A Simple Valentines Dinner

Serves: 2 of course :)

Prep Time: Less than 30 mins per dish

For Valentines this year I decided to make a really simple, quick, healthy and hopefully delicious 3 course meal. For inspiration, I looked up "aphrodisiac" foods, and picked the following, before trying to decide what to make with them. I came up with: asparagus, pine nuts, strawberries, champagne, alcohol and chocolate. So the menu was:

Starter: Warm Asparagus and toasted Pine Nut salad with a balsamic reduction
Main: Thai Salmon Fishcakes with an Asian Cucumber Salad
Dessert: Strawberries soaked in Champagne, with Cointreau truffles and Melted Lindt Dark Chocolate

Course 1:

Ingredients:

• Green asparagus, thin if possible
• Pine nuts, sometimes difficult to find, but I usually get them from Spar. They are surprisingly expensive, and are cheapest at a friendly grocer if you have one near you
• Rocket or your favourite lettuce variant
• Cherry tomatoes, halved
• Balsamic reduction, available at most stores, I got mine at spar and was pretty happy with it

Method:

1. Boil a pot of salted water and cook the asparagus briefly, until they are softened but still crunchy. 
2. In a separate pan, heat a little olive oil and toss the pine nuts in it until they start browning slightly. 
3. While the asparagus are cooking, arrange the rocket on side plates. Drain the asparagus and arrange them over the rocket, half facing one way and the other half perpendicular, creating a nice pattern. 
4. Finally, place the cherry tomatoes on top, followed by the pine nuts. Drizzle a good glut of extra virgin olive oil over, followed by the balsamic reduction, which you can use to make a decorative pattern as well. Finish with salt and pepper to taste.

Course 2: Thai fish cakes.

I got this recipe from Anthony Worrel Thompson, of recent kleptomaniac fame... http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/thaifishcakesservedw_73733 I have made a few changes as you will see in the below.

For the fish cakes

•  500g fish fillets (I used half hake and half salmon, worked beautifully)
•  ½ red pepper, chopped
•  2 red chillies, chopped (seeds removed)
•  2 tbsp coriander
•  3 spring onions, finely chopped
•  2 cloves garlic, chopped
•  1 stalk lemongrass, tender part only, chopped (I occasionally find this at Pick n Pay, and then buy and freeze for whenever i need them)
•  1 tbsp fish sauce (available at Asian Supermarkets, and sometimes Woolies)
•  125ml coconut milk
• 1 whole egg
• Vegetable oil
• Fresh Coriander leaves to serve

 For the Thai cucumber salad

• 1 (or half) cucumber peeled, halved length ways and de-seeded
• 35g caster sugar
• 50ml rice vinegar (available at Asian Supermarkets)
• 2 hot chillies, finely diced (I often use1/4 teaspoon of sambal oelek - Indonesian chili sauce, available at Woolies)
• 2 shallots, finely diced
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• 40g roasted peanuts, chopped (optional)
• ½ tbsp nam pla (fish sauce) (optional)

 Method:

1. Cut the fish into small pieces. Place the pepper, chillies, coriander, spring onions, garlic, lemongrass and fish sauce into a food processor and blend to a paste.
2. Add the fish pieces to the paste and blend well. Mix to a smooth paste adding coconut milk and egg.
3. Place the mixture in a bowl. Chill in refrigerator overnight or for at least two hours.
4. Half-fill a heavy-based frying pan with oil and heat over a medium to high heat. Shape the chilled paste into small patties with the help of a spoon. Carefully lower the fish patties into the hot oil, in batches (the oil should reach halfway up the sides of the patties). Fry until crisp and brown, turning once during cooking. Remove from the oil using a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper. Repeat the process with the remaining fish patties.
5. For the salad, cut the cucumber in to 5mm slices
6. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar and toss the cucumber slices in it. Fold in the chili, shallot and coriander.
7. Sprinkle with the peanuts and fish sauce just before serving.

Course 3:

Ingredients:

• 1 punnet of strawberries
• 1 slab of Lindt dark chocolate with Chili, or your favourite variant, I think white chocolate would also work extremely well
• 1 box of truffles, I used cointreau caramel truffles
• 1 bottle of white champagne (you will use only a little, so serve the rest with the meal!)
• 3-4 tablespoons of caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar

Method:

1. At least 2 hours before serving, place the strawberries in a bowl with a splash of the champagne, and all the caster sugar, and leave in the fridge to sweeten. 
2. When you are nearly ready to serve, heat 3-4 pieces of the chocolate in a double boiler over gentle heat. Add a little milk if you would like to make it runnier. 
3. To plate up, arrange the strawberries and chocolate truffles on a serving plate, and either dip each strawberry in the chocolate, or drizzle the melted chocolate over them. Sprinkle everything with sifted icing sugar, and if you desire, serve with shot glasses of baileys/cape velvet strawberry, with a dash of butlers strawberry liqueur.