Valentine’s recipes to inspire romance

If you are planning to cook for that special someone in your life on Valentine’s Day, we have collected some amazing dishes to inspire romance.  

Some of the island’s top chefs divulged their best love-inspired recipes. 

Some are quite easy to recreate like the Crab Meat and Avocado Salad courtesy of JC Garzia at Beau Rivage — a simple stack of fresh, zingy ingredients with mango puree and a naughty dash of brandy. 

Others are for the more adventurous of heart like Cambridge Beaches’ Keith DeShields’ Baked Bermuda Spiny Lobster with Five-Spiced Butter, Chorizo Mash and Foie Gras Hollandaise. 

Of course you don’t have to recreate everything on his plate but it is all there for you to pick and choose from. Personally, I am itching to try the Lobster and Five-Spiced Butter bringing together the freshness of the coriander, sweetness of the cinnamon and depth of the cloves. 

Perhaps the most romantic of all is JC Garzia’s Fine Lace Crepes with Strawberries, Cointreau and Bourbon. Bon appetitie mes amours!

Baked Bermuda Spiny Lobster with Five-Spiced Butter, Chorizo Mashed Potato, Foie Gras Hollandaise

Dish, pictured above, courtesy of Keith DeShields, Head Chef at Cambridge Beaches.

Lobster

• Medium to large Bermuda spiny lobster

• 1 cup cooking wine

• 1 fresh lemon juice

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tsp whole white pepper

• 2 shallot bulbs

• 2 litres of fish stock

• Salted ice water (Enough to cover the lobster after poaching).

Five Spiced Butter

• 1/2 lb unsalted butter

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp coriander powder

• Pinch of clove powder

• 1 tsp black pepper freshly ground

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• Sea salt — just enough to bring it all together

• Plastic wrap.

Foie Gras Hollandaise

• 4 egg yolks

• 2 tsps freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1 tablespoon Cognac

• 1/2 cup melted foie gras drippings

• Pinch of salt and pepper.

Chorizo Mash

• 2 large potatoes — peeled and cut

• Water — enough to cover potato half way

• Pinch of salt

• 1 medium spicy chorizo — skinned and cut into small pieces

• Juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon

• 1 tablespoon of butter

• 2 tablespoons of whole milk

• Salt and pepper (to taste)

• Potato ricer (available at The Chef Shop).

Directions:

Lobster

• Cut the lobster in half and clean out thoroughly (I find if you half freeze the lobster you can cut and clean it easier).

• In a large enough pot add the cooking wine, fresh lemon juice, bay leaf, white pepper, shallots and fish stock — bring to a boil.

• Reduce the heat to a simmer, place the lobster in the simmering liquid and poach for about 4 minutes. (Cooking lobster at a low temp is the best way so that the lobster does not get tough and hard).

• Remove from heat and shock (drop) into the salted ice water to stop the cooking process.

At this stage the lobster will be slightly undercooked.

• Heat your oven to 350F degrees for about 30 minutes, top the lobster halves with the five spiced butter (see below) and bake in the heated oven for about 5 minutes (when cooking fish and seafood you should remove it just before it’s finished and let the heat continue cooking it the rest of the way — that way you will not dry it out.)

Five-Spiced Butter:

• Using a Kitchen Aid machine, whip the butter until very light and fluffy, slow the mixer down and add all the spices and salt.

• Tear off a piece of plastic wrap about a foot long, keeping it unwrinkled, lay it flat on the kitchen table.

• Take the spiced butter out of the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula and put on the plastic wrap lengthwise and roll into a log.

• Put in refrigerator and let harden.

Foie Gras Hollandaise

• Vigorously whisk the egg yolks, lemon juice and the Cognac together in a steel bowl until the mixture is thickened and doubled in volume.

• Place the bowl over a double boiler over low heat — the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. 

• Continue to whisk rapidly.  Be careful not to let the eggs get too hot or they will scramble.

• Slowly drizzle in the melted foie gras drippings into the mixture and continue to whisk until the sauce is thickened and almost doubled in volume.

• Remove from heat and whisk in salt and pepper.

Chorizo Mash

• Place the peeled and cut potatoes in a pot and cover them 1/2 way with salted water. Cover the pot and cook until they are tender. (Steaming is better than boiling — I find you get much better potato mash when there is little water in the potatoes).

• While the potatoes are cooking, brown the chorizo and get rid of excess fat.

• Press the cooked hot potatoes through a potato ricer, add the milk and lemon juice. 

• Whip in the butter and then add the chorizo.

• Season with salt and pepper.

• Serve with broccolini 

Sensual starter...

Crab Meat and Avocado Salad

Dish, pictured right, courtesy of JC Garzia  at Beau Rivage.

• 1 can of fresh pasteurized crab meat lump

• 1 tablespoon of ketchup

• 1 teaspoon of Brandy

• Tabasco sauce to taste

•  1/2 teaspoon of Lea & Perrins

•  1/2 cup of mayonnaise

• Salt to taste

• 2 fresh tomatoes

• 4 basil leaves not to big

• A small bunch of fresh chives

• 1 avocado medium size — a little firm

• 1 lemon

• 1 mango ripe

• 1 soup spoon of cider vinegar

• 5 tablespoons  coconut oil

Directions:

• In a stainless steel bowl, add the mayonnaise, ketchup, Lea & Perrins sauce, brandy, Tabasco to taste (this gives a kick to the mixture).

• Mix well with a whisk. Remove the crab from the tin and place it in a cloth and squeeze to remove the excess water. Add it to the mayonnaise mixture and stir in lightly with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper and set aside in a cool place.

• Cut the avocado in half, remove the skin and squeeze the juice of one lemon with it in a bowl.

• Cut the 2 tomatoes in 4 quarters and remove all the seeds with a small paring knife so only the pulp and skin remain.

• Cut them into small cubes and set aside in a small sieve so the water can escape.

• Slice the avocado lengthwise and cut it into small cubes and set aside in a bowl. Keep it cool.

• Take four stainless steel circles of 2” diameter (see picture for approx. size), centre them on each of the 4 plates and start to build your salad. Start with a layer of tomato, then a layer of crabmeat mixture, then finish with the avocado. Press it with the back of a spoon.

• When ready to serve, remove the circles and add a fried basil leaf on the top.

• Peel the mango, chop half of it into a blender with the cider vinegar, olive oil and a dash of salt.

• Liquidize and pass it through a fine sieve. Set aside and when ready to serve just drizzle the dressing and cut the remaining mango into small dices. Sprinkle over the plate.

Winter warmer... 

Chicken Wellington

Chicken Wellington, pictured right, courtesy of The Waterlot.

Ingredients:

• Boneless, skinless chicken breast for four servings

• Sea salt and pepper to taste

• 4 x 5 inch squares of puff pastry

• 1 cup of mushrooms, sliced

• 1/4 cup of olive oil

• 1/4 cup of Madeira

• 1 shallot minced

• 1 tsp thyme

• 1 egg yolk

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375F.

• In saucepan, sauté the mushrooms, shallots, and thyme in olive oil.

• Reduce with Madeira, cook over medium heat until mushrooms and shallots are soft. Remove from heat.

• Blend the mushroom mixture into a fine mix.

• Season the chicken breasts with salt & pepper and sear on both sides.

• Lay pastry squares on a piece of waxed paper.

• Using a spoon, place a spoonful of mushroom mixture in centre of each pastry square.

• Place a chicken breasts top side down, on top of mushroom mixture.

• Taking opposite corners wrap pastry over chicken and fold over itself. Place folded side down on baking sheet.

• Mix egg yolk with water and, using pastry brush, brush tops and sides of pastry.

• Bake for 15 minutes or until pastry is golden.

Delectable dessert... 

Lady Fine Lace Crepe, Strawberry and Scented Cointreau Liquor and Bourbon & Vanilla Ice Cream

Dessert, pictured right, courtesy of JC Garzia at Beau Rivage

Ingredients:

Crepe batter

• 1 cup all-purpose flour(sieved)

• 2 cups of fresh milk (skimmed milk for dieters)

• 2 fresh whole eggs

• 2 tablespoon of melted butter

• 1 pinch of salt

• 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar

• 1 carton of fresh Bermuda strawberries

• 1 small tub of vanilla ice cream

• Cocoa powder

• Icing sugar

• You can add chocolate sauce for chocolate lovers!

Directions:

• In a stainless steel bowl, add flour, salt, and  two whole eggs. Stir well with a whisk until smooth.

• Add the milk gradually and keep stirring in the same time, finally add the sugar and melted butter, stir well and keep it in the refrigerator for an hour.

• Once done, take a large Teflon frying pan and put it on a low heat.

• Pour in a thin layer of mix inside the frying pan and cook it for about 30 seconds on each side, remove from the frying pan and keep it on a large plate in a warm place.

• Take the strawberries, wash them and remove stems. Cut them in quarters, set aside. Take half of the strawberries and puree them in a blender.

• Take a thin crepe, display in a plate and add a chunk of vanilla ice cream, a few strawberries quarters and some strawberry puree.

• Fold the crepe in half-moon shape, powder with sugar and cocoa powder. Do present it as shown in the picture

• For chocolate lovers, add chocolate sauce to it!

Bon Appetit mon amour!