Saint Valentin’s day is celebrated annually on the 14th February, symbolising and honouring romantic love. The esteem and deep sexual attraction towards another person is one of the strongest human feelings in the world. So, relish in your love, dear Friends, every day, all year round.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, St Hyacinth of Caesarea is the protector of lovers and is celebrated each 3rd July. In contemporary Greece, however, St Valentine’s is commemorated on the 14th of February.
Here are a few recipes you could prepare for your beloved on Valentine’s day.
PUMPKIN SOUP
This is a recipe for a very tasty pumpkin soup.
1 kg (2 lb) pumpkin, peeled and cleaned from seeds and fibres, cut into chunks
2 large leeks, trimmed and sliced, white parts only
1 onion, chopped
2 large potatoes cut into chunks
1 ½ litre (6 cups) chicken stock (or half milk, half stock)
100 g (1 cup + 1 tbsp) kasseri or Gouda , grated
2 tbsp San Mihalis or Parmesan, grated
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
1 liqueur glass good brandy (optional)
120 ml (½ cup) or more thick yoghurt or cream
3-4 tbsp chopped parsley, optional
Place the vegetables in a large saucepan with sufficient water just to cover, and cook until tender. Then set aside to cool, and blend.
Return the pumpkin puree to the saucepan, add the stock (or stock and milk), and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and a little nutmeg. Simmer gently until the soup thickens. Stir in the cheese, taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and nutmeg, if necessary. Bring again to the boiling point and pour in the brandy, if using. Simmer the soup for a minute or two, and serve with a tablespoon of cream or thick yoghurt, sprinkled with chopped parsley. For a party, you could serve the soup in a pumpkin shell, instead of a tureen.
PRAWNS WITH MUSHROOMS AU GRATIN
This is a lovely first dish for a dinner party.
12 scallop shells, buttered
1.250 kg (2½ lbs) prawns, shelled and deveined, heads and tails reserved
500 g (1 lb) fresh white mushrooms, sliced
Court bouillon:
500 ml (2 cups) tasty chicken stock
500 ml (2 cups) dry white wine
4 sliced shallots or spring onions
3 celery stalks with leaves, cut into pieces
6 parsley stalks
1 bay leaf
The reserved heads and tails of the prawns
Sauce:
120 g (4 oz) butter
1 bay leaf
75 g (2½ oz) cornflour
The reduced court bouillon
250 ml (1 cup) hot milk
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
250 ml (1 cup) cream
4 eggs, separated, whites whipped to the soft peak stage, with a pinch of salt
1 tsp lemon juice, to accentuate the taste
Salt if necessary
White pepper
60 g (2 oz) or more grated Gruyere and Parmesan, in equal amounts
First, make the court bouillon. Bring the ingredients to the boil over high heat. Then reduce the temperature and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the stock into a large, deep frying pan. Add the prawns and mushrooms and simmer for 5 minutes, then remove them, with a slotted spoon, and place them on kitchen paper to dry. Boil the court bouillon over high heat and reduce it down by half, about 500 ml (2 cups) and reserve.
For the sauce, melt the butter, over medium heat, add the bay leaf, and when the foam subsides stir in the cornflour and cook for 3-4 minutes more. Do not brown. Add the hot court bouillon, the milk and the nutmeg, and keep on stirring constantly, until the sauce comes to the boil and thickens, and remove from the stove. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If too thick, thin it down with a little milk
In a bowl, mix the egg yolks with 4 tsp of cream, together. Very slowly stir 2 cups of hot sauce to the eggs. Pour all this mixture back into the saucepan with the hot sauce, bring to the boil, stirring, and simmer for 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat, discard the bay leaf, stir in the remaining cream and when well mixed, add the lemon juice and stir again. Add 2 tbsp of grated Gruyere, sprinkle with white pepper, stir and taste. Add a little salt, if necessary
Place the prawns and mushrooms into a bowl, add enough sauce to coat them, and divide the mixture, evenly, into the shells. Half an hour before serving fold the egg whites into the remaining sauce. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Mask the prawns and mushrooms with the sauce, sprinkle with cheese and bake in an oven, preheated to 180 C (350 F) for about 20 minutes or until puffed and golden. Serve immediately
ROAST FILLET OF BEEF WITH MUSHROOMS AND WINE SAUCE
This is one of my favourite main dishes for a small dinner party
1½ kg beef fillet, centre part, tied at 2½ cm (1 inch) intervals with kitchen thread, brushed with
Olive oil and sprinkled with
Salt and thickly ground black pepper and refrigerate
Rosemary sprigs
Sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2-3 celery stalks, trimmed and sliced
250 g (½ lb) fresh white mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 bouquet garni made with 2 parsley sprigs, 1 thyme sprigs, 1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
1 slice of fresh ginger
One 750 ml bottle red wine like Nemea Agiorgitiko or Barolo
500 ml (2 cups) home-made beef stock
A little sugar
You could prepare the sauce up to two days before you need it. Sauté all the vegetables in olive oil, stirring constantly, until they become soft and dry. Add the tomato paste and ginger and stir for 2-3 minutes more. Pour in 250 ml (1 glass) of wine and cook for 5 minutes until all the alcohol evaporates. Add the bouquet garni, the remaining wine, and the beef stock. Lower the heat and simmer gently, for at least 1 – 1 ½ hours. Remove the bouquet garni and the ginger and blend the sauce with a hand blender, cover and store in the fridge.
Three hours before your guests arrive, remove the fillet from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature, for about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 200 C (390 F). Then attach the rosemary sprigs to the meat with the kitchen thread and sauté it over high heat until browned on all sides. Place the fillet on a rack, in a roasting tin and add a little hot water in the tin. Roast for 15-20 minutes for rare, 20-25 for medium and 25-30 for well done. Then remove from the oven and cover the meat with foil and let it rest for 10 - 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the sauce. Strain the juices from the roasting tin into a jug and stir a little into the sauce. Taste the sauce and season with salt pepper and a little sugar if necessary. Also, add more of the roasting juices, if you prefer.
Just before serving, slice the fillet, arrange it on a hot serving dish and masque it, liberally with sauce, Serve with roast or smashed potatoes and sauteed vegetables if your choice.
SMASHED POTATOES WITH CREAM
A very tasty potato dish.
600 g (2 oz) unpeeled potatoes
2 garlic cloves
5 sage leaves
2 tbsp butter or corn oil
A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
312 ½ ml (1¼ cups) hot cream
1 small twig of sage
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
Boil the unpeeled potatoes in salted water with the garlic and sage, strain and when cold enough to handle, peel and thickly slice them.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the sliced potatoes, sprinkle with grated nutmeg and stir gently with a wooden spoon. Pour in the hot cream and the sage twig and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the cream thickens. Taste and season with more salt and nutmeg if necessary, and freshly ground white pepper to taste. Discard the sage and serve in a hot bowl.
CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE
This soufflé is quite delicious.
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
375 g (1½ cup) hot milk
62.5 ml (¼ cup) brandy
50 g (½ cup) sugar
360 g (12 oz) dark chocolate, chopped
4 egg yolks, beaten
8 egg whites
Pinch of salt
50 g (½ cup) sugar
Icing sugar
First, make the chocolate pastry cream. Melt butter, sift in the flour and stir for 3-4 minutes to prevent the taste of raw flour. Pour the hot milk, in three doses, into the roux, add the brandy, stirring each time, until it bubbles and thickens into a smooth, shiny sauce. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate and the coffee and stir until the sauce is smooth and glossy. Stir in the beaten egg yolks and the vanilla. You could prepare this one day before you need it. Cover the pastry cream with cling film and refrigerate overnight.
One hour before you want to serve the soufflé, preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F). Butter a large soufflé dish or individual ramekins. Add 2-3 tbsp sugar and twist the dish-dishes until the base/s and side/s are well coated with sugar, tipping off the excess.
Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt to soft peaks. Then add the sugar, by the spoonful, whisking constantly until the peaks are stiff and glossy. Add ¼ of the whipped egg whites into the chocolate pastry cream, to loosen it. Then fold in the remaining whites gently but thoroughly. until no streaks of white are visible.
Fill the soufflé dish/dishes up to the rim. Run your thumb around the inside ridge of the dish, to clean the rim. Bake the large soufflé dish for 40 minutes (ramekins for 20), until the soufflé rises well above the dish/dishes and is/are golden brown. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve immediately, because the soufflé will deflate in a few minutes.
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| Red Roses by Karen Winters |
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