VALENTINE'S DAY – All you need it LOVE, and recipes for two.....me and you.

Stay in this Valentine's Day and treat your partner to some divine dishes and a decadent cocktail. When only the best will do, choose gold leaf to add some extra sparkle to the night.

Welcome and thank you to fabulous Melbourne team, Bec Hudson and Kirsty Bryson for creating this fabulous food story for us to share. Stay tuned for a profile on these talented gals.

Oysters with Gold Caviar

Serves 2

12 x freshly shucked oysters

Dressing:

12 tsp Moscato glaze* (or champagne vinegar)

1 tsp chives finely sliced

1 tsp shallot finely diced

6 tsp gold angel tears*

Black salt to serve under oysters

1. Place the black salt on your serving dish.

2. Arrange the oysters on top.

3. Mix together in a small bowl the chives, shallots & moscato glaze. Stir to combine. Using a teaspoon place dressing on top of each oyster.

4. Top each oyster with ½ teaspoon of the gold angel tears.

Serve immediately with chilled champagne.

*Muscato glaze is available from supermarkets Moro do a nice one. It’s a white wine vinegar reduction.

*Gold Angel tears purchased from The Good Grub Hub 
For more delicious recipes try this

Sidecar Cocktail

Serves 2

60ml Cointreau

60ml brandy or cognac

60ml freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice

ice

Gold sugar to rim the glass

Gold sugar

1 gold leaf

1 tsp caster sugar

In a spice grinder, wiz together the sugar and gold leaf.

1. In a shaker add a good handful of ice.

2. Add the Cointreau, brandy and lime juice. Place lid on shaker & shake well.

3. Rim your glasses. Using the leftover squeezed lime coat the rim of the glass with lime juice.
4. Dip the wet rim into the gold sugar to coat.

5.Pour your cocktail into glasses.

Champagne, Elderflower & Gold Leaf Jelly with Goats Cheese Icecream & Blackberries

Serves 2

1 punnet of fresh blackberries sliced in half length wise

Mint sprigs to garnish

Gold leaf sugar to garnish

Champagne, elderflower & gold leaf jelly

3 leaves of gelatine

100ml elderflower cordial

220ml champagne chilled

1-2 gold leaf sheets

1. Place gelatine sheets in a bowl & cover with cold water. Allow to soak for a miute or two, till leaves have softened.

2. In a microwave proof dish pour in the elderflower syrup. Microwave for 40 secs to 1 minute. Stir in softened gelatine till dissolved. Set aside to cool for a minute or two.

3. Stir in the champagne to your cordial mix. Add flecks of gold leaf to your jelly mix. Pour into a small tray.

4. Place in fridge and allow to set.

Goats cheese icecream

1 cups cream

1/2 cup full cream milk

2 egg yolks

8 tsp good quality honey

60g fresh goats cheese

1. In a medium sized saucepan add the cream, milk, honey & goats cheese over a medium heat stir till combined and has heated through. Remove from heat. Do not let boil, as mix will curdle. You may need to gently whisk to combine the cheese till smooth.

2 In a medium bowl whisk the egg yolks together. Pour the warm cream and goats cheese mix. Start with a couple of spoonful’s at first then add remaining mix, whisking quickly to combine. Pour the mix back into the saucepan and pot back on the stove on a low heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Stir gently on a low heat till mixture has thickened slightly & coats the back of a spoon. About 10- 15 minutes.

3. Refrigerate the mixture until chilled, then process in your ice cream machine, as per the manufacturers instructions. When ice cream has finished churning, pour into a freezer proof container. Place into freezer allow to set.

To assemble your dessert

1 Scoop quenelle’s of the goats cheese ice cream onto plate.

2 Using a spoon add dollops of the gold leaf jelly.

3 Place the sliced blackberries randomly.

4 Sprinkle baby mint leaves & sprinkle with gold leaf sugar.

Serve immediately.

Beetroot Cured Kingfish with Pickled Radish, Cucumber & Herb Salad & Salmon Roe

Serves 2

4 large cooked beetroots

1 orange zested

1 lemon zested

3 juniper berries ground/smashed

500g rock salt

300g raw sugar

50ml gin

600g–800g piece of Kingfish pin-boned, skin off

Black salt to garnish

Salmon roe to garnish

Dill sprigs to garnish

Chive batons to garnish

Micro herbs to garnish

1. In a food processor wizz the cooked beetroots, orange & lemon zest, juniper berries & gin till a smooth paste.

2. Mix beetroot slurry together in a bowl with the rock salt & raw sugar.

3. Place some of the cure mix in the base of a deep tray. Place the kingfish ontop.

4. Cover the fish with the remaining cure mix. Place a layer of clingwrap and then place a flat tray on top. Weigh tray down with heavy tins and leave in fridge to cure 24 hours.

5. The next day remove fish from the cure & rinse gently under cold running water. Pat dry with a paper towel.

6. Slice the kingfish into thin slices. Set aside on a clingwrap covered plate in fridge till ready to plate up.

Pickled salad

2-3 baby cucumbers thinly sliced into rounds

4-6 radishes thinly sliced length wise

1-2 shallots finely sliced

1/3 cup Moscato glaze or champagne vinegar

1 tsp Chives finely sliced

1 tsp Dill finely chopped

1. In a bowl combine all ingredients

To serve: Lay the slices of kingfish on your plate. Sprinkle the pickled salad over the top.

Sprinkle with the extra herbs, micro herb and black salt. Serve with the salmon roe.

Photography by Bec Hudson Photography  
Food Styling and prop Kirsty Bryson food & prop styling, & recipes
Props from The Prop Dispensary