss the linguine with the mussels and clams, mix in the raw squid and prawns and parsley and a pinch of salt. Lay the pieces of parchment paper flat on two small oven trays and then split the linguine and shellfish between the two sheets taking care to pile it right in the middle of the paper. Pour over any remaining juice from the pan and then bring all four corners of the paper up then roll one side over the other to form a little paper bag - it doesn’t need to be pretty or neat, it just needs to be fairly well sealed. Transfer both bags in their trays to the oven and cook for 6 - 7 minutes at 200 degrees. Remove from the oven and then carefully, using an oven glove or teatowel, coax the bags open and pour the pasta, seafood and sauce out onto waiting plates and enjoy!
MAKE AHEAD -
You can make the sauce up until the clams and mussels are cooked, then cool it down and keep in the fridge until needed for up to 6 hours. Just make sure to properly reheat the sauce to boiling before mixing through the linguine, prawns and squid.
SUBSTITUTIONS -
If you don’t like any of the above shellfish feel free to adjust to have more or less of what you like. Cooked white crab would be lovely mixed through too if you like.
Use whatever pasta you prefer!
RHUBARB KNICKERBOCKER GLORY
Rhubarb is the seasonal sweetheart of choice but strangely tough to cook - it can lose its beautiful pink so easily but can also take a while to soften. I am sharing my two favourite methods here of how to cook it to pink, tender perfection and then using them both in a quite simply DIVINE Knickerbocker Glory - the kitschiest, funnest pudding that is a perfect end to our romantic dinner. The main components of a Knickerbocker Glory are ice cream, fruit and whipped cream but you can obviously add whatever you like to it and I say the more juvenile, the better, so sprinkles are a must for me. Please note - the below recipes make more than enough poached rhubarb and compote, keep them in the fridge and use on porridge, rice pudding, yoghurt and granola, in cocktails, in tarts or cakes.
Oven Poached Rhubarb
100g forced rhubarb, washed, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
60g caster sugar
¼ tsp angostura bitters (optional but recommended)
Juice of half a lemon
4 pieces of fresh lemon zest, peeled with a peeler
100ml water
Rhubarb and Vanilla Compote
150g forced rhubarb, roughly chopped into 2cm pieces
50g caster sugar
The zest (peeled) and juice of 1 lemon
1 vanilla pod, split
50ml water
For the Knickerbocker Glory
8 scoops of your preferred ice cream - I like clotted cream and strawberry
Squirty whipped cream
1 meringue nest, crumbled
2 tbsps of sprinkles of your choice
Preheat the oven to 100 fan. Pop the rhubarb and lemon peel in the smallest oven tray you have so that it is relatively snug. In a bowl combine the sugar, water, angostura bitters and lemon juice and pour over the liquid, which should ideally almost cover the rhubarb. I love the sherbety hit the bitters and lemon give. Cover the tray with a sheet of baking paper and then wrap tightly in foil. Carefully put it in the oven for 35 minutes. After 35, check the rhubarb by pressing gently on the top, if it gives away to the touch it is ready, but if it is firm it will need a bit longer. Please note - some sticks of rhubarb might be riper and therefore cook quicker than others - if some is tender but some isn’t that is why. Simply remove the cooked bits and keep going with the rest, it is not an exact science! When all the rhubarb is cooked, remove from the oven tray and pour over the delicious syrup, it will help keep that pink colour. Leave to cool for 15 minutes before covering and chilling in the fridge - a tupperware is perfect.
For the compote, place all the ingredients together in a pan and pop on a low heat. Allowing the rhubarb to soften and cook really gently is what preserves its colour. Stir every now and again, the rhubarb will release some of its own water and the vanilla pod will release their seeds into the compote and perfume it beautifully. When the rhubarb has completely broken down - around 25 minutes, and the compote is a beautiful vibrant pink, remove from the pan and leave to cool for 15 minutes before chilling in the fridge.
For the knickerbocker glories take two large sundae glasses or bowls (or martini glasses if you’re me). Pop a little bit of the chilled compote in the bottom of the glass and a couple of pieces of drained poached rhubarb, then add 1 scoop of ice cream, followed by a sprinkle of meringue and a couple of pieces of rhubarb. Then keep building scoops with rhubarb, compote, meringue until you have a precarious but beautiful tower of ice cream. Liberally apply squirty cream, sprinkles and a final adornment of compote and serve. Ideally, you keep back some squirty cream for an after dinner treat.
MAKE AHEAD -
The compote and poached rhubarb can be made up to 5 days ahead and keep brilliantly in the fridge, or in the freezer for months. The syrup from the poached rhubarb is also great in a cocktail - try a tbsp of it with 50ml dry sherry and 2 tbsps of fresh lemon juice over plenty of ice.
SUBSTITUTIONS -
Knickerbocker Glorys are completely customisable, you can add whatever you like to make it your own. Other ice creams or sorbets that would be great with rhubarb are pistachio, lemon, raspberry or blackberry.
TIMEPLAN
This first plan should help you see what you can get done in advance, so that for each course on the day you have at least 1, maybe 2 major parts of it taken care of. I appreciate that not everyone’s weeks are easily peppered with dinner party prep, but if you’re hosting after work or on a day where you can’t be in the kitchen, getting ahead is going to save your arse.
MISE-EN-PLACE
This is the fancy name we give to the food prep each section in the restaurant needs to do for their dishes. Hopefully breaking down each dish like this will help you feel organised.
Use the hour before your guests arrive to organise your space too- I find it helpful to group ingredients by dish so it is all in the same place. Little ramekins are really useful for this.
STYLING GUIDE
SPINACH, RICOTTA AND PROSCIUTTO CROSTINI
I love the colours of these - the pale pastel green of the mix with the baby pink of the ham is so attractive. I was so inspired in fact that I used plates that were virtually the same colour and that was gorgeous. Definitely stick with pastel colours here for your serveware ; blues, greens and pinks will work as well as beiges.
STUFFED PEPPERS
These are eye catching and iconic and need a very simple background. I have used my trusty scalloped white dish for these and I do love them in the oval shape, but a big white round plate would look fabulous too.
LINGUINE AL CARTOCCIO
I’ve gone for blues here - I love the idea of the seafood being “back in the blue sea” as it were, and the pinks and reds from the prawns and tomatoes really pop against it. If you have any bright Southern Italian looking serveware that will also work - bright colours are great with the black and grey mussel and clam shells.
RHUBARB KNICKERBOCKER GLORY
Sundae glasses are not a typical kitchen staple and even I, despite my medical addiction to vintage glassware, don’t have any. I do think this looks best in glass though, so a nice wide martini glass or glass bowls will be perfect. If you’re looking to source vintage glassware I recommend checking out charity shops, you never know what you will find!