Three Course Romantic Dinner Recipes… by Kristofer Shekleton

CARPACCIO OF BEEF FILLET, PICKLED CARROT AND CUCUMBER, SHAVED DAIKON, CASHEL BLUE AND WALNUT DRESSING, PEA SHOOTS secrved on Figgjo Plate

Ingredients:

  • 300g of chilled beef fillet
  • 150g of Cashel blue cheese
  • ½ Carrot
  • ½ Cucumber
  • ½ Daikon radish
  • 1 lemon, for juice
  • 10 walnuts, peeled and chopped
  • 100ml of white wine vinegar
  • 100ml of water
  • 50g of sugar
  • Sea salt flakes
  • Black pepper
  • 100ml extra virgin olive oil
  • Pea shoots

Method:

Lay the fillet of beef out onto a chopping board and use a sharp knife to cut into 1/2 cm thick slices.

Lay the circles of fillet out onto a sheet of greaseproof paper, leaving a 5cm gap between each piece. Place another sheet of greaseproof on top and use a rolling pin to roll out the pieces of beef to around 2mm in thickness

Remove the top sheet of greaseproof paper and lay 4 slices onto each plate, slightly overlapping to completely cover the base of the plate

Place the sheet of greaseproof over the sliced beef on the plate and use your thumb to flatten the beef out further. Repeat to flatten the rest of the beef, cover and refrigerate.

To prepare the garnish ingredients. Make a pickle liquor by bringing 100ml of white wine vinegar, 100ml of water, 50g of sugar and 1 tsp of salt to the boil. Once it comes to the boil, remove and cool completely.

Use a peeler to shave the carrot and the daikon radish into thin strips and set aside into iced water. Peel and de-seed the cucumber and cut into small cubes. When the pickling liquid has cooled, add in the carrot shavings and cubes of cucumber and leave to sit for atleast 30 mins.

Chop the walnuts and crumble the blue cheese into small pieces, place into a bowl and add the olive oil and lemon juice.

Remove the carrot and cucumber from the pickle. Roll up the carrot shavings and place those along with the cubes of cucumber and the shaved daikon neatly around the beef. Liberally spoon over the dressing, season with salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, garnish with pea shoota and serve immediately.

ROASTED JOHN DORY WITH STEAMED MUSSELS, POACHED CELERIAC, APPLE, SPINACH AND CIDER CREAM SAUCE

Ingredients:

  • 1 John Dory, weighing approx 400g, scaled and filleted
  • 10 mussels, cleaned and de-bearded
  • 2 shallots, finely sliced
  • 250g of spinach, stalks removed and washed
  • Handful of chopped fresh chervil and coriander
  • 50ml of cream
  • 1 Granny Smith apple, cut into 5mm dice
  • 60g of butter
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 celery stick, sliced
  • 150ml of cider
  • 1 small celeriac
  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • Sea salt flakes

Method:

Place 100g of the butter into a pan and melt gently. Sweat down the shallots, garlic and celery until soft but not coloured. Add 100ml of the cider and bring to the boil and cook very slowly for 5 minutes. Add the double cream, reduce and set to one side.

Cut the celeriac into 5mm dice and cook in boiling salted water. Refresh in iced water then drain and set to one side.

Heat a pan with a lid and add the cleaned mussels. Pour in the remaining 50ml of cider and cover with the lid so that the mussels steam open very quickly. When the shells have opened, tip them into a colander set in a bowl to retain the liquid

Remove the mussels from the shells and put to one side. Pass the liquid through a fine sieve being careful to catch any grit or sand that may have come from the mussels.

To cook the fish, get a large non-stick pan and add the olive oil. Place the fish into the hot oil skin side down and pan fry gently until half cooked. Turn the fish over and remove the pan from the stove, the fish will cook through in the residual heat.

Wilt the spinach in the rest of the butter and season with salt. Bring the sauce up to the boil and add some of the mussel stock to taste. Add the celeriac, apple and mussels, bring back to the boil then add the freshly chopped herbs.

Arrange the spinach in a mound in the centre of the bowl, pour the sauce around and arrange the apple, celeriac and mussels. Place two fillets of John Dory per portion on top and serve immediately.

PINEAPPLE, RUM AND RAISIN TARTE TATIN WITH COCONUT AND VANILLA ICE CREAM

Ingredinents:

For the tart tatin:

  • 1 fresh pineapple, sliced into 2 cm rings
  • 90g of caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp of Dark rum
  • 1 tbsp of butter
  • 1 tbsp golden raisins
  • 400g of puff pastry.

For the coconut ice cream:

  • 400ml of coconut milk
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 50g of caster sugar
  • 10g of cornflour
  • 150ml of cream
  • 2 tsp lemon zest

To make the ice cream, add the coconut milk and the split vanilla pod  to a saucepan. Cook on a low heat for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to infuse and cool slightly. Whisk together the egg yolks, caster sugar and cornflour in a round-bottomed bowl. Sieve the coconut milk mixture over the egg mixture to remove the lemongrass and whisk well.

Place the mixture back into a pan and cook for 5 minutes or until it just coats the back of a spoon. Allow to cool, then whisk in the whipping cream and lemon zest. If you are using a traditional ice cream maker to churn the mixture, freeze straight away until needed.

For the tarte Tatin, peel and remove the core of the pineapple and cut into rings. Add the caster sugar to a heavy-based blini pan and place on the stove set to a medium to high heat. Allow the sugar to caramelise, and once the caramel has turned golden brown, add the pineapple rings. Add the rum, the raisins and then the butter to stop the sugar from burning.

Cook the pineapple for around 2 minutes on either side then remove from the heat. Spoon out the pineapple rings and allow to cool, keeping the caramel in the pan

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Roll out the puff pastry to a 2mm thickness and cut out 4 x 15cm discs. Place the pastry discs in the fridge until needed.

Spoon 1 tbsp of the pineapple caramel on to the bottom of each blini pan. Add 1 pineapple ring to each pan, then cover the pineapple with the discs of puff pastry, tucking the edges in. Place the blini pans in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

When cooked, set aside for 5 minutes for the tart to rest and cool down slightly, then cover with a plate and turn upside down revealing the golden pineapple. Drizzle over the remaining syrup and serve with the ice cream.

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