Valentine's Day 2019 dinner recipes and meal ideas for two (2024)

LOVED up Brits will be taking over the country’s bars and restaurants today for Valentine’s Day – but what about those couples who really fancy a night in with a great meal?

For those foodies looking to keep the romance alive with a home cooked feast this February 14, we’ve compiled some delicious recipes guaranteed to keep the flames of desire burning.

From fancy prawn co*cktails and roasted red pepper soups, to cheesy gnocchi and romantic roasts for two – here are our favourite three-course dinners to guarantee the perfect night in.

And don’t worry; we’ve not forgotten about the pudding… choose from a vanilla panna cotta or raspberry millefeuilles to end the night on a sweet note.

For co*cktail lovers, we’ve thrown in a fool-proof recipe for a raspberry and passionfruit martini too.

Bon appetite!

Starters:

Jamie Oliver’s Prawn co*cktails (with a twist):

Ingredients

• olive oil
• ½ a clove of garlic
• cayenne pepper
• 8 unpeeled, large, raw tiger prawns
• ¼ of an iceberg lettuce
• ¼ of a cucumber
• 1-2 ripe tomatoes
• 1 sprig of fresh mint
• 1 small punnet of salad cress
• 50 g peeled little prawns
• 100 g mixed white and brown crabmeat
• 50 g brown shrimps , optional
• 1 lemon

For the Marie Rose sauce:

• ½ a lemon
• 1 swig of brandy
• 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 heaped teaspoon ketchup
• 4 tablespoons free-range mayonnaise

Method

• Heat a glug of oil in a pan over a high heat, then add the crushed garlic
• Stir in a pinch of cayenne pepper and the tiger prawns (you can butterfly them first if you like)
• Toss the prawns for 3 to 4 minutes, or till cooked through then remove from the heat and set aside
• For the Marie rose sauce, combine the lemon juice with the remaining ingredients in a bowl and set aside
• Shred the lettuce, dice the cucumber, thinly slice the tomato and pick the mint leaves, then layer in bowls or jars, and add some of the snipped cress
• Add the peeled prawns, dollop with Marie Rose sauce and finish with crabmeat, brown shrimp (if using) and more cress
• Add a pinch of cayenne pepper and hang a hot prawn or two off the side of the bowl or jar - serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over

BBC Food’s roasted red pepper and tomato soup with ricotta:

Ingredients:

• 400g tomatoes, halved
• 1 red onion, quartered
• 2 Romano peppers, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp good quality olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, bashed in their skins
• few thyme sprigs
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp ricotta
• few basil leaves
• 1 tbsp mixed seeds, toasted
• bread, to serve

Method

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6, and put the tomatoes, onions and peppers in a roasting tin, toss with the oil and season.
• Nestle in the garlic and thyme sprigs, then roast for 25-30 mins until all the veg has softened and slightly caramelised.
• Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins into the tin, strip the leaves off the thyme and discard the stalks and garlic skins.
• Mix the vinegar into the tin then blend everything in a bullet blender or using a stick blender, adding enough water to loosen to your preferred consistency
• Reheat the soup if necessary, taste for seasoning, then spoon into two bowls and top each with a spoonful of ricotta, a few basil leaves, the seeds and a drizzle of oil
• Serve with bread for dunking

Main Courses

Jamie Oliver’s Stilton& pear gnocchi:

Ingredients

• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 large pear
• a few sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 knob of unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons crème fraîche
• 50 g stilton
• 400 g gnocchi

Method

• Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.
• Peel and finely slice the garlic, then peel, core and cut the pear into 2cm slices.
• Pick and finely chop the parsley leaves.
• Melt the butter in a large pan over a medium heat and add the garlic.
• Once lightly golden, add the pear and reduce the heat and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until softened slightly
• Add the crème fraîche and stilton, and heat until the cheese melts
• Add the gnocchi to the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes – they’re done when they rise to the surface; use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the frying pan
• Add enough cooking water to loosen the sauce then toss to coat, season well, add the parsley and serve

Jamie Oliver’s roast chicken feast for two:

Ingredients

• 1 pear
• Half an onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 150 g free-range chicken livers
• olive oil
• 1 handful of vac-packed chestnuts
• 1 sprig of fresh sage
• 1 large knob of butter
• 1 splash of brandy
• 1 handful of dried cranberries
• 1 x 1.6 kg whole free-range chicken
• 1 orange
• 6 rashers of higher-welfare unsmoked streaky bacon
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme

Method

• Peel, core and chop the pear, peel and finely chop the onion, then peel the garlic
• Trim the chicken livers, removing any stringy bits.
• Heat a frying pan on a medium heat, add a splash of oil and gently fry the pear, onion, garlic, chestnuts and sage leaves for 15 minutes, or until softened
• Add the butter, move the veg to one side, then add the livers
• Season well and cook for a minute or so, then add the brandy and stir
• Cook on high for no more than 4 minutes, so the livers are still blushing inside; you’ll see them plump up
• Tip it all into a food processor and pulse till creamy, but with some texture.
• Stir in the cranberries, then spread out on a plate and pop in the fridge to cool for a few minutes
• Preheat your oven to its highest heat
• Gently push your fingers between the skin and chicken breast meat to create a pocket.
• Push the stuffing into it, pull back the skin and secure with a couple of co*cktail sticks.
• Drizzle with oil and season well, rubbing it all over the meat.
• Slice the orange into 6 wedges, then fit as many into the chicken’s cavity as you can – leave enough room for air to circulate – then transfer it to a roasting tray
• Place the bird in the oven then turn down the heat to 190C/375F/gas 5.
• Cook for 1 hour 20 minutes in total, or until cooked, basting the chicken and covering the breast with bacon halfway through
• When done, transfer to a board to rest before carving
• Sprinkle with thyme leaves and serve with roasted vegetables

Desserts

BBC Good Food’s vanilla panna cotta:

Ingredients

• 2 ½ sheets gelatine
• 150ml milk
• 400ml double cream
• 60g caster sugar
• 1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
• fresh strawberries, to serve
• strawberry compote, to serve

Method

• Add the sheets of gelatine to a bowl of cold water and soak for 5 mins
• Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan with the sugar and vanilla seeds
• Stir to combine and bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat
• Take the gelatine out of the cold water and squeeze out the excess liquid, before adding to the milk mixture
• Stir until completely dissolved the tip into four ramekins and place in the fridge to set for at least a couple of hours
• To serve, turn each ramekin upside-down onto a serving plate.
• Serve with a drizzle of strawberry compote and sliced fresh strawberries.

BBC Good Food’s raspberry millefeuilles:

Ingredients

For the pastry

• 200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• ¼ tsp salt
• 175g cold butter
• , cut into 1½ cm cubes
• 1 tsp lemon juice

For the filling

• crème pâtissière
• 300g raspberries
• icing sugar, for dusting

Method:

• For the pastry, mix the flour, salt and butter together in a bowl - the butter should remain in cubes.
• Make a well in the centre and pour in the lemon juice and 100ml cold water.
• Mix well, then bring together with your hands.
• Tip the pastry onto a lightly floured surface and briefly knead until smooth
• Shape into a rectangle, then wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins
• On a floured surface, use a rolling pin to ridge and roll the pastry into a rectangle, so that it is three times as long as it is wide, about 15 x 45cm - Keep the edges of the pastry as straight as you can.
• Lift the bottom third of the pastry and fold it up and over the middle third, dusting off any excess flour
• Fold the top third of the pastry down and over the bottom third, so that you have three layers of pastry in a neat rectangle.
• Dust off any excess flour the wrap and chill for 15 mins.
• Give the pastry a 90-degree right turn so it faces you like a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process a few more times, always starting with the pastry facing you as it was after the last fold and giving it a turn.
• Chill for 30 mins.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out to a rough 32cm square.
• Using a sharp knife, trim the edges to make a neat 30cm square.
• Cut the pastry into 3 long strips measuring 30 x 10cm.

• Transfer to 2 baking sheets lined with baking parchment and chill for 30 mins or until firm.
• Top each tray with a sheet of baking parchment, then stack on top of each other.
• Pop another baking tray on top and weigh down with an ovenproof dish.
• Bake for 25-30 mins or until golden brown and crisp.
• Leave the pastry to cool a little, trim the edges if needed, then cut each sheet into 6 smaller rectangles - you should end up with 18 pieces of pastry measuring about 10 x 5cm.
• Transfer 1 piece of pastry to a serving plate, pipe over blobs of Crème patisserie then top with some raspberries and another layer of pastry
• Add another layer of Crème patisserie and raspberries.
• Dust a third piece of pastry with icing sugar then decorate with more raspberries and pop this on top.
• Repeat with the remaining pastry to make 6 millefeuilles.

A co*cktail to finish with…

BBC’s Good Food Raspberry & passion fruit martini:

Ingredients

• 100ml vodka
• 1 tbsp raspberry liqueur
• 50ml passion fruit juice
• Handful of ice
• ½ passion fruit (optional)

Method

• Put 2 martini glasses in the freezer for 5 mins to chill.
• Mix the vodka, raspberry liqueur, passion fruit juice and a handful of ice in a jug or co*cktail shaker.
• Strain into the glasses and float ½ a passion fruit on the top of each, if you like.

Topics

• Explainers
• Food and drink
• Valentine's Day