Looking for food to put you in the mood for love? Check out these romantic recipes for Valentine's Day from cookbook author Simran Savlani
A meal in a fancy restaurant may be a customary date night, but with lockdown social restrictions still in place, cupid will have to get creative this Valentine’s Day. Don’t let the 6pm dine-in ban crimp your style! Instead, put on your apron (with maybe nothing else on underneath!) and get busy in the kitchen with these romantic recipes for Valentine’s Day.
Romantic recipes for Valentine’s Day
Pour a pink drink
To set the mood and kick off the festivities, I like to start a kitchen date with a Sichuan pepper and strawberry infused gin (or vodka) cocktail. Here is a quick hack to make infusions but, for best results, you should prep the infusion a few days before you plan to serve it.
- Start with a partially opened gin or vodka bottle for the infusion. If you use a new (full) bottle you won’t have enough room to add more ingredients to the bottle. So, if you don’t have a bottle already open, help yourself to a glass or two while prepping for this meal.
- Another tip is to find a gin bottle with a wide mouth to help squeeze in the infusions.
- Once you’ve got your bottle or vessel sorted, roughly chop and remove the stem of 250g fresh strawberries.
- Add in a tablespoon of fresh Sichuan peppercorns to the bottle, followed by the chopped strawberries.
- Let it sit for a couple of days to infuse the gin or vodka. The best way to see if you are happy with the flavours is to periodically taste it (whee!). Once you’re happy with the flavour, you can choose to filter out the berries and peppercorns with a sieve.
- After letting it infuse for a few days at room temperature, I like to freeze my infused gin. This slows down the infusion process but still allows the gin to capture more flavours.
- Feel free to experiment with the spices, botanicals, and fruits – there is no wrong combination.
Fire in the belly
Moving on to the food, you can’t go with some something spicy to get the blood up and the heart pounding. The recipe for Biang Biang noodles in my cookbook, A Spark of Madness, is near and dear to my heart. I have the best memories of eating Biang Biang, not in Asia, but in Paris on my lunch break during my training at the Le Cordon Bleu. The order was completely ‘lost in translation’ with me not speaking French or Mandarin, and the restaurant owner not speaking English. Still, with determination and a translation app, on cold wintery afternoons I was able to enjoy hot, spicy, slurpy, delicious Biang Biang noodles from a small, hole-in-the-wall northern Chinese restaurant in Paris.
The detailed steps in this recipe make it seem more complicated than it is, so don’t shy away from making this dish. It’s a great date night activity to make the noodles together, and then enjoy them after.
Click here for a PDF of the Biang Biang noodles from the A Spark of Madness cookbook.
Looking for more great cookbooks? Check out these recommendations from Simran.
A sweet finish
Moving on to the sweets, no one ever says no to chocolate-dipped berries and it’s super easy. Not to mention that it pairs perfectly with you infused cocktails!
- Wash and clean the berries. De-stem them and place them on a kitchen towel to air-dry. Any water on the berries prevents the chocolate from sticking.
- Prepare a tray with baking paper on top.
- Break good quality chocolate into chunks and place them in a heat proof bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds on medium heat. Then remove it from the microwave, give it a good stir and microwave it again for another 45 seconds. Mix until all the chocolate chunks have melted.
- You can use milk/dark/white chocolate but just ensure it is good chocolate and not chocolate chips, as they are coated in wax which prevents them from melting evenly.
- Use a fork or chopstick to pierce the berry and then dip it into the melted chocolate in the bowl. Twirl it till it is completely coated and then place it on the baking paper-lined tray.
- Repeat for all the berries before the chocolate cools.
- If you want to go the extra mile, you can coat the berries in almond flakes or desiccated coconut for extra crunch.
- Once you’ve dipped all the berries, place the tray in the fridge for 10 minutes for the chocolate to set and then you are ready!
Hungry for love
With these romantic recipes for Valentine’s Day you can enjoy a celebration to remember!
Looking for more delicious recipes from Simran? Buy the A Spark of Madness cookbook on her website, and follow her on Instagram.