Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, so we’ve put together a delicious romantic dinner idea guaranteed to woo your significant other – a mouthwatering four-course dinner! These recipes have been expertly crafted by Chilli No. 5 chef, Adam Purnell, and are simple and easy to follow.
Kick-start your Valentine’s night in with succulent Cupid Oysters, then feast on our Sexy Duck Pancakes, before tucking into our Earth Surf and Turf Valentine’s dinner recipe. Finally, round-off your evening with our decadent Mexican Heatwave Chocolate Fondant. We promise this will be a romantic dinner guaranteed to delight.
Add extra spice and depth of flavour to your Valentine’s dinner recipes with our collection of artisanal hot sauces for a sizzling night to remember!
Valentine’s Day Romantic Dinner Idea
Starter – Cupid’s Oysters
We love this romantic dinner idea and think you will too. Oysters are such a delicious, simple fresh appetizer whilst also an aphrodisiac making them the perfect appetizer to kick-start your Valentine’s evening. Add a little heat from our Chilli No. 5 Perfect Piri Piri hot sauce, some fresh herbs, and a teaspoon of salsa for an amazing taste sensation!
Ingredients
- 6 live oysters
- 1 shallot
- 1 vine tomato
- 1 clove garlic
- Small bunch of coriander
- Small bunch parsley
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1 tbsp Chilli No5 Perfect Piri Piri
- Pinch of salt
Method
Finely dice the tomato, shallot and garlic, mix through a good pinch of sea salt and leave to one side in a sieve to allow the salt to draw out some moisture.
After 30 mins give the mixture a squeeze in your hands to draw out any excess water from the tomatoes and add to a bowl.
Finely chop the parsley and coriander and add to the bowl with the tomato, shallot and garlic along with the olive oil, vinegar and Chilli No. 5 Perfect Piri Piri and mix everything together.
Shuck the oysters and arrange on a platter in their shells. Load each shell with a teaspoon of the salsa and serve immediately.
First Course – Ever So English Sexy Duck Pancakes
This romantic dinner idea for duck pancakes is a take on the classic Chinese version, yet simplified for ease of cooking at home making the best use of the breast. Our Ever So English hot sauce is the perfect accompaniment to this dish, with beetroot, horseradish, wasabi and granny smith apples all working to contrast the rich, tender duck breast perfectly. This Valentine’s dinner recipe is guaranteed to hit all the right notes.
Ingredients
- 1 skin-on duck breast
- ¼ cucumber
- 2 or 3 spring onions
- 1 tspn Chinese 5 spice
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- Chilli No. 5 Ever So English hot sauce
- Pinch of salt
- Chinese style pre-made pancakes
Method
Take your duck breast out of the fridge and score the fat in a diamond formation with a sharp knife (this will allow the fat to render for crispy skin) and leave to come up to room temperature.
Once at room temperature rub the breast with the sesame oil, which will help with flavour but also for the seasoning to stick to it, then rub in the salt and the 5 spice evenly all over the breast.
Place the breast skin-side down in a cold, dry non-stick pan and place on the hob over medium heat for 8 minutes.
Do not turn the breast over, but keep an eye on it as the fat from the skin starts to render. If it looks as though it is getting too hot or the pan starts to smoke turn the heat down.
After 8 minutes turn the breast over to cook the flesh side for a further 4 minutes in the rendered fat from the skin, and then set aside on a board skin-side up to rest for around 5 minutes
In the meantime take your pancakes, and pop them in a steamer on a low heat and slice up the cucumber and spring onions into thin long strips.
Once rested, slice the duck into half centimetre pieces across the breast before loading the pieces onto your steamed pancakes. Add a few slices of cucumber and spring onion and finish with a drizzle of Chilli No. 5 Ever So English hot sauce.
Serve immediately.
Main Course – Earth Surf and Turf – Picanha Steak, Spicy Scallops and Pearl Barley, Mushroom and Truffle Risotto
This Valentine’s dinner recipe is a real showstopper! This delicious dish brings together some of the finest ingredients from over ground, underground and the oceans onto one sumptuous plate, without a whole heap of effort for maximum flavour and romantic effect. If this romantic dinner idea doesn’t win them over, we’re pretty sure nothing will!
Ingredients
For the Picanha (beef rump cap)
- One whole Picanha joint
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp sea salt
For the risotto
- 400g pearl Barley
- 1 litre quality beef stock
- ½ a small butternut squash diced to 1 cm cubes
- 100g quality mushrooms roughly chopped
- 1 large onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 whole beef tomato
- Small bunch of parsley
- Fresh truffle for garnish
- Salt and pepper
For the scallops
- 4 hand dived scallops with shells
- 75g salted butter
- 4 small lemon wedges
- Chilli No. 5 Louisiana BBQ Hot Sauce
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Method
Take the picanha and score the fat cap with a sharp knife, season liberally all over with the sea salt, and bring up to room temperature.
In a hot, deep-frying pan, sear the picanha on all sides, ensuring you get some caramelisation and colour all over. Once seared, transfer to a baking tray and into an oven preheated at 180c and cook until the thickest part of the joint hits 50c for medium-rare. If you don’t have a temperature probe you will need to cook the Picanha for roughly 15mins per 500g. Once cooked, rest the meat for a minimum of 20 minutes.
In the meantime, take the pan with the meat juices and add a little oil to the pan, and gently fry the chopped onion, mushrooms and diced butternut squash until the onions soften and become translucent.
Add the pearl barley and the garlic and stir through until the oil has coated all the grains of barley, and it has warmed through.
Now begin to add the beef stock to the pan a ladle at a time, stirring constantly and adding more each time the last lot disappears into the barley
Once the barley becomes soft and has doubled in size, season with salt and pepper to taste and leave in the pan to one side, saving a little stock or a splash of water to add a little life to it again just before serving.
Now take the scallops and season with a little salt, whilst you bring a frying pan up to high heat with a little oil. Once the pan is smoking sear the scallops for 30 seconds on each flat side before adding the butter and Louisiana BBQ hot sauce to the pan and continue to cook the scallops for another 2 minutes turning constantly in the butter and hot sauce.
Remove the scallops from the pan and return them to their shells to rest, saving the sauce in the pan for plating up.
Now slice the picanha against the grain into cm thick portions and place on a warm serving plate. Add a splash of stock to the risotto along with a handful of chopped parsley and stir through before also adding a spoonful to the plate. Bring the butter and hot sauce from the scallops back up to heat, and pour over the scallops in their shells before adding these to the plate too.
Finally, to finish, slice the beef tomato and using your hands squeeze its juices (like a lemon) all over the dish for a little acidity and finally shave some fresh truffle or alternatively drizzle some truffle oil over the risotto.
Serve immediately.
Dessert – Chocolate Fondant
This chocolate fondant needs no introduction! Indeed, it is one of the most popular recipes here at Chilli No. 5, and we think it makes for a perfect romantic dinner idea. Add a drizzle of Chilli No. 5’s hot and fiery Mexican fury hot sauce, and you will take this classic dish to new levels of tastiness!
Equipment:
- Ramekins
Ingredients:
- 150g butter plus extra for greasing
- 150g dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa solids) roughly chopped or broken into small chunks
- 90g plain flour (25g for moulds, 75g for cake mix)
- 25 g Cocoa Powder
- 3 large eggs
- 3 large egg yolks
- 200g caster sugar
- 1 bottle Chilli No. 5’s Mexican Fury hot sauce
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 190 ̊C/170 ̊C fan/Gas 5.
Grease 4 x 220ml moulds or ramekins with butter. Mix together the cocoa powder and 25g of plain flour and dust the inside of the moulds. Place them on a baking sheet and set aside.
Melt together butter and chocolate into a large heatproof bowl au Bain Marie, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, sift over the flour and whisk to incorporate.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks and sugar until combined, then whisk this into the chocolate mixture, until smooth and well combined.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the prepared moulds or ramekins, dividing equally.
Bake for 9 minutes – the fondants are ready when you shake each one gently and only the middle moves a little, but edges are firm to touch.
Remove from the oven, using a sharp knife, gently loosen the sides of each mould. Using a palette knife carefully remove fondant and place onto a cocoa dusted plate, gently pierce the edges and drizzle with Chilli No. 5’s Mexican Fury hot sauce for some added heat.
Serve with vanilla bean ice cream and salted caramel popcorn for the perfect ending to your Valentine’s dinner.