Be my Valentine

Smoked chicken and avocado wonton cups

These pretty little canapes have the elegance of looking like you have slaved over the stove, when in fact they are quite simple to make.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2-4

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 12 fresh wonton skins

- 1 small chicken breast, smoked, diced finely

- 1 small tomato, deseeded, finely diced

- 6 basil leaves, finely sliced

- 1 chilli, de-seeded, finely chopped

- 1 spring onion, finely sliced

- 1/2 avocado, finely chopped

- 1 garlic clove, crushed

- 1 tbsp sour cream

- sea salt and pepper

METHOD

Brush 12-capacity mini-muffin pans with oil to lightly grease. Place a wonton wrapper in each pan and press to line base and side, extending above the pan. Bake in preheated 180C oven for 5 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Remove from oven and set aside in the pans until cool. Gently combine the chicken, tomato, basil, chilli, onion, avocado and garlic. Fold through the sour cream and season well. Spoon into cooled cases, and serve.

TIP: The cases can be made the day before and stored in an airtight container.

Smoked chicken and avocado wonton cups.

Valentine lamb and vegetables

How romantic it is to pull out your creative side and cook this for your lover tonight. By the way, your best friends, the greengrocer and butcher, will supply all ingredients for success.

INGREDIENTS

(Serves 2)

- 1 large beetroot

- 4 Valentine loin lamb steaks, butterflied

Turmeric mash

- 2 carrots, cleaned and chopped

- 1 potato, cleaned and chopped

- ½ tsp turmeric powder

- pinch fresh thyme leaves

- 1 tbsp chopped parsley

- 250ml water

- organic lake salt

- cracked black pepper

- 50ml cream

Potato mash

- 400g potato, diced

- 375ml milk

- 25g butter

- organic lake salt

METHOD

Simmer beetroot in salted water for approximately 40 minutes until tender, then cool. At the same time, in a pan cook the turmeric mash ingredients, without the cream, until the potato and carrots are tender. Then add cream and puree the lot into a tasty, colourful mash, and season to taste. Also at the same time, in a pan cook the first three ingredients for the potato mash (potato, milk and butter) until tender and puree fine and smooth. Salt to taste. Keep everything warm while you panfry the lamb steaks to medium, juicy pink on the inside with a nice colour on the outside. Plate up with the steaks in the centre and potato mash piped in a heart shape around the outside. Turmeric mash fills the spaces, with the piece de resistance being heart shapes cut from the beetroot, all displayed on the plate with love. Happy cuddles.