My gift to Jane on Valentine's day tends to be an eight course meal. However, rather than going to a restaurant, I like to cook it myself and serve it with some of the best wines from my cellar. This year in 2015 I decided that as we were in France, where wonderful seafood is readily available, I would go for a seafood dinner, starting with some eastern inspired dishes and then moving on to some western dishes. Although oysters are popular on Valentines day I decided to avoid the cliches and went with other seafood instead. If you are looking for some inspiration for a seafood dinner look at the pictures and commentary below.
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| Our aperitif was a 2002 vintage Blanc de Noirs Champagne from our favourite producer Jean Laurent. It has a lovely yeasty/biscuity flavour that I love in vintage champagne. This was served with a sharing plate of Salt and Pepper Squid with some added orange zest. Tip - don't cook squid for more than two and a half minutes or it will go tough. The BBC good food website has great advice on preparing squid. My favourite bits are the tentacles. |
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| Next course was Seared Scallops served on a bed of Mango and Coriander salsa. This we served with a Francois Raveneau 2006 Premier Cru Montée de Tonnere Chablis. Don't overcook scallops, even for the large ones I don't do more than one and a half minutes a side. |
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| Third course was Sea Bass served in a Thai broth with Crispy Noodles. This was also served with the Chablis. Again the Sea Bass was cooked very quickly and allowed to rest a little so it was beautifully succulent and tender. |
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| The best wine and the best dish came next. The wine was an incredible Sancerre white - A Gérard Boulay Comtesse 2007. One of my very favourite Sancerres and a great expression of the terroir whilst still embodying the essence of the Sauvignon Blanc cepage. This dish was inspired by the very first meal I ever had with Jane back in 2002 when we met. It is thyme and rosemary smoked langoustines served with chanterelles mushrooms, apple, hazlenuts and baby salad leaves. Amazingly delicious. |
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| The main course was a Tartare de Thon (raw chopped tuna) served with caviar, salad and french fries. The tuna was livened up with some grapefruit juice, tabasco and olive oil. This dish was served with a very good Chinon Cabernet Franc red wine - a Clos de l'Echo Crescendo 2009. I though it went well with the tartare but Jane preferred the Sancerre. |
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| The Cheese course was served with the same Chinon red and comprised of a Tête de Moine, an Ossua Iraty and aTome aux Fleurs. Served with some rocket leaves. |
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| Desert was Pain Perdu served with apple, hazlenut butter and maple syrup. |
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| The dinner finished with a decaf expresso and three wonderful chocolates from the Fournil du Château in Maintenon. |
Job done, I can now relax again for another year!
You can relax for another year if I let you, that is ;-)
ReplyDeleteSpectacular dinner, superb wine pairings, brilliant execution. Merci beaucoup !
And, Dear Reader, do you know why I am treated to 8 courses every year?
Quite simply because there are 8 letters in I LOVE YOU !!
And it even works in French if you count the apostrophe: JE T'AIME !!
This looks stunning, John. Nicely photographed too.
ReplyDelete"The tuna was livened up with some grapefruit juice, tabasco and olive oil." - wow! I'm going to have to try that sometime. Any hints on relative quantities? Presumably the trick is to get the freshest tuna possible.
"This wine was served with a very good Chinon Cabernet Franc red wine" - wine impairing your grammar, perhaps? ;)
Thanks Paul. Grammar corrected! As to hints about relative quantities I am afraid I don't follow recipes so it is all about adding some, tasting, correcting, tasting again. I would say that it does need a good squeeze of grapefruit juice and a good glug of olive oil! Tabasco is completely according to taste. The tuna should be very fresh but it can be previously frozen.
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