A MEAL TO REMEMBER A Meal to Surprise your Valentine Plan, prepare, execute: Avoid leaving things for the last minute. Plan the menu carefully with some creative thinking. For instance, prepare a simple Caprese salad. Buy some Burrata, Pilati sundried tomatoes, good quality Portuguese olive oil, 21 year old aged Modena Trebbiano balsamic vinegar, sea salt and fresh basil leaves. Use your imagination and mix these to put together a salad that will wow. Serve it with some chilled Baileys shots that masquerade as petit fours and you are well on your way on a no-fuss Romantic sojourn. Keep it simple, silly: Avoid putting Salmon en Crute, as prepared by Chef Johnson Manjooran, Rainbow Steak House, Dubai together a menu so overwhelming that your date is intimidated. Try to keep it fun and easy to eat. For instance, avoid a soup that is so thick that your partner has to slurp it noiselessly. Or plate the ‘Singapore Chicken Noodles’ with chopIngredients: sticks, when your beloved is famous for • 2 X 350g Skinned Salmon Fillets their butter fingers. It is not about show- • 3 tbsp olive oil • 2 Finely Chopped Onions • 1 Egg Yolk, Beaten ing your gourmet prowess here, but about • 3 or 4 Garlic Cloves, Chopped • Plain Flour, to dust making the other person feel at ease and • Pastry Sheets • Salt and Pepper have a pleasurable time.
Salmon En Croute
Save the sweets for the last: There is nothing like ending your meal on a high sweet note to seal your love affair. And no, we are not talking about store-bought chocolate bars or ice creams. Instead try for something different, like Passion Fruit Flan with Gulab Jamun, or Rose Flavored Cupcakes. It’s different, and could be a signal of better things to come, post the meal! Have fun, no matter what: Remember that you are cooking for a day of love. So, don’t slog it out so much in the kitchen that you are out of energy when the fun actually begins post-meal. Dress up in your fancy togs, spray on your favorite perfume and keep that smile on your face. the fanciest meal can fail if the person presenting it is sweaty and harried looking.
Method: 1. Roll out the pastry sheets evenly. 2. For the filling, heat about 2 tbsp of oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add finely chopped onions, fresh whole spinach and tip in green pesto sauce mix along with basil, garlic, olive oil. Add zest of one lemon and cheese. Season well with salt and pepper. 3. Preheat the oven to 200 C and line in a baking sheet on the tray. 4. Skin and bone salmon fillet thoroughly. Pat dry the fillets and season accordingly. 5. Spread herb butter on one side of the salmon fillet and spread whole grain mustard on other. Sandwich the fillets and place it on the centre of the pastry. 6. After placing the fillets on the pastry, brush the pastry thoroughly with egg yolk and season according to your taste. 7. To make the parcel, trim away the excess pastry. Tuck the edges neatly as you fold the pastry and turn upside down. 8. Place the parcel on a non-stick baking tray. Again, brush the parcel with egg white and season. 9. Bake the dish for about 30 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Check thoroughly while it cooks. Remove from the oven and let the salmon sit for about 2-3 minutes before serving. Recipe courtesy: Chef Johnson Manjooran, Rainbow Steak House, Dubai
- With inputs from Chef Sandeep Pande, Executive Chef of Renaissance Mumbai Convention Center.
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CaLDRON February 2014