Food to fall in love with

Well, better late than never!  Everyone has their Valentine's traditions, mine involve a quiet night in, a nice bottle of wine and a home-cooked dinner.  Having saved a bit of money I decided to splash out on the food this year (although it was still a lot cheaper than eating out in a restaurant).  So here's my recipe for a wonderful Valentine's Day meal, food to really fall in love with.

I've gone for a classic surf  'n' turf dish - rump steak with seared scallops with a rich Champagne butter sauce, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus and sweet potato wedges.

Surf  'n' Turf

I went shopping a couple of days early this year to make sure I could get all the ingredients I needed for my meal so that I wouldn't have to panic-buy anything on the day.

The ingredients

 This recipe took a lot of planning because of all the different components so in the afternoon I sat down with a lovely glass of bubbles to write down everything that needed doing and to work out timings.

Recipe planning

I raided my wine stash for Valentine's Day this year and found some great goodies.  Because a romantic evening wouldn't be complete without some bubbles I got out a bottle of Bouvet-Ladubay Saumur Demi-Sec.  I love anything sweet so this was perfect! It's a sparkling wine from the Loire made with Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay in the traditional method - basically it's made in the same way as Champagne just using slightly different grapes and in a different region.  And for the finishing touch I added a strawberry to the glass.

Bubbles

On to the cooking!  For two generous portions you will need:

• some olive oil for frying
• 2 sweet potatoes
• some rosemary (fresh is better but dried works too)
• salt and pepper for seasoning
• 12 asparagus spears
• 6 slices of prosciutto
• 2 steaks (I went for rump)
• 8 scallops (frozen work as well as fresh - just remember to defrost them)
• 80ml of Champagne/fizz
• lemon juice
• a small onion/a couple of shallots
• 3 tbsps butter

This takes about an hour to prepare and cook.

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/200 degrees C.  I started by washing the sweet potatoes, making sure to get all the dirt off as I wasn't going to peel them.  Then I chopped them into wedges before putting them in an oven-proof dish, tossing them in about tbsps of olive oil and seasoning them with plenty of salt, pepper and rosemary.  I used dried rosemary but fresh would be better (use about 3 generous sprigs).  40 minutes before serving pop the wedges into the oven (don't forget to turn them every 15 minutes or so).

Sweet potato wedges - ready for the oven

I used the next few minutes to finish off some preparation (measuring out the fizz and the butter, juicing the lemon and dicing the onion).  Now on to the asparagus.  Once it's washed, cut each of the 6 slices of prosciutto in half so you have 12 strips.  Place a prosciutto slip onto a chopping board at a 45 degree angle.  Place the end of an asparagus spear onto one end of the prosciutto and roll it up.

12 perfect bacon-wrapped asparagus spears

The last 15 minutes are the most hectic.  Fry the onion, add the Champagne and about 1 1/2 tsps lemon juice and boil for 3 minutes to reduce it down to around 2 tbsps of liquid.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter, whisking constantly until the butter is incorporated.  Set to one side.

Reduce the sauce

Now fry the asparagus - it should only need 1-2 minutes on each side.  Just keep rotating them so they cook through evenly.  Set to one side.

Fry the asparagus to brown the prosciutto

Season the scallops and using the same pan fry them, once again just a couple of minutes on each side.  At the same time use a griddle pan (or a George Foreman grill) to cook the steaks, they won't need long especially if you like them rare.

Fry the scallops

 Now all you need to do is plate everything up and enjoy! You can also garnish the dish with some parsley if you fancy giving it some extra colour.

We enjoyed this meal with a gorgeous white Burgundy, Bourgogne Les Setilles Oliver Leflaive 2011.  The richness of the wine matched the dish perfectly.  I'm not normally a huge fan of oaked Chardonnays but this one wasn't too heavily oaked and I really enjoyed it as a result.

There you have it, my perfect Valentine's Day meal.

Some very British bubbles

Today I was lucky enough to be invited to a tour and tasting at Hattingley Valley winery in Hampshire.  To those who are still dismissive of English Sparkling Wine, I simply say, where's your sense of adventure?  For those willing to explore this growing category of wine there are some absolute gems to be found.

We started off with a tour of the winery, modest-looking from the outside, it was actually a much larger operation than I expected.  Hattingley Valley is a relatively young winery, founded in 2008 they grow the traditional grapes used in Champagne, namely; Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.  They produced their first wine in 2010 and have been going from strength to strength since, now producing 4 different sparkling wines, all made according to the traditional Champagne method.  They achieve their unique style of wine by fermenting a small proportion of their wine in oak barrels each year, as well as ageing it on lees in stainless steel tanks.

After the tour came my favourite part, the tasting.  We naturally started off with the Classic Cuvee which was enjoyable but not my favourite wine of the tasting.  We moved onto the Blanc de Blancs, made with 100% Chardonnay.  This was for a short time my favourite wine of the tasting, with a distinct flavour of green apple and citrus the wine was fresh and fruity which balanced the acidity nicely, perfect for a celebration.

However, a few minutes later the Blanc de Blancs was surpassed by the Kings Cuvee as my favourite.  The wine used to make up this blend has all been fermented in oak barrels, giving it a unique taste.  Normally, only a small proportion of the wine in a blend would be aged in oak barrels meaning you would only get a subtle hint of that oakiness in the flavour.  The only downside is that at £65 a bottle, the Kings Cuvee is rather out of my price range.

Finally, we were given a sample of a wine which they are still experimenting with.  Having grown some Bacchus Hattingley Valley are trying out a dessert wine in the style of an ice wine.  This was right up my street, there were notes of elderflower and peach and the wine was not overly sweet and cloying, like some dessert wines can be.  I hope to see more where that came from in the future!

Unfortunately the Rose was so popular they didn't have any left for tastings!  They've certainly left me wanting more.

If you want to find out more about Hattingley Valley check out their website, or follow them on Facebook or Twitter.

Honey Mustard Pork - a lesson in leftovers

I had that moment the other day when I decided to make dinner, only to realise that I hadn't really thought about what I was going to make and had no desire to go to the shops, so I took a look in my fridge and cupboard to work out what I had to work with.  The result: honey mustard pork.

Honey mustard pork

Because of my schnitzel-making escapades I had a couple of pork escalopes left,  the other ingredients I used in this recipe are just things I tend to have lying around.  As this was an experiment I'm not going to recommend making it exactly like I did, I've tweaked and improved it slightly, but that's the great thing about cooking,  you can make you can improve the recipe each time you make it!

For two people you will need:
2 pork escalopes (or pork chops if you prefer)
25g butter
25g plain flour
400ml milk
3tsps whole grain mustard
2tsps honey (clear)
pasta
Your choice of green veg (broccoli/green beans/cabbage would all work)

If you have more than one hob then you can simultaneously cook the pasta, fry the pork and make the sauce, but as I only have one I had to do these steps separately  Nevertheless this recipe was still really quick to make.

1. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet (I used tagliatelle but I think farfalle or penne would be far better).  If you want to boil your vegetables then cook them with the pasta, if not you can steam them in a microwave later.
2. Make the sauce: melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat then add the flour and stir vigorously to make a paste (roux).  Keeping the heat low add the milk little by little (start off with a tablespoon at a time) mixing/whisking constantly until all the liquid is combined each time before adding more.  It's really important that you do this stage slowly to make sure your sauce doesn't go lumpy.  Once you have added all the milk add the mustard and honey.  Keep stirring over a medium heat to allow the sauce to reduce.  I did this for about 5 minutes but you can do it for longer if you want a thicker sauce.  Just make sure you keep stirring regularly.
3. Fry the pork.  I cut mine into strips and fried them for a few minutes but I would actually recommend leaving the escalopes/chops whole.  If you have a grill then that would also work.
4. If you have a microwave you can steam your veg while frying the pork.  You can either buy packs of mixed veg which you microwave in the bag, or you can prepare your own veg and put it into a sandwich bag (I have microwave ones which seal with a sticky flap) then microwave for a few minutes (or according to the instructions on the packet.
5. Serve by putting the pork, veg and pasta on a plate and pour over the sauce

I love rustling something up like this as it's a great way to use up leftovers and waste less.

The wine you can see in the background is a Chilean Carménère - the grape is originally from the Médoc region of Bordeaux and its name comes from the French word for crimson - carmin - which was used to describe the wine's colour.  It's not a grape that's really found in Europe any more but it is becoming increasingly popular in Chilean wines.  I enjoyed the wine which was very plumy in taste with a little bit of spice - definitely something to try if you haven't already.

The perfect meal for two

On Valentine's Day I cooked this pan-fried trout with salad and it really was the perfect meal for two, something simple yet special.

Pan-fried trout with mixed salad, bacon, almonds and beetroot

For two people:

olive oil (for frying)

butter (for frying)

2 trout fillets (boned)

140g lardons

about 100g sourdough bread (cut into croutons) - you can use ready-made croutons but this dish is definitely better with home-made ones

handful flaked almonds

50g water cress (or mixed salad - we used one with a mixture of watercress, rocket and baby leaf spinach)

about 160g beetroot (not in vinegar, diced)

For the dressing:

3tbsp olive oil

1tbsp red wine vinegar

This dish was made a little tricky by the fact that I only have one hob but I didn't let that put me off trying.  This would be far easier if you have two (as you can start with the fish and while that is cooking prepare the lardons, croutons and the salad.  However, in order to make this work I prepared it in a slightly different order.

First, toast the flaked almonds in a dry pan over a medium heat, until they turn golden, this will take a few minutes but keep an eye on them and toss them gently and regularly so they don't burn.  Once ready set them aside in a bowl for later.

Add about 1tbsp oil to a frying pan,  and fry the bacon lardons and croutons for about 10 mins until they are crisp (you will need a medium to high heat for this).  Once again, set aside.

Now heat 1tsp olive oil with 25g butter in a non-stick frying pan (large enough to hold your two pieces of trout).  Heat the oil and butter until they start to sizzle, then add the two pieces of fish, skin-side down and fry for 10-15 mins, basting often, until the skin is crisp and the fish has cooked through.  Then, turn the fish over for a minute, before serving, skin-side down.  Be careful when turning the fish as it may break.

While the fish is cooking, prepare the salad.  In a small bowl whisk together the oil and vinegar for the dressing with some seasoning.  Toss your salad, beetroot, lardons, croutons, almonds and dressing together in a large bowl.  Once the trout is cooked serve it with the salad on the side.

As this was a special meal we set the table and decided to open a bottle of wine.  Last year when I was in Germany I discovered a couple of new grape varieties which I hadn't previously known about; silvaner, bacchus and Müller-Thurgau.  Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find wines from the Franken region in England as they aren't generally exported.  So I decided to see if I could find a wine made from one of grapes.  Thanks to my wine society membership I was able to find an English Bacchus from the Chapel Down Winery in Kent.  It was a lovely, fresh wine that went very well with the fish with its elderflower scent and tangy, fruity flavours.

Rather than eating dessert we decided to drink it instead!  We'd been meaning to drink my Royal Tokaji, 2008, (a gift from my parents) for a while and this seemed like the perfect occasion.  Tokaji (pronounced 'Tokay' in English) is a region in northeast Hungary which is particularly known for its sweet, dessert wines (Aszú).  Needless to say, I loved the wine (I have a very sweet tooth) and it was the perfect end to a lovely meal.

Recipe adapted from BBC GoodFood Magazine