CaLDRON February 2014 - Valentine's Day Special | Page 68

A MEAL TO REMEMBER
A Meal to Surprise your
Valentine
Plan, prepare, execute: Avoid leaving
things for the last minute. Plan the menu
carefully with some creative thinking.
For instance, prepare a simple Caprese
salad. Buy some Burrata, Pilati sundried
tomatoes, good quality Portuguese olive
oil, 21 year old aged Modena Trebbiano
balsamic vinegar, sea salt and fresh basil
leaves. Use your imagination and mix
these to put together a salad that will
wow. Serve it with some chilled Baileys
shots that masquerade as petit fours and
you are well on your way on a no-fuss
Romantic sojourn.
Keep it simple, silly: Avoid putting
Salmon en Crute, as prepared by Chef Johnson Manjooran, Rainbow Steak House, Dubai
together a menu so overwhelming that
your date is intimidated. Try to keep it
fun and easy to eat. For instance, avoid
a soup that is so thick that your partner
has to slurp it noiselessly. Or plate the
‘Singapore Chicken Noodles’ with chopIngredients:
sticks, when your beloved is famous for
• 2 X 350g Skinned Salmon Fillets
their butter fingers. It is not about show- • 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 Finely Chopped Onions
• 1 Egg Yolk, Beaten
ing your gourmet prowess here, but about
• 3 or 4 Garlic Cloves, Chopped
• Plain Flour, to dust
making the other person feel at ease and
• Pastry Sheets
• Salt and Pepper
have a pleasurable time.

Salmon En Croute

Save the sweets for the last: There is
nothing like ending your meal on a high
sweet note to seal your love affair. And
no, we are not talking about store-bought
chocolate bars or ice creams. Instead
try for something different, like Passion
Fruit Flan with Gulab Jamun, or Rose
Flavored Cupcakes. It’s different, and
could be a signal of better things to come,
post the meal!
Have fun, no matter what: Remember
that you are cooking for a day of love. So,
don’t slog it out so much in the kitchen
that you are out of energy when the fun
actually begins post-meal. Dress up in
your fancy togs, spray on your favorite
perfume and keep that smile on your
face. the fanciest meal can fail if the
person presenting it is sweaty and harried
looking.

Method:
1. Roll out the pastry sheets evenly.
2. For the filling, heat about 2 tbsp of oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add finely
chopped onions, fresh whole spinach and tip in green pesto sauce mix along with basil,
garlic, olive oil. Add zest of one lemon and cheese. Season well with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat the oven to 200 C and line in a baking sheet on the tray.
4. Skin and bone salmon fillet thoroughly. Pat dry the fillets and season accordingly.
5. Spread herb butter on one side of the salmon fillet and spread whole grain mustard on
other. Sandwich the fillets and place it on the centre of the pastry.
6. After placing the fillets on the pastry, brush the pastry thoroughly with egg yolk and
season according to your taste.
7. To make the parcel, trim away the excess pastry. Tuck the edges neatly as you fold the
pastry and turn upside down.
8. Place the parcel on a non-stick baking tray. Again, brush the parcel with egg white and
season.
9. Bake the dish for about 30 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Check thoroughly
while it cooks. Remove from the oven and let the salmon sit for about 2-3 minutes
before serving.
Recipe courtesy: Chef Johnson Manjooran, Rainbow Steak House, Dubai

- With inputs from Chef Sandeep
Pande, Executive Chef of Renaissance
Mumbai Convention Center.

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CaLDRON February 2014