The Valentine's Week is going on in full-swing and the D-Day is approaching soon. Well, with a few more days to go for Valentine's Day, let us celerbate Hug Day today! TIf you are preparing an intimate dinner, these delectable treats are sure to make the day even more wholesome. Here is a collection of exquisite recipes raging from sweet to savoury, to add a touch of romance and begin a journey of love on a sweet note. Surprise your loved one with your culinary skills, crafting dishes that not only taste divine but also speak the language of love.
1. Pasta Rotolo (By Ajay Kohli, Executive Chef at Tapas, Jaypee Vasant Continental)
Ingredients:
- Fresh lasagna sheet blanched- 6 no (20 x 15 cm)
- Mozzarella cheese- 200 gms
- Olive oil for drizzling
Filling:
- Spinach Blanched and chopped- 300 gms
- Ricotta cheese- 250 gms
- Mozzarella cheese- 180 gms
- Egg- 01 no
- Parmesan cheese- 90 gms
- Garlic chopped- 10 gms
- Nutmeg a pinch
- Salt- 10 gms
- Black pepper- 3 gms
Tomato Sauce:
- Olive oil - 25 ml
- Garlic chopped- 12 gms
- Onion chopped- 35 gms
- Salt- 10 gms
- Black pepper- 5 gms
- San Marzano tomato sauce- 550 gms
- Water- 250 ml
- Fresh basil- handful
Method
Tomato Sauce:
- Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Add chopped garlic and sauté for a few seconds, then add chopped onion.
- Cook the onion until semi-transparent and starting to turn golden, then add San Marzano tomato sauce, water, salt, and pepper.
- Remove from heat and blend it into a fine puree.
- Simmer for 5 minutes again on medium-low heat, and then stir in the basil. The sauce should be quite liquid - the lasagna sheets will soak up water while in the oven, so the sauce will thicken a lot in the oven.
- Reserve 250 ml of the Tomato Sauce, which will be used to drizzle over the dish at the end. Keep the sauce warm.
Filling & Assembling:
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- In a bowl, mix together all the filling ingredients.
- Lay out the lasagna sheets with the shorter end facing you.
- Place 1/3 cup of filling onto each lasagna sheet.
- Moisten the end furthest away from you with water to seal the roll, then roll up starting from the end closest to you. Seal with the moistened end facing down.
- Cut rolls into 3 equal pieces.
- Place the rolls into the tomato sauce with the filling facing up.
- Repeat with remaining lasagna sheets and filling.
- Drizzle the reserved tomato sauce over the rolls, leaving some exposed.
- Loosely cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven, remove foil, drizzle with olive oil, and top with mozzarella.
- Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and golden, with crispy edges.
- To serve, spoon some tomato sauce onto a serving plate, arrange the baked pasta rotolo on top, and garnish with drops of olive oil, basil leaves, and Parmesan flakes.
2. Strawberry Phirni (By Shikha Nath, Culinary Director, Copper Chimney)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rice, soaked for 30 minutes
- 1 cup fresh strawberries
- 1 liter milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped almonds for garnish
Method:
- Drain the soaked rice and grind it into a coarse paste using a little water if needed.
- Heat the milk in a heavy bottom pan and boil for 5 mins. Keep stirring.
- Lower the heat and gradually add the rice paste to the milk, stirring continuously to avoid lumps. Keep stirring and cook on a low flame ensuring that the rice is cooked and the mixture has thickened.
- Puree the strawberries and add it to the rice-milk mixture. Simmer the mild and strawberry mixture on a low flame to cook for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Add the sugar powder and keep stirring ensuring the sugar dissolves completely.
- The phirni is now ready.
- Remove the phirni from heat and cool. Leave it aside to cool.
- Set the phirni in small serving bowls and refrigerate till completely set.
- Garnish with chopped almonds
3. Almond Coconut Pie (By Chef Rajesh Paramashivan, Head Pastry Chef at Peche Mignon)
Ingredients:
- Eggs – 3nos
- Sugar – 90gms
- Butter – 20gms
- Milk – 60ml
- Dedicated coconut – 90 Gms
- Almond powder – 90 Gms
- Refined flour – 30gms
Method:
- Beat eggs and sugar
- Add milk and melted butter
- Last fold coconut and flour
- Bake at 180° for 12min
4. Strawberry Mousse (By Chef Rajesh Paramashivan, Head Pastry Chef at Peche Mignon)
Ingredients:
- Strawberry puree – 200ml
- Sugar – 80gms
- White chocolate – 100gms
- Semi whipped cream – 200gms
- Gelatin – 8gms
Method:
- Boil puree with sugar add to chocolate emulsify to smooth ganache
- Melt the gelatin and add to ganache
- Lastly fold the semi whipped cream
4. Strawberry Rose Oatmeal (By Chef Kunal Kapur, Saffola Foods)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of oats
- ½ cup milk (almond milk/oat milk - optional)
- 1 cup full of strawberries (medium diced)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp honey
- 6-7 almonds roughly chopped (overnight soaked and peeled optional)
- 2 tsp unsweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder
- ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 pinch of sea salt
- Dried rose petals/ coconut yoghurt/ mint leaves (optional for garnishing)
Method:
- In a saucepan, combine the oats and milk over medium heat.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oats are cooked and the mixture has thickened to your desired consistency.
- Once the oats are cooked, stir in the chopped strawberries, maple syrup, rose water, cardamom powder, cinnamon powder and a pinch of salt. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the strawberries soften slightly and release their juices.
- Remove the oatmeal from the heat, allow it to cool for a couple of minutes and let the flavours blend together.
- Serve the hot oatmeal, topped with sliced strawberries, chopped almonds, shredded coconut, a drizzle of honey, or edible rose petals for garnish.
- Enjoy your delicious Strawberry Rose Oatmeal!
5. Braised Lamb Shanks in Red Wine Sauce (By Chef Rishab Gupta, Founder, Burash-the Mediterranean Restaurant)
Ingredients:
- 4 lamb shank
- 3 tbsp olive oil , separated
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 onion , finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 cup carrot , peeled, finely diced
- 1 cup celery , finely diced
- 2+1/2 cups red wine (full bodied (good value wine, not expensive!)
- 1 ltr lamb bone broth( bones simmered in water for 6 hours)
- 5 sprigs of thyme (preferably tied together)
- 2 leaves of fresh rosemary
- 2 dried bay leaves
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 140°c/284° f (all oven types – fan and standard).
- Season shanks – pat the lamb shanks dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper and a bit of flour .
- Brown – heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy based pot(oven friendly) over high heat. Sear the lamb shanks in 2 batches until brown all over, about 5 minutes. remove lamb onto a plate and drain excess fat (if any) from the pot.
- Sauté aromatics – turn the heat down to medium low. heat remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the same pot. Add the onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes. Add carrot and celery. cook for 5 minutes until onion is translucent and sweet.
- Braising liquid – add the stock to the pot with cooked aromatics, add the thyme,rosemary leaves and bay leaf.
- Add shanks – place the lamb shanks into the pot, squeezing them in to fit so they are mostly submerged. Cover the top with foil or a lid so that the pot is completely sealed.
- Oven 2 hours covered – place the pot in the oven preheated at 140°c and cook for 2 hours.
- Uncovered 15 minutes – post cooking in oven, take out the pot and remove the cover and leave for 15 minutes to cool a bit.
- Remove lamb onto a plate and keep warm. Strain the liquid in the pan and keep it to make the sauce. The strained veggies left can be discarded.
- Sauce – add the red wine to a medium-sized cold pan and then place on flame and cook a low heat for about 15 minutes till it's reduced to a dense consistency. add the liquid left behind and simmer further for about 30 minutes till it's reduced to a saucy consistency.
- Balance the sauce with salt and pepper and add the shanks to the sauce.
- Cook the shanks in the sauce for about 5 minutes till the sauce forms a glaze around the shanks and the flavours are absorbed by the meat.
- Serve the lamb shanks on mashed potato with a little bit of sauce garnish with thyme leaves if desired.