LOVE is all around with Valentine’s next week, and what better a way to show someone you care than to prepare a special meal for them?
My recipes this week are a little bit special.
They call for a bit more work and attention to detail, but your efforts will be rewarded with a meal to remember.
When making the base for my bisque, I use prawn shells and heads that I have frozen previously when using prawns.
It pays to keep leftover shells and freeze them until you’re making a fish stock.
By starting your bisque like this, you are sure to achieve a lovely, deep sauce. I also ignite the brandy or whiskey as this burns off the alcohol.
When buying fish, remember that fresh is best, so get to your fishmongers early to get the best piece you can.
Here we have one of my favourite desserts, all shook up.
You could use strawberries, raspberries or even mixed berries.
The fruit can be used to make some cocktails too – berry bellinis and champage and strawberries will score you extra brownie points.
Pan fried monkfish in Parma ham
Serves 2
For the bisque sauce:
1 tbsp oil
8 Dublin bay prawn head and shells
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 onion, diced
1 small carrot, diced
1 tomato, diced
10 ml cognac or whiskey
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 sprigs thyme ½ tsp chilli powder
100 ml white wine
300 ml fish stock, warmed
100 ml cream
½ lemon, juiced
Salt and Pepper
50g butter
For the monkfish:
300g monkfish tail, cleaned and skinned removed
6 slices Parma ham
1 tbsp olive oil
200g chestnut mushrooms, halved
1 Firstly, prepare the monkfish. Slice the portion of monkfish into three smaller pieces and wrap each piece in the Parma ham.
2 Now start the sauce. Heat the oil in a frying pan, and then add prawns (heads and shells intact). Cook for two to three minutes, then add the garlic, onion and carrot and stir well. Fry for a further two to three minutes.
3 Continuing over very high heat, carefully pour over the cognac or whiskey. Rapidly, tilt the pan sideways and ignite the alcohol. Once the flames have subsided, add the tomato puree, thyme, chilli powder, white wine and the hot fish stock and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the mixture for 15 to 20 minutes.
4 Pass the stock through a fine sieve into a second pan.
5 Just before cooking the monkfish, finish the sauce. Add the cream to the stock and bring to a simmer to reduce the sauce (until it’s a smooth consistency that coats the back of a wooden spoon). Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and season to taste. Finish by adding 50g of butter and stirring through the sauce. Keep warm.
6 In the meantime, in a pan over a medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and colour the monkfish pieces. Cook for four to six minutes, turning the pieces and ensuring they are coloured on all sides. Remove the pieces from the pan and cover to keep warm.
7 Add the mushrooms to the pan. Cook for two to three minutes, still on a moderate to high heat.
8 Serve immediately on warm plates - spoon the bisque sauce on the plate, then add the cooked monkfish pieces and the mushrooms. Garnish with a few coriander leaves. Serve with crusty bread or crushed potatoes.
Victoria sponge, blueberries and lemon cream
Serves 2
80g butter, plus extra for greasing
80g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
80g caster sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Italian meringue
80ml cold water
360g caster sugar
30g liquid glucose
6 egg whites
3 tbsp blueberry or strawberry jam
100g lemon curd
100ml whipped cream
200g blueberries
Icing sugar, for dusting
1 Preheat the oven to 160°C/ 325°F. Grease one small square cake tin (I used 14cm by 7cm) and line the bottoms with non-stick baking paper.
2 Sieve the flour and baking powder in a bowl and stir.
3 In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla extract. Fold in the flour.
4 Pour the batter in the prepared tin and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a skewer or toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Turn out the sponge on to a wire rack and leave to cool.
5 In the meantime, prepare the Italian meringue. Place the water, caster sugar and glucose into a medium saucepan and place onto a moderate heat with a digital thermometer in it. When the sugar syrup reaches 100˚C, it’s time to start beating the egg whites.
6 When the sugar reaches 118˚C (hard ball stage), reduce the speed when beating the egg whites to slow, then gently pour the boiling sugar on top.
7 Continue to whisk slowly until the mixture is cooled. At this stage it should be smooth and glossy. Transfer the meringue into a piping bag fitted with star nozzle.
8 When ready to build, in a bowl, whip the cream then, fold the lemon curd.
9 Trim the edge of the sponge to get a square shape, then slice the cake into six equal slices. Spread a layer of jam onto the side of each piece, then stick them back together. Place on the serving platter and cover with a layer of lemon cream.
10 Just before serving, pipe the meringue onto the lemon cream. Using a blow torch, caramelise the top then dust with icing sugar and a few blueberries.