Hot-smoked salmon salad with a chilli lemon dressing forValentine's Day

 

Ingredients

• 500g new potatoes, halved
• 200g pack asparagus tips
• 250g bag mixed salad leaves (including young beetroot leaves and watercress)
• bunch each parsley and mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• 140g radishes, thinly sliced
• 8 x hot-smoked salmon steaks, skin removed
• 4 spring onions, sliced diagonally

For the dressing

• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 125ml olive oil
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 2 red chillies
•   Prep: 20 mins Cook: 10 mins
  
  Easy
  Serves 8 
   

  Method

  1. Boil potatoes in salted water for 10 mins until tender, adding the asparagus tips for the final 2 mins of cooking. Drain and allow to cool. Whisk together the salad dressing ingredients. then season to taste.
  2. In a large bowl, toss together the potatoes, asparagus, salad leaves, herbs and radishes. Add two-thirds of the dressing, thoroughly mix through the salad, then spread the salad over a large platter. Break the hot-smoked salmon into large chunks, then scatter over the top along with the spring onions. Finish by pouring remaining dressing over the top.

Quick & easy party nibbles for Valentine's Day

 

Ingredients

• See recipe method, below, for all the ingredients you'll need for your canapés
• Prep: 30 mins Cook: 30 mins
  Easy
   
   

  Method

  1. Bloody Mary shots with horseradish: For 10 shots mix 700ml tomato juice with 50ml vodka, juice from 1 lemon and a good splash of Tabasco and vegetarian Worcestershire sauce in a jug. Season then chill. To serve, pour into 10 shot glasses, add a thin cucumber stick to each as a stirrer, and top with a small spoon of creamed horseradish.
  2. Quails’ eggs with sesame dukka: Toast 1 tbsp each of cumin and coriander seeds and 85g hazelnuts, then whizz in a food processor until finely chopped. Mix with 50g sesame seeds and salt to taste, then serve in small bowls with 24-36 hard-boiled quails’ eggs, halved, alongside for dipping.
  3. Mini avocado tarts: Buy mini croustade cases from the supermarket, then put a small spoonful of sour cream in each case. Finely dice ripe avocados and mix with a little lime juice, some poppy seeds and finely snipped chives, then pile on top of the sour cream.
  4. Parsnip chips with maple-mustard dip: Peel a parsnip per person, then cut into chunky chips and roast with sunflower oil and seasoning at 220C/200C fan/gas 7 for 20-30 mins until crispy and golden. Mix a 200ml tub crème fraîche with 2 tbsp grainy mustard, 2 tbsp maple syrup and some seasoning and serve the hot parsnip chips alongside for dipping.
  5. Halloumi dippers with chilli pineapple salsa: For the salsa, finely dice 200g fresh or canned pineapple and mix with 1 finely chopped red onion, 1 finely chopped red chilli and juice of 1-2 limes to taste. Use a 250g pack halloumi per 5-6 people, slice into chunky strips, thread onto small soaked wooden skewers and grill, turning, until crispy. Serve with the salsa.
  6. Greek kebabs with houmous & tzatziki: Cook and cool bought falafel, then skewer each one with a chunk of cucumber, small cube of feta and a cherry tomato. Serve with pots of houmous and tzatziki on the side.
  7. Crunchy poppadoms with mango chutney: To feed a crowd, finely shred 3 peeled carrots, dice ½ a cucumber and finely slice 4 spring onions. Mix together with a squeeze of lemon juice and 1 tbsp toasted mustard seeds. To serve, pile into bought mini poppadom crisps, top with a small dollop of mango chutney and scatter with coriander leaves.
  8. Fig & blue cheese skewers: Skewer wedges of fig and cubes of blue cheese onto small cocktail sticks or skewers, then drizzle with a little runny honey and scatter with thyme leaves to serve.
  9. Christmas pudding truffles: Melt together 200g dark chocolate and 200ml double cream, then crumble in 100g leftover cooked Christmas pud (buy a vegetarian one), then chill. When firm enough, use a melon baller or roll into balls, then dip the tops in some melted white chocolate, scatter with edible decorations, then chill to firm.
  10. Mini cranberry & orange scones: Knock up a batch of scone dough, adding some dried cranberries and orange zest into the mix before stamping out 4cm rounds and baking. When cool, split and spread generously with orange or jaffa curd (we used Waitrose) and top with a small dollop of clotted or thick double cream.

Sweetheart choc & hazelnut sandwiches forValentine's Day

 

 

Ingredients

• 4 slices from a small sliced brioche loaf
• 3 tbsp chocolate hazelnut spreads
• 1 large egg
• 75ml whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp chopped toasted hazelnuts
• 1 tbsp butter
• icing sugar, for dusting
• ice cream, to serve
• raspberries, to serve
•   Prep: 5 mins Cook: 5 mins
  Easy
  Serves 2 
   

  Method

  1. Thickly spread 2 of the brioche slices with the chocolate hazelnut spread, then top with the remaining slices to make 2 sandwiches. Use a large heart-shaped cutter to cut the sandwiches into hearts.
  2. Whisk the egg, milk, vanilla and caster sugar in a wide, shallow bowl. Tip the hazelnuts onto a plate. Dip the sandwiches into the egg mixture, leave for 1-2 mins each side to allow the brioche to soak up the liquid, then dip one side of each sandwich into the nuts. The sandwiches can be chilled like this, covered loosely with cling film, for up to 1 hour.
  3. Heat the butter in a wide frying pan until melted and foaming. Add the sandwiches and cook for 1-2 mins each side until golden brown and puffed up. Dust with a little icing sugar and serve with ice cream and raspberries.

Angel’s kiss for Valentine's Day

 

Ingredients

• 400ml Tia Maria, chilled
• 16 tbsp (approx 250ml) double cream
• cocoa, for dusting
•   Prep: 10 mins No cook
  Easy
  Makes 8
   

  Method

  Pour the Tia Maria into small cocktail or liqueur glasses. Carefully pour the cream into the glasses over the back of a teaspoon so it floats on the surface of the Tia Maria and makes a separate layer. Dust the cream with cocoa by shaking it through a tea strainer, and serve.

Pan-fried sea bass with citrus-dressed broccoli*Valentine's Day

Ingredients

• 2 sea bass fillets, about 140g each (see tips, below)
• 1 small head of broccoli
• 1 orange
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp small capers
• 6 anchovies, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon
•   Prep: 15 mins Cook: 15 mins
  Moderately easy
  Serves 2 

  Method

  1. Before you start cooking, get everything prepared. Trim each sea bass fillet so they are both the same shape, then score the skin, cutting into the flesh slightly, 5 or 6 times at about 1cm intervals. Set aside.
  2. Segment the orange – slice off the top and bottom, then cut away the skin and pith. Cut away each segment, then squeeze out the juice from the rest of the orange into a bowl. Cut the broccoli into medium-size florets.
  3. To make the warm broccoli salad, cook the florets in a pan of boiling salted water for 1 min until just cooked. While the broccoli is cooking, put a frying pan on to heat. As soon as the broccoli is cooked, drain it, then tip straight into the hot frying pan to ‘scorch’ out all the moisture.
  4. Turn off the heat, then scatter the orange segments over the broccoli. Toss for a few moments just to heat through, then tip into a bowl and dress with the orange juice and 2 tbsp olive oil. Season with pepper and a small sprinkling of sea salt, then set aside.
  5. Wipe out the pan. Season the fish with a little salt and pepper just before cooking. Heat the frying pan until very hot, then add 2 tbsp oil. Lay the fish fillets in the pan, skin-side down. As soon as it goes in, press each fillet down with your fingers or a fish slice to stop it from curling up.
  6. Reduce the heat to medium, then leave the fish to cook for 3-4 mins, undisturbed, until you can see that the flesh has cooked two-thirds of the way up and the skin is crisp and brown.
  7. Flip the fillets over, then fry on the flesh side for about 2 mins until just done, basting the skin with the oil in the pan as it cooks. Leave to rest on a warm plate, skin-side up, and baste with the hot oil and juices from the pan.
  8. Pour 2 tbsp olive oil into the pan and place it back on a high heat. Scatter in the capers and anchovies, then cook until they start to crisp. Grate over the lemon zest and squeeze in the juice of ½ the lemon. If there isn’t enough juices in the pan to drizzle over both plates, add a splash more oil. You are now ready to plate up.

   

Smoked salmon with prawns, horseradish cream & lime vinaigrette*Valentine's Day

 

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp crème fraîche
• 1 tsp horseradish sauce
• 4 slices smoked salmon
• 10 large cooked prawns, peeled but tails left on

For the salad

• juice 1 lime, finely grated zest of ½
• 1 tsp clear honey
• ½ tsp finely grated fresh root ginger
• 2 tbsp light olive oil
• 2 handfuls small leaf salad
•   Prep: 20 mins
  Easy
  Serves 2

  Method

  Mix the crème fraîche with the horseradish and a little salt and pepper. For the dressing, whisk the lime juice and zest with the honey, ginger and seasoning, then whisk in the oil. Lay the smoked salmon and prawns on 2 plates, then top with a dollop of the horseradish cream. Toss the salad in most of the dressing and pile on top. Drizzle the remaining dressing around the plate and serve.

Seared garlic seafood with spicy harissa bisque* Valentine's Day

 

 

Ingredients

• 400g can lobster bisque
• 1 tbsp harissa
• zest and juice ½ lime
• 2 tbsp single cream, plus a little extra for drizzling
• 8 large raw king prawns, peeled
• 6 scallops, roe removed
• 1 tbsp garlic butter
• small handful coriander, leaves picked
• ½ red chilli, thinly sliced
• toasted bread, to serve
•   Prep: 10 mins Cook: 5 mins
  Easy
  Serves 2 
   

  Method

  1. Heat the lobster bisque, harissa and lime juice In a small pan until bubbling. Add the cream, reduce the heat and keep warm while you cook the seafood.
  2. Season the prawns and scallops. Heat the garlic butter in a frying pan until starting to foam. Add the seafood and cook for 1 min on each side until the prawns are pink and the scallops are cooked and starting to brown, but still have a little bounce.
  3. To serve, pile the prawns and scallops into the centre of 2 shallow soup bowls, pour around the spicy bisque, scatter with a few coriander leaves, chilli slices, lime zest and a drizzle of cream. Serve with toasted bread.

(Balsamic blueberries with vanilla ice cream)Valentine's Day

Ingredients

• 125g blueberries
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 4 scoops good-quality vanilla ice cream and crisp biscuits, to serve
  
  Prep: 10 mins Cook: 2 mins 
  Easy
  Serves 2 
   

  Method

  Tip the blueberries into a pan with the sugar, vinegar and 1 tbsp water. Heat very gently for 1-2 mins until the berries soften, but don’t burst. Set aside until ready to serve. Spoon over the ice cream and eat with crisp biscuits.
   

Valentine's Day*Vodka & cranberry blush*

Ingredients

• 200ml/7fl oz each vodka and Cointreau
• 600ml cranberry juice
• 400ml orange juice
• strips of peel from 2-3 limes
• crushed ice, to serve
• Prep: 10 mins
  Easy
  Serves 12 
   

  Method

  1. Pour the vodka and Cointreau into a jug, then add the cranberry juice and orange juice. Stir well.
  2. Pare strips of peel from 2-3 limes. Fill 12 glasses with the crushed ice, then pour over the cocktail. Finish each glass with a strip of lime peel.
   

Valentine's *Love bug biscuits*

Ingredients

• 175g plain flour
• 100g chilled butter, cubed
• 85g icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg yolk

To decorate

• 500g ready-to-roll fondant icing
• red food colouring
• 100g icing sugar
• black food colouring
• edible pearly ball decorations

You will also need

• 8cm heart-shaped cutter
• 6cm heart-shaped cutter
•   Prep: 30 mins Cook: 12 mins Plus chilling
  Easy
  Makes 20
   

  Method

  1. Put the flour, butter, sugar, vanilla and egg yolk in a food processor. Dribble in 1 tbsp water and blitz until the mixture comes together to form a dough. Tip onto a work surface and knead briefly to bring together, then wrap in cling film and chill for 20 mins.
  2. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Roll out the dough to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use your 8cm heart cutter to stamp out heart shapes – you’ll have to re-roll the trimmings to make 20 biscuits. Put the hearts on 2 baking trays and bake for 12 mins, swapping the trays over halfway through, until pale golden and crisp. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
  3. Dye your lump of icing with red food colouring and wrap in cling film until ready to roll. Mix the icing sugar with enough water to make a thick icing. Dye the icing with the black food colouring. Pour the icing into a piping bag with a small plain nozzle attached (or use a small sandwich bag and snip off the corner). Roll out the red icing to 3mm thick and use your 6cm cutter to stamp out hearts. Stick onto the biscuits with a little of the black icing.
  4. Use the black icing to give your love bug a head at the pointy end, draw a line down the centre to give it wings, then add spots. Stick 2 pearly balls onto each love bug’s head, then leave to set on a wire rack. You can pack your love bugs into boxes or cellophane bags to give as gifts for Valentine’s Day.

Squash, orange & barley salad

 

Ingredients

• 175g pearl barley
• 1kg peeled squash or 1 butternut squash, unpeeled
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• zest and juice 1 orange
• 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
• small bunch mint, chopped, reserving a few leaves to serve
• small bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped, reserving a few leaves to serve
• 2 handfuls rocket
• Prep: 40 mins Cook: 40 mins
  Easy
  Serves 6 
   

  Method

  1. Boil the barley for 20-25 mins until just tender but with a little bite. Drain.
  2. Meanwhile, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. If using butternut, thickly slice into rounds, flicking out the seeds as you go, or slice small, round squashes into thin wedges. Toss with 1 tbsp oil, the orange zest and seasoning. Spread over a baking sheet and roast for 40 mins until golden and tender, turning halfway. Set aside while you finish the dish.
  3. Mix the orange juice, vinegar and remaining oil with the pearl barley and plenty of seasoning. Stir in the onion and chopped herbs, then layer up on a platter with the squash, rocket and remaining mint and parsley leaves.
   

Creamy tarragon chicken bake

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp rice flour (we used Doves Farm)
• 300ml soya milk (we used So Good)
• 4 chicken breasts, skin removed
• 2 red onions, cut into wedges
• 250g punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
• 250g asparagus spears, blanched
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 150ml vegetable stock (we used Kallo yeast-free vegetable stock)
• 3 tbsp chopped tarragon
• 4 tbsp gluten-free breadcrumbs (we used Sainsbury's 'Free From' English muffins)
• 1 tbsp grated dairy and lactose-free cheese (we used Cheezly)
  
  Prep: 20 mins Cook: 30 mins
  Easy
  Serves 4 
   

  Method

  1. Mix half the oil and flour in a saucepan (off the heat), then blend in the soya milk (it must be well blended before heating). Bring the sauce slowly to the boil, whisking constantly, then simmer for 1 min. Remove from the heat, cover with greaseproof paper and set aside.
  2. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Heat remaining oil in a frying pan, add the chicken, then fry for 2-3 mins or until brown (it won’t be cooked through). Transfer to an ovenproof gratin dish. Add the onions to the pan and fry for 2-3 mins. Spoon over the chicken, then top with the tomatoes and asparagus. Set aside while you prepare the sauce.
  3. Put the sugar and vinegar into the pan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar is a dark caramel colour, then add the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 min. Whisk into the milky sauce until blended, season, then add the tarragon. Spoon sauce over the chicken and veg, sprinkle with crumbs and cheese, then bake for 20 mins or until cooked through.

Zesty haddock with crushed potatoes & peas

Ingredients

• 600g floury potatoes, unpeeled, cut into chunks
• 140g frozen peas
• 2½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• juice and zest ½ lemon
• 1 tbsp capers, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp snipped chives
• 4 haddock or other chunky white fish fillets, about 120g each (or use 2 small per person)
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• broccoli, to serve
•   Prep: 15 mins Cook: 20 mins
  Easy
  Serves 4 
   

  Method

  1. Cover the potatoes in cold water, bring to the boil, then turn to a simmer. Cook for 10 mins until tender, adding peas for the final min of cooking. Drain and roughly crush together, adding plenty of seasoning and 1 tbsp oil. Keep warm.
  2. Meanwhile, for the dressing, mix 1 tbsp oil, the lemon juice and zest, capers and chives with some seasoning.
  3. Dust the fish in the flour, tapping off any excess and season. Heat remaining oil in a non-stick frying pan. Fry the fish for 2-3 mins on each side until cooked, then add the dressing and warm through. Serve with the crush and broccoli.

Vegetable & bean chilli

 

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• thumb-sized piece ginger, finely chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 courgettes, diced
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped
• 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and chopped
• 1 tbsp chilli powder
• 100g red lentils, washed and drained
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
• 195g can sweetcorn, drained
• 420g can butter beans, drained
• 400g can kidney beans in water, drained
•   Prep: 10 mins Cook: 30 mins - 35 mins
  Easy
  Serves 4 
   

  Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Cook the garlic, ginger, onion, courgettes and peppers for about 5 mins until starting to soften. Add the chilli powder and cook for 1 min more.
  2. Stir in the lentils, tomato purée, tomatoes and 250ml water. Bring to the boil and cook for 15-20 mins.
  3. Add the sweetcorn and beans, and cook for a further 10 mins.