Celebrating St. Valentines Day

The choice for this Valentine’s meal is cod with rocket sauce, served with a two potato mash and purple sprouting, followed by ginger, chocolate and hazelnut brownie with raspberries.

 

  

VALENTINE COD WITH ROCKET SAUCE AND TWO POTATO MASH

Serves 2

 

The Potato Mash:

150g sweet potato, prepared

300g potato, prepared

25g butter

2 tbsp cream

Salt and black pepper

 

The Rocket Sauce:

60g pack of rocket

Pinch of salt

½ clove of garlic, grated (optional)

½ tsp lemon zest

80-100ml olive oil

 

Valentine Cod:

2 x cod loin steaks, about 150-200g each

Flour for dusting, seasoned with salt and black pepper

25g butter

1 tbsp oil

 

To serve:

Purple sprouting or green beans

 

 

Method

 

Firstly make the two potato mash by cutting the potatoes into cubes, place into cold water (salted if liked) in a 3 litre AGA Stainless Steel saucepan. Bring to the boil on the Boiling Plate, simmer for 4-5 minutes then drain off the water, replace the lid on the saucepan and place on the floor of the Simmering Oven (AGA Total Control, AGA60 and AGA eR 3 Series use the floor grid) for 20 minutes until tender. Mash the potatoes (for best results use a potato ricer) then mix to a soft purée with the butter, cream and season to taste. Keep warm in the Simmering or Warming Oven.

 

To make the rocket sauce, place all the ingredients into a liquidiser and whizz together until smooth and place in a small jug or basin – this can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

 

Next cook the cod. Melt the butter and oil in the AGA Sauté Pan on the Simmering Plate. Dip the cod steaks into the seasoned flour and shake off any excess. Move the sauté pan to the Boiling Plate and brown the cod steaks on both sides.

 

2, 3, 4 and 5 oven AGA:  Transfer the sauté pan to oven grid shelf set in the centre of the Roasting Oven, remove the handle. Roast for about 8-10 minutes until the fish is just beginning to flake.

Conventional cooking:  Cook in the sauté pan on a medium heat hob.

Remove the pan from the oven. Drain the cod on kitchen paper before transferring to two hot serving plates. Serve with the puréed two potato mash, dribbles of rocket sauce and purple sprouting or green beans.

 
 

GINGER HAZELNUT BROWNIE

This chocolate brownie is fudge-like with a backnote of ginger.

Cuts into 12

 

AGA Traybake Tin lined with Bake-O-Glide

 

150g butter

200g dark chocolate, 72% cocoa solids

100g double cream

200g light brown sugar

40g honey

3 eggs, beaten

100g roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

120g self raising flour

15g fresh ginger, grated

 

 

Method

 

Place the butter and chocolate into a large bowl and put at the back of the AGA, or on the Warming Plate (4 and 5 oven), to melt together. If placing the bowl on the enamel top plate use a cork mat or folded piece of kitchen paper to protect the surface from scratching. Warm the cream, sugar and honey together In a 2 litre AGA saucepan, do not let it boil. Stir well to combine.

 

When the butter and chocolate have melted remove from the AGA and use a whisk to mix in the cream mixture. Add the beaten eggs, hazelnuts, flour and ginger and mix well together with a whisk. Pour into the prepared AGA Traybake Tin.

 

3, 4 and 5 oven AGA:  Slide the tin onto the lowest set of runners in the Baking Oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, it will still be wobbly, then transfer to the centre of the Simmering Oven for a further 10 minutes.

2 oven AGA:  Place the tin into the large size roasting tin and slide onto the lowest set of runners in the Roasting Oven, with the cold plain shelf positioned above, on the second runners down. Bake for 20 minutes then transfer the traybake tin to the centre of the Simmering Oven for a further 15 minutes.

 

Allow the brownie to cool in the tin for 20 minutes then tip onto a baking sheet, remove the Bake-O-Glide and tip onto a cake cooking rack. Cut into 12 pieces.

 

Conventional cooking:  Bake in a pre-heated oven at 150ºC, fan oven 130ºC, Gas Mark 3 for about 30 minutes.

 

VALENTINE BROWNIE AND RASPBERY DESSERT

For 2

 

1 small punnet of raspberries, reserve 6 whole raspberries for decoration

1 tbsp caster sugar

2 pieces of Ginger Hazelnut Brownie (recipe above)

Decoration:

2 tbsp thick cream or crème fraîche

Chocolate hearts

Icing sugar

 

Method

 

To make the raspberry coulis take the punnet of raspberries – reserving six for decoration – and place them into an AGA Stainless Steel Saucepan with the caster sugar.  Mash together with a potato masher. Heat on the Simmering Plate until the raspberry juices begin to run and boil.  Place the lid on the pan and transfer to the floor of the Simmering Oven for 15 minutes.

 

Remove the pan from the oven and pass through a fine sieve to obtain a raspberry sauce (coulis), discard the seeds.

 

To assemble; place a piece of brownie onto two serving plates, top with the cream or crème fraîche and a chocolate heart, decorate with the reserved whole raspberries. Dredge with icing sugar and then decorate the plate with blobs of the raspberry coulis. Serve with love! 

 

By Dawn Roads, AGA Specialist