Valentine’s Day is upon us. One of the great days in the restaurant calendar, when some of the most interesting and unique dining experiences occur. I won’t divulge any industry secrets, but this day brings out the inner cynic in me. Before sitting down to write, I went in search of some inspiration. This week I found it in the depths of the Oxford Dictionary: “Cliche” is defined as “a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought”.
Thankfully, the Oxford dictionary is now online. If it wasn’t, I would never have come across the associated article titled “The seven worst Valentine’s Day cliches and what to do instead”. To give you a flavour, the cliches include “A box of chocolates”, with the suggested alternative being “an aphrodisiac”. Then “a romantic stroll” is supplanted with “a romantic adventure”. Very good. Finally, there is a suggestion that offers me the perfect segue into this week’s recipes: “A romantic dinner in a fancy restaurant” is replaced with “Why don’t you go and cook dinner yourself?” Perfect. What better way to make a lasting impression? It has certainly served me well. So what’s on the menu?
First up is a classic main course using some alternative ingredients. Steak, Béarnaise sauce and chips is my favourite dish of all time. Béarnaise is the mother of all sauces. Steak can often be very expensive without the payback in flavour and texture.
This week I’m slow-cooking a short rib of beef in the oven before cooking it in butter like you would a traditional steak. Why? The short rib lends itself to slow cooking to produce a tender end result that doesn’t turn to mush or lose all of its moisture. It’s also half the price of a fillet steak and, for me, is far more interesting and delicious. By slow-cooking it, you can prepare it in advance and all you have to do before serving is caramelise it in butter. As it’s slow cooked, you also won’t have to worry about rare, medium or well done temperatures.
Béarnaise is simpler to make than many think. It starts with a basic hollandaise base. I don’t faff around at home with reductions and infusions either. All it involves is placing a bowl over some steaming water, like you would when melting chocolate. Whisk up some egg yolks, vinegar, mustard and lemon juice until it goes pale and thickens. I then remove the bowl from the heat, and add in some melted butter until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Simple. Once the heat comes out of it slightly, it will thicken further. For the Béarnaise, I add some chopped tarragon, chives and finely diced shallot along with some more salt. Butter and eggs are rich and can absorb seasoning, therefore this will take a lot of lemon and salt for maximum impact to cut through the richness of that beef. Then it’s time to whip out the air fryer. Of all the things this device is useful for, potato wedges are the number one for me. As you’ll see, I have it down to a finely timed system of cutting, seasoning, oil distribution and cooking times with shaking. Follow each step and you’ll never encounter a soggy wedge again.
For dessert, I’m cheating. We all need some help. Make these chocolate fondants in advance and have them in the fridge, ready to impress. The road to culinary greatness is littered with failed fondants. By adding a little chocolate sauce or ganache ball to each one, you guarantee a liquid centre no matter how long you cook them for. As an added bonus, you can roll the balls in cocoa powder for your own home-made chocolates.
Who said romance was dead? Best of luck.
Recipe: Slow-cooked short rib ‘steak’, Béarnaise sauce and air-fried wedges
