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| The Recipes of Passion |
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Surprising your partner with a creative yet delicious meal can satisfy
more than the appetite. Today we're featuring the first two courses. First is a delicious,
tasty appetizer that is sure to impress you and your Valentine. And for the second course, we have two soups to choose from: an exotic chilled strawberry soup or a rich broccoli cheese soup.
Try them, they will work wonders!
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Warm winter salads
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| You don’t have to sideline salads just because it’s winter. And they don’t need to be cool, calm and crisp. Get adventurous with these full-flavored recipes |
| Just because it’s cold and dark outside doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate the fresh crunch and crisp snap of a green salad leaf. You can turn green leaves into winter comfort food by tossing in all sorts of cooked additions, providing a contrast of cold and hot and an exciting mix of textures and colors. |
| Roasted Root Vegetable Salad |
| Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6, and fill a roasting tin with your favorite root vegetables. Take 2 parsnips, 1 small Swede, 2 carrots, 2 red onions, an aubergine, 2 courgettes (not exactly root vegetables, but they go well in this), celeriac, turnips and baby new potatoes. Peel where necessary and cut all the vegetables into 5cm chunks. Cut the potatoes in half. Drizzle over 5–6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and bake until tender – about 45 minutes. Break up two large heads of Cos or Romaine lettuce, mix with the roasted vegetables and drizzle over all the cooking juices |
| Wild Mushroom and Proscuitto on Spinach |
| Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and fry 12 slices of prosciutto until crispy. Remove and set aside. Choose a selection of wild mushrooms – you’ll need about 1kg for 6. Leave the small ones whole and cut (don’t slice) any larger ones into quarters. Tear oyster mushrooms into thick strips. Melt 50g of butter in the same pan and gently fry the mushrooms until they start to soften and release their liquid. Turn up the heat to boil away most of the juices. Add 2 tbsp red wine vinegar and about 2 tsp chopped fresh herbs. Use tarragon, flat-leaf parsley or thyme leaves. Let the vinegar cook off for a few seconds and season with salt and pepper. Divide the fresh spinach leaves among 6 plates and spoon on the hot mushrooms. Top each with 2 crisp slices of prosciutto. |
| Thai Scallop, Squid and Prawn Salad |
| Prepare 12 large scallops, 4 small squid and 18 large, raw tiger prawns: cut away any membrane from the scallops, reserving the coral. Remove the tentacles from the squid and reserve and discard the hard quill. Cut into 1cm rings. Peel the prawns, leaving the heads and tails on 6 of them, if you like, as a garnish. Otherwise, remove and discard the heads and tails and remove the dark intestinal tract from the back. Wash and dry the prepared fish. Use frisée salad for this, tearing it into smallish clumps and dividing among 6 plates before you start cooking the seafood. |
| Chop 3 red and 3 green chillies into rings. Remove most of the seeds, but don’t worry if you don’t get all of them. Peel and slice a 2.5cm piece of root ginger into very thin slices. Do the same with 2 large cloves of garlic. Heat a little vegetable or sunflower oil in a wok or frying pan and gently fry the chillies, ginger and garlic for about 30 seconds. Add the scallops, squid rings and prawns and stir-fry for several minutes until the scallops and squid go opaque white and the prawns turn bright orange. Add the coral from the scallops and the tentacles from the squid and fry another 30 seconds. Add a squirt of Thai fish sauce (go easy as it is very strong). Remove from the heat, add the juice of 1 lime and toss through 1 tbsp each of roughly chopped mint and coriander leaves. Divide evenly among the 6 plates. |
| Puy Lentil and Vegetable Salad with Goat’s Cheese and Rocket |
| Place 500g Puy lentils, 2 sprigs thyme and 2 bay leaves in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer until tender (about 25 minutes). Meanwhile, heat the grill. Slice 2 large courgettes on the diagonal about 0.5cm thick. Deseed and cut 2 yellow peppers into thin strips. Cut 250g cherry tomatoes in half and lay all the vegetables on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and grill until the vegetables begin to soften and colour. Turn over and grill the other side. Alternatively, you can fry the vegetables on a ridged grill-pan. Crumble 200g goats’ cheese and set aside. When the lentils are done, drain, remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves and place in a large serving bowl. Gently fold in 2 handfuls (or 1 packet) rocket and the grilled vegetables, along with any cooking juices. Sprinkle the crumbled goat’s cheese on top and serve immediately. |
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