Valentine’s Day: An easy but impressive menu for a romantic night in

This Valentine’s Day, look no further than Marcus Wareing’s ultimate menu for a special night in. Love is in the air with this delectable combination of starter, main and dessert – plus a special wine pairing – created by one of Britain’s most beloved celebrity chefs.

Start off your romantic evening with burrata with romesco sauce and grilled padron peppers – a light and creamy dish that’s sure to set the tone for the night. Then, tuck into the jerusalem artichoke and barley ristto, which is as indulgent as it is delicious.

For dessert, you can’t go wrong with baked honeycomb pudding. Sweet and indulgent, these puds will definitely make your Valentine swoon. And to top it all off, pair the menu with a bottle of Wareing’s personal cuvet from Gosset – the perfect way to finish an unforgettable evening.

Burrata with romesco sauce and grilled padron peppers

Serves: 4 as a starter

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

12 fresh padron peppers (approx 60g in total)

Splash of vegetable oil

4 x 100g or 2 x 200g balls burrata

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the romesco sauce:

100g roasted red peppers, deseeded and skin removed, or piquillo peppers (from a jar or tin), drained and roughly chopped

50g flaked toasted almonds

3 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp sweet smoked paprika

2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 tsp tomato purée

Splash of dry sherry

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. To make the romesco sauce, place all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until you have a chunky paste. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Divide between four plates.

2. Heat a dry grill pan over high heat until smoking. Drizzle the padron peppers with a little oil and seasoning, then grill for about 5 minutes until lightly blackened.

3. If using small burrata balls, tear them over the romesco. If you’re using larger burrata, cut them almost all the way through then peel open and add half a burrata per portion, cut side facing up, to the romesco. Drizzle with olive oil and season well. Garnish with the grilled padron peppers and serve immediately.

Jerusalem artichoke and barley ‘risotto’ with grated bottarga

This is similar to a traditional risotto in texture and appearance, but is made with pearl barley instead of rice. It is easier to make because you don’t have to stand over the barley as it cooks.

Bottarga is the salted and dried roe sac of fish and is a unique delicacy with a big flavour – the dish will still work well without it, but do give it a try if you can find some.

The addition of fresh thyme, rosemary, marjoram or oregano would all complement the barley and add a layer of flavour.

Serves: 4

Prep time: 30 minutes | Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

300g Jerusalem artichokes

2 sprigs of thyme

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1 onion, finely diced

200g pearl barley, rinsed and drained

150ml white wine

700ml good-quality hot vegetable stock

100g mascarpone

50g pecorino, grated

Juice of 1 lemon

½ bunch of tarragon, chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bottarga, to serve

Method:

1. Put the artichokes, unpeeled, in a saucepan with the sprigs of thyme and a teaspoon of salt. Cover with cold water, place over high heat and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat slightly and cook for 15-20 minutes until they are soft when pieced with a knife.

2. Meanwhile, start the risotto. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over low-medium heat, add the diced onion and sweat for 8-10 minutes until soft and translucent, stirring every now and then. Add the wet barley and a pinch of salt and toast the grains in the oil for 1 minute, then add the white wine, turn up the heat a little and reduce until almost all the wine has evaporated.

Add the vegetable stock, season with black pepper and cook over medium heat for about 25 minutes until the barley is soft but still retains a slight bite.

3. Preheat the oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 4.

4. While the barley is simmering, drain the artichokes through a sieve, then sit the sieve in a bowl and allow them to air-dry as they cool. Once cool enough to handle, cut the artichokes in half. Using a fork, scoop out the soft flesh and put it in a bowl then crush with the back of a fork. Set the crushed flesh aside for later and retain the skins.

5. Scatter the artichoke skins on a baking tray and dress with a little olive oil. Arrange them on a tray so they lie in a single even layer. Place in the oven and roast for about 15 minutes until crisp. Remove from the oven and season with a pinch of salt.

6. When the barley is ready and still over low heat, add the reserved crushed artichokes and stir everything together gently to warm the artichokes through in the risotto (keeping a bit of the texture as you mix), then remove from the heat.

7. To finish, stir through the mascarpone, grated pecorino, lemon juice and chopped tarragon. Stir well to encourage the mascarpone to melt, then season with salt and pepper to taste. The risotto should be thick but loose enough to be pourable.

8. Divide the risotto among four serving bowls, top each with a few of the crispy artichoke skins and finely grate over some bottarga for an extra layer of flavour.

Baked honeycomb puddings

From: New Classics by Marcus Wareing (Harper Collins, £20).

Serves: 4

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

75g butter, plus extra for greasing

40g caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp extra

2 eggs

40g golden syrup

100g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 x 40g chocolate-covered honeycomb bars, roughly chopped

Cocoa powder, to dust

Crème fraîche or ice cream, to serve

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

Lightly butter four ramekins and sprinkle them evenly with the tablespoon of sugar.

Put the eggs and 40g caster sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk on high speed until light and fluffy.

Melt the 75g butter with the golden syrup in a pan then stir it into the eggs and sugar, and fold in the flour and baking powder.

Put a large spoonful of the pudding mixture into the bottom of the ramekins. Sprinkle the crushed honeycomb on top. Finish by spooning the remaining pudding mix over the honeycomb. Smooth over the surface with a palette knife.

Sit the ramekins on a baking tray and bake for around 15 minutes, until the puddings puff up and become golden.

Remove from the oven and leave the puddings to rest for 1-2 minutes, then dust with cocoa powder and serve with a spoonful of crème fraîche or ice cream.

‘Marcus’ Kitchen’, published by Harper Collins, is available now.