The Colour of Love Part 3 – raspberry & mint chilled soup

If ... red roses are not your cup of tea ... express your love on Valentine's Day discreetly with a dinner that hints at romance in the most delicious way...

Recipes --> raspberry & mint chilled soup
This lovely chilled soup dessert can be made with other red berries such as strawberries, cherries
and red currants, or any combination thereof, but raspberries have the most intense flavours.
Soup :
200g frozen or fresh raspberries
100ml mango juice
2-3 sprigs fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste grated zest of ½ lemon
50ml UHT cream, whipped lightly, or use crème fraiche
2 sweet basil leaves, sliced roastedhazelnuts, chopped
To Prepare Soup :
Blend all the soup ingredients in a food processor and chill in the refrigerator until needed
To Finish :
Pour the cold soup into a soup plate. Drizzle with whipped cream and sprinkle with basil and
hazlenuts. Serve chilled.

Note : The mint leaves can be replaced with mint liquor, add by drizzling in after the cream

The Colour of Love Part 2 - lamb cutlet & grilled radicchio with gorgonzola sauce

If ... red roses are not your cup of tea ... express your love on Valentine's Day discreetly with a dinner that hints at romance in the most delicious way...

Recipes --> lamb cutlet & grilled radicchio with gorgonzola sauce

The theme of red is carried through in this course with tender lamb meat in blushing pink, and red-leafed radicchio, a popular Italian salad vegetable. Try not to overcook the lamb to keep its pink colour.

4 lamb cutlet

2 sprigs thyme

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

For The Radicchio :

1raddichio, quartered

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

For The Gorgonzola Sauce :

100ml UHT cream

50g gorgonzola cheese chopped parsley, for garnish

To Prepare Lamb Cutlet :

Marinate the lamb cutlets with thyme, olive oil and pepper for 15 minutes. Heat up the grill pan until hot and grill both sides of the cutlet until cooked to the desired doneness (about 2 minutes per side for medium rare). Season with salt. Place in a warm spot to rest while cooking the
radicchio.

To Prepare Radicchio :

Drizzle radicchio with olive oil, season to taste and toss. Heat up the grill pan until hot and grill all sides until cooked, about 1 minute at high heat.

To Prepare Sauce :

Combine the cream and cheese in a saucepan and heat, stirring, until the cheese melts.

To Finish :

Arrange lamb and radicchio on a plate. Drizzle the sauce on the radicchio. Garnish with
chopped parsley and serve.

The Colour of Love Part 1 - bloody marry scallop carpaccio

If ... red roses are not your cup of tea ... express your love on Valentine's Day discreetly with a dinner that hints at romance in the most delicious way...

Recipes --> bloody mary scallop carpaccio (2 servings)

Scallops' reputation as an aphrodisiac makes them a favourite food for love,  here paired with a red cocktail sauce based on the famous Bloody Mary Cocktail. 

Bloody Mary Sauce :

1 red capsicum, roasted, peelee and seeded  

1 ripe tomato, peelee and seeded

1 dash Tabasco sauce 

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 

vodka to taste (optional)

4-5 sashimi-grade scallops, sliced to about 2.5mm thick and chilled salt and freshly ground pepper to taste extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling 

1/2 lime, zest for grating  

1 teaspoon finely chopped chive 

To Prepare Saurce :

Mix all the ingredients in a food processor to a smooth puree. Transfer to a bowl, wrap with cling filmand keep refrigerated

To Finish :

Arrange the scallop slices in the centre of a plate. (refrigerate,wrapped in cling film, if not serving immediately) Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle with Bloody Mary sauce and olive oil, and grate the lime zest over the scallops. Finish with a sprinkling of chopped chives. Serve very cold.