Menu For Two

I struggle with the paradox of choice when coming up with menus. When you have millions (billions?) of dishes on the internet for inspiration, picking a few things is hard. This Valentine’s Day menu for two, however, came together in a snap because I wanted to recreate a matcha panna cotta I had last week, but with a twist. As a bonus, dessert can be made ahead and pulled out of the fridge at the last moment.

I also knew what the main course was going to be. I had come across a dish with an intriguing name: “Fish bone pasta”. A bit of sleuthing revealed that the concept is a pasta that’s flavoured with seafood stock. “What a pretentious name,” I said to myself, while using the exact same title for my recipe. I can’t deny the name draws attention, which is a plus when creating a menu to impress. It does take some work to prepare the stock and the prawns, but you can do it ahead of time, leaving you with a one-pot pasta that minimises clean-up fuss later.

Finally, the starter, a crispy salmon croquette, follows the Japanese theme running through the menu and provides a contrasting texture to the other courses. It can be mostly prepared ahead of time and doesn’t take long to finish when you’re ready to serve.

Let’s dive into the details.

The salmon croquette has three components: a crispy salmon-potato fritter, shredded cabbage with a tangy ponzu vinaigrette, and a wasabi mayonnaise for some heat, creaminess and richness.

To make the fritter, steam salmon and potato until tender, then combine with spring onion, shallot and miso paste and mash together with your hands. Don’t be afraid to really squeeze everything together. Form them into patties, then coat in flour, dip in egg, and dredge in breadcrumbs. You can refrigerate it at this point if you’re making it ahead, which will help the croquette hold its shape. When you’re ready, pan fry in oil for a few minutes on both sides until crisp.

For the cabbage salad, shred the cabbage finely. Make a quick dressing with yuzu juice (substitute with lemon juice if you can’t find any), soy sauce, olive oil, mirin, sugar and salt. Dress the cabbage and place on a plate, then put the fried croquette on top.

Mix mayonnaise with some wasabi paste and yuzu/lemon juice and drizzle generously over and around the croquette. Finish with a crack of black pepper and serve.

The fish bone pasta features an umami-laden sauce made with seafood stock, dashi powder, soy sauce, gochujang and tomato paste. The pasta is cooked in the sauce directly, so it soaks up the flavours and results in an intense taste that benefits from a splash of rice vinegar at the end.

Start off by making the seafood stock. De-shell and devein prawns, saving the shells for the stock and keeping the prawns in the fridge. Saute carrots, onions and celery in olive oil until softened, then add the prawn shells. Cook for a few minutes, then add fish bones, water, white wine, bay leaf and peppercorns. Simmer for half an hour, strain and set aside until needed. You can make this a few days ahead.

Saute prawns in butter and minced garlic until just cooked through, then set aside. Add tomato paste and cook for a minute, then add the seafood stock, dashi powder, soy sauce, and gochujang. Bring to a simmer, then add the pasta and cover the pan. Towards the end, taste the pasta and add hot water if the stock is almost fully absorbed but the pasta isn’t cooked through.

Finish by tossing through some butter and rice vinegar, which will emulsify in the sauce and add tanginess and creaminess. Top with the prawns and finish with freshly cracked black pepper.

Tip: You can make this vegan by omitting the prawns, and replacing the seafood stock with dashi and the butter with olive oil.

The matcha panna cotta is a beautiful blend of bitter, grassy matcha notes with sweet vanilla cream, fresh strawberries and a—surprise!—hidden layer of sweet and nutty azuki beans.

Soak a few gelatine leaves in water, then drain once they’re rehydrated. Heat up cream, sugar, matcha powder, vanilla and a pinch of salt until warm, whisking to fully incorporate the matcha, then take off the heat and mix in the gelatine.

Add the prepared azuki beans (I got mine straight out of a can) to the bottom of any bowls you’re using, then slowly pour the matcha cream mixture through a strainer and into the bowl. Cover and leave it to set in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

When ready to eat, slice some strawberries and garnish the panna cotta.

And that’s it! Happy Valentine’s Day to all!

Thanks for reading! If you liked this post, please share it with someone else who also loves to cook. And if you prepare any of our featured recipes, drop us an email or DM and send us images. Alright, I’ll see you all next week.

Jonathan

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