Valentines Day

What with the credit crunch and all we made the decision not to go overboard this year, not that we ever do! We decided we would just spend the day together, doing what we wanted to do, followed by a DVD, lovely meal and a bottle of bubbly.

There had been much to-ing and fro-ing over what we fancied. We decided on the starters fairly early on and actually stuck to it. We had scallops (big massive ones) wrapped in Black Forest ham from Lidl, pan fried and served on a minted pea puree. Now I know that sounds VERY Masterchefy but I like it so there! To be honest I gave hubby one of my scallops and went back for seconds on the pea puree, which he thought very strange!

For mains we couldn't make our minds up. First of all I fancied Cheese Fondue, and found a great recipe where you end up with a crispy disc of cheese at the bottom. Now this might sound a bit odd as I am lactose intolerant, but to be honest cheese doesn't seem to affect me, and certainly not as much as milk or sour cream. Anyway hubby decided that fondue would be a bit heavy, considering our plans for later that evening(!) so I trawled through my recipes and came up with alternatives. First we thought about lamb Wellington. There was a recipe in last months Easy Cook magazine which looked lovely and used neck fillet so economical too. But then he decided he didn't fancy that. So back to the drawing board.

We ended up choosing a recipe I have had for ages and never got round to cooking.



My lovely sister got me a pasta machine for Christmas and we bravely made our first batch a couple of weeks ago. It was definitely trial and error! However this time, we perfected it. We were a smooth, well oiled, pasta making machine! The pasta came out perfectly and was duly hung over the oven door handle whilst we tidied up.

The recipe is from Sainsburys 2008 calendar which came free with the Christmas magazine. Hubby isn't keen on watercress so I substituted basil instead. It worked really really well, and is perfect served with a chilled Pinot Grigio.


Open Salmon Lasagne with Watercress and Tomato Sauce

Serves 4

3 x 75g of watercress

3 tbs of capers

juice of 1 lemon, plus wedges for serving

6 tbs of olive oil

4 salmon fillets

1 250g pack of fresh lasagne sheets, halved

4 vine tomatoes, finely chopped



N.B. The recipe advises that you roast the salmon fillets, but I steamed them for 10-12 minutes. Also used 4 vine tomatoes for 2 people as I didn't feel there were enough. And as mentioned above I used a packet of basil rather than the watercress.



1)In a food processor whiz the watercress, 2 tbs of the capers, lemon juices and 4 tbs of the oil until the watercress and capers are finely chopped. Season and set aside

2) Lay the salmon fillets on an oiled baking sheet, season with black pepper and bake for 15 minutes.

3) Meanwhile in a pan of salted boiling water cook lasgane for 6-7 minutes until al dente. Drain and toil with 1/2 tbs of olive oil

4) Once salmon is cooked, roughly flake into a bowl and 3/4 of the chopped tomatoes and 3/4 of the watercress mixture and stir

5) Lay one piece of lasgane on 4 plates and spoon a little of the salmon mixture on top of each, repeat until you have two layers of fish and lasagne. Then top each pile with another piece of lasagne

6) Thin the remaining watercress mixture with a tablespoon of oil, then spoon over the lasganes. Scatter with the rest of the capers and chopped tomatoes, season with freshly ground black pepper. Serve at room temperature with lemon wedges.