Cooking up romance

Rajeev Menon

Way to a man’s heart may be through the stomach but as a veteran chef said recently, kitchens are the new basement workshop for boyfriends and husbands, dads and granddads alike. There is no occasion better than Valentine’s Day to showcase your culinary skills and impress your loved ones. The idea is to create a menu by blending simple flavours and a few special touches. With some attention on presentation and plating, your loved ones are sure to be impressed.

Here’s a three-course menu which can be easily prepared at home with a bit of sophistication; the focus being on pairing of flavours that leave a lingering taste in the mouth. Also the menu is so light that it will leave room for the dessert.

Pea and mint soup, vodka marinated prawn salsa: Pea and mint are an eternal combination used in many recipes. Salt crusted red snapper, spicy green salsa: An ancient technique revived where a whole fish is covered with sea salt crust and baked in the oven, so that the natural juices stay inside and it is kept very moist. Dark chocolate pannacotta with red cherry: This is a very easy to make dessert with stunning looks. (The author is Executive Chef, Crowne Plaza, Kochi)

Salt crusted baked red snapper, salsa Verde Marination Juice of 1 lemon, olive oil 1 tbsp, garlic 4 cloves

Salt crust Salt 250 gm Egg white 2 Pepper corns 1 tsp Fennel seeds 1 tsp Lemon zest 1

Salsa Verde Chopped spring onion 1 Chopped green chilli 1 Coriander leaves 1 stalk Green tomato 1 Lime juice 1 Olive oil 2 tbsp Salt as reqd Crushed pepper 1 tsp

Method Clean the gut of the fish, scale and remove gills. Marinate the fish for five minutes To make the salt crust, whip the egg white until soft peak, mix the salt and crushed spices. Lightly oil an oven proof tray and place the marinated fish on it and completely cover with the salt mix. Pre heat the oven to 200 C and cook the fish for 15 minutes. The salt crust will become hard after cooking and it needs to be cracked open.

Make the salsa Verde with all ingredients and serve with fish.

Pea and mint soup, vodka marinated prawn salsa Servings 5

Ingredients Peas 200 gm Onion sliced 1 Garlic 4 cloves Oil 3 tbsp Butter 3 tbsp Mint 10 gm Bay leaf 1 Vegetable stock 1 litre Cooking cream 3 tbsp

Prawn salsa Cooked baby prawns 50 gm Chopped onion 1 tbsp Chopped green chilli 1 Chopped coriander 1 tsp Chopped tomato 1 tbsp Lime juice 1 Olive oil 1 tbsp Vodka 60 ml

Method Heat oil and butter in a pan, sauté the onion and crushed garlic. Add the cooked peas and top with vegetable stock and cook slowly for around 10 minutes. Add the cooking cream and blend into a smooth soup. For the prawn salsa, mix all ingredients together. Serve the soup garnished with prawn salsa.

Dark chocolate Pannacotta Servings 5

Milk 250 ml Cream 250 ml Chocolate 150 gm Gelatin 15 gm Vanilla essence few drops Oreo biscuit 1 pkt

Method Boil cream and milk together and add gelatin, add the chocolate to that. Cool down the mixture. Crush biscuits and sprinkle them equally glasses. Pour the mix and set in the fridge. Garnish with cherries.