Six romantic nibbles

10 April 2012

Set the scene with canap?s which will act as aphrodisiacs but won't dent the appetite for what will follow later.

COUR D'AMOUR: Recommended by the Savoy hotel's maitre chef des cuisines, Anton Edelman.

Cut out a heart shape from a piece of toast and fry both sides in butter. Place pink salmon caviar on one half of the heart and on the other half your choice of beluga, osietra or sevruga caviar.

Push a small amount of boiled egg through a sieve, and place between the two caviars.

CONFETTI D'AMORE: Take 12 raspberries, six lychees, melted dark chocolate, melted white chocolate and some brandy. Peel the lychees into flower shapes, remove stones and soak the raspberries in brandy.

Fill the lychees with raspberries and dip three lychees into dark chocolate and three into white chocolate.

STEAMED OYSTERS: Chinese cookery maestro Ken Hom suggests the Valentine's classic, oysters.

Scrub the oysters clean. Put two inches of water into a deep pan or steamer, bring to the boil and turn heat to low.

Place the oysters into the steamer or pan, cover and steam for five minutes or until the shells open.

In a heatproof bowl, combine finely chopped garlic and root ginger, rice wine or dry sherry, light and dark soy sauce, finely shredded spring onions and a little chilli bean sauce.

Heat a small pan over a high heat, add some groundnut oil and, when it is slightly smoking, pour it over the sauce ingredients. Pour sauce over steamed oysters and garnish with coriander springs.

PEQUILLOS' CANAPES: The head chef, Mohammed Mourad, at London's Momos restaurant, which is a favourite with Madonna and Kate Moss, suggests pequillos' canap?s.

These red Spanish peppers are found in delicatessens. Buy a jar with the peppers marinated in olive oil; decant, slice thinly and spread over toast.

Finely grate some fresh ginger and sprinkle over for an aphrodisiac zing.

COLTO DI SULMNE (Strike of lightning): Chef Lucas Pfaff, of Il Convivio in London's Pimlico, has conjured up this dish.

To serve two you need four cherry mozzarella balls, four slices of fine-cut speck ham, four skewers of fresh rosemary, a tablespoon of black olive dressing and four halved sundried tomatoes.

Wrap the speck around the mozzarella and tomatoes, spike with rosemary and finish with black olive dressing.

A PASSIONATE PUDDINGCelebrity cook Sophie Grigson offers the perfect pudding for an intimate Valentine's dinner for two, Coeurs a la Cr?me with Pineapple Passion.

Sophie says: 'The very name of this pudding conjures up romance, hearts and passion. Small portions of light creamy mousse, surrounded by slices of seductive fresh pineapple, bathed in the exotic fragrance of passion fruit. If this doesn't do the trick, heaven help you.'

INGREDIENTS FOR THE CR?ME: 85g/3oz cream cheese; 85g/3oz cr?me fraiche; 60g/2oz Greek yoghurt; 15g/ 1 /2 oz caster sugar; 1 /4 teaspoon vanilla essence; 1 egg white.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE PINEAPPLE PASSION: 1 /2 small pineapple; 1 large passion fruit; icing sugar; 2 sprigs of mint (optional).

METHOD: Line two coeur a la cr?me moulds, or two yoghurt pots with holes pierced in the bottom, or one larger pierced mould lined with a layer of butter muslin.

Beat the cream cheese with the cr?me fraiche and yoghurt until smooth. Beat in the sugar and vanilla essence. Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, and then fold into the cream mixture. Divide between moulds, and smooth down.

Flip the dangling edges of the muslin over the mixture, then sit them in a shallow dish, and transfer to the fridge. Leave for six hours.

Not too long before you sit down to eat, peel the pineapple and remove the core. Slice thinly, and place in a bowl, with the pulp from the passion fruit. You can extract the pulp - the insides - by scooping it out with a teaspoon and add a dusting of icing sugar. Turn gently to mix, then leave to mascerate (much the same as marinate) until ready to eat.

When you are ready for pudding, take the coeurs a la cr?me out of the fridge, uncover and turn out onto plates, removing the muslin. Spoon some of the pineapple and its juices around the coeurs and if you fancy a bit of perky greenery, decorate each plate with a sprig of mint.

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Six romantic nibbles

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