Objective: A Valentine’s Day menu in less than 1 hour

How to prepare a Valentine’s Day menu in less than 1 hour?

Up to the minute

If you only have 1 hour to make a complete dinner, and what’s more, a refined one, you have to be strategic. This way, we avoid trying long recipes like stews, tarts or multi-layered pastry cakes. Instead, we favor recipes with little preparation and cooking. Carpaccios, unique dishes and express desserts are yours. All that remains is to organize yourself well to respect the allotted time.

Organization

To succeed in this challenge, make the most of every minute. We start with the recipes requiring the longest cooking times and end with the quickest ones. Taking the menu that we have put together for you as an example, this means that you have to start with the dessert, then the main course, the starter and finish with the preparation of the cocktail. While the floating island cooks, get to work on the risotto. Once it is on the heat, move on to the carpaccio then the cocktail. You will thus obtain a complete meal in 55 minutes. Mission accomplished.

Your refined Valentine’s Day menu in record time

This romantic menu opens with a fresh and delicate starter: a scallop carpaccio with lychees. To finely cut the scallops, place them on the edge and cut into strips using a sharp knife. Arrange the seafood on each plate in the shape of a rosette, cover with a cashew vinaigrette, and peeled and pitted lychees. Use fresh lychees, not in syrup, as the latter are too sweet to be suitable for a starter.
A cocktail with passion fruit, ginger beer and lime is planned as an accompaniment to toast Love.

As a main course, treat your other half to a risotto with foie gras and champagne. To cook the rice properly, simply place it in a frying pan and brown it with oil until it becomes translucent. Once it is “pearly”, deglaze with champagne, let the rice absorb it, then add chicken stock. Wait for the rice to absorb the liquid before adding more broth. When it’s cooked, after about 20 minutes, remove from the heat then add the butter and parmesan. Brown the foie gras slices for 30 seconds on each side, and serve with the risotto.
Easy and terribly effective.

As a Valentine’s Day dessert, we offer you a floating island revisited with pink pralines. To make it a success, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt and pink pralines. Butter and sugar a stainless steel mold, you will obtain a nice caramelization of the whites. Cook everything at 160°C for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, make the homemade custard and caramel.
Pour the cream into a large deep plate, place the cooked whites on top and top with caramel. Sprinkle with crushed pink pralines and serve with two dessert spoons, to enjoy for two.