Heather Hurley prepares a really special 3-course meal to help celebrate St. Valentine's night. If you are near Cambridge, why not let Heather cook for you in her fabulous new restaurant? Details are at the foot of this recipe.
Starter: Papaya, prawn, cucumber and spinach salad.
Main course; Veal/turkey/pork escalope in Marsala.
Sweet: Zabaglione with dried fruit compote.
For the starter you will need:
I ripe papaya
150 grams raw tiger prawns
half a 225 gram pack of spinach
1/4 to 1/3 of a cucumber
1/2 tbspn vegetable oil
1/2 tspn dark soya sauce
For the dressing you will need:
1 tspn of grated ginger
1 tbspn ginger syrup
1 tbspn lime juice
1 tbspn Thai fish sauce
1/2 tspn chilli sauce
Preparation:
Take all the dressing ingredients and whisk them together and leave on one side.
Shell and butterfly the prawns. (Heather explains how to do this).
Add oil to a pan and pop in the prawns. Simmer for a couple of minutes over a high heat. Add in soya sauce then mix them around for a half minute or so. Transfer to a dish, pour over the dressing and when they are cool, put them into the fridge for at least two hours.
Cut the papaya in half and peel it. Then cut into bite size chunks.
Peel and seed the cucumber then cut it into 1/4 inch chunks.
Spoon off some of the dressing from the prawns and toss the spinach in it. Add the cucumber and papaya to the prawns and give a good stir. Put the spinach in piles on plates place the prawn mix on top and drizzle some dressing over. Serve with crusty bread.
Main course ingredients (serves 2):
2 escalopes about 110-120 grams each
175 mls of Marsala
1 tbsp plain flour seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2 dessert spoons of olive oil
25 grams butter
1 tbspn balsamic vinegar
Method:
Cut each escalope into three pieces and lay them out on a chopping board covered with a large piece of cling film on top.
Gently flatten the meat out with a rolling pin.
Coat each piece in the seasoned flour.
Put frying pan on a high heat and add the olive oil and butter. When the butter is foaming add the escalope pieces and fry on each side for 1 1/2 minutes.
Add Marsala and balsamic vinegar and leave to bubble away for three minutes until the syrup is glossy and silky.
Serve with potatoes previously prepared by chopping into cubes, tossing in olive oil and rosemary and baked in a hot oven with a lovely fresh green leaf salad.
For the sweet:
75 mls Marsala
2 large egg yolks
1/2 tbspn light muscovado sugar
1/2 tspn cornflour
1 1/2 oz 40 grams dried figs
1 1/2 oz 40 grams dried apricots
1 1/2 oz 40 grams prunes
1 1/2 oz 40 grams large raisins
210 mls Marsala
The juice and zest of 1 orange
You need a shallow lidded flameproof casserole dish for this.
Take all of the fruits the 210 mls Marsala and the orange and place in the dish. Cover and leave overnight and then pre-heat the oven to 250 F or 120 C. Bring the casserole up to a simmer before you place on the lid and put in the oven to bake slowly for three hours.
Place the egg yolks into a medium-sized bowl add sugar and corn flour. Whisk until light and fluffy. Pour in the Marsala whisk until smooth. Place in a saucepan over a medium heat. Keep whisking until it thickens.
Serve whilst warm with compote.
A few extra tips are included in the programme so please do listen in.
To make contact with Heather: www.carpentersarmsgastropub.co.uk
For your wines: www.canigouwines.com
Or: www.domainedescroix.fr
