Valentine's Day

Meal Plan Occasions 2: More Special Occasions

Occasion 3 · Valentine's Day

Today at a glance. A romantic dinner for 2 people (or for you with a treat to share on the next day). A restaurant-style duck with a sharp, shiny orange sauce, followed by chocolate fondants that look impressive and can be filled the day before. The two recipes together take about 1 hour, and the fondants bake while you clear the plates. Quantities are for two, in metric with UK names, with notes on scaling up.

Main meal

Main meal · Serves 2 · Duck

Seared Duck Breast with Orange Sauce, Crispy Potatoes and Green Beans

Prep: 15 minutesCooking: about 40 minutesAbout 30 minutes of hands-on workServes 2

Ingredients (2 portions)

  • 2 duck breasts, skin on (about 200 g each)
  • 400 g baby new potatoes, halved
  • 1 tbsp olive oil, for the potatoes
  • 200 g green beans, trimmed
  • 10 g butter, for the beans
  • 1 orange (zest of half, juice of the whole, about 100 ml)
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  • ½ cube chicken stock cube
  • 100 ml hot water for the stock
  • 1 tsp cornflour, mixed with 1 tbsp cold water
  • 15 g cold butter, cubed, to finish the sauce
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme (or ½ tsp dried thyme)
  • 1 tsp flaky sea salt, for the duck
  • 1 pinch black pepper
Make it ahead
Halve the potatoes and trim the beans earlier in the day. Score the duck skin and keep the breasts uncovered on a plate in the fridge for an hour or two: a drier skin crisps better. Take them out 30 minutes before you cook them.

Method

  1. The potatoes: heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Toss the potatoes with the oil and a pinch of salt on a baking tray and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, turning once, until golden and crisp.
  2. The duck: pat the duck dry. With a sharp knife, score the skin in a criss-cross pattern, cutting through the fat but not into the meat. Season both sides with the salt and pepper.
  3. Put the breasts skin side down in a cold, dry, ovenproof frying pan. Turn on a medium-low heat and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, without moving them, until a lot of fat has run out and the skin is deep golden and crisp. Pour off the fat into a heatproof bowl once or twice as it builds up (keep it: it makes wonderful roast potatoes another day).
  4. Turn the breasts over and cook for 3 to 4 minutes for medium-rare (the middle is pink, about 55 to 60°C), or 6 to 7 minutes for medium to well done. Lift them onto a warm plate, cover loosely with foil and rest for 8 minutes.
  5. The sauce: pour away almost all of the fat from the pan, leaving 1 tsp. Add the orange juice, zest, honey, thyme and the stock cube dissolved in 100 ml of hot water. Bubble for 4 to 5 minutes, until reduced by half. Stir in the cornflour mixture and simmer for 1 minute, until glossy. Take off the heat and swirl in the cold butter. Season.
  6. The beans: boil the green beans in salted water for 4 to 5 minutes, drain and toss with the 10 g of butter.
  7. Slice the duck breasts thinly on the diagonal, fan them out on warm plates with the potatoes and beans, and spoon over the sauce.
Cooking duck
Duck breast is a whole muscle, so it is safe to serve pink in the middle if the skin is well seared. If you prefer it cooked through, or you are cooking for anyone pregnant or unwell, cook it until there is no pink (about 70°C). Wash your hands, the board and the knife after handling raw duck.

Swaps

A cherry or redcurrant sauce in place of the orange. Chicken breast (cooked through) in place of the duck. Sweet potato wedges or mashed potato in place of the crispy potatoes.

Shopping list for this recipe

Dessert

Dessert · Serves 2

Molten Chocolate Fondants with Raspberries

Prep: 15 minutesOven: 10 to 12 minutesAbout 20 minutes of hands-on workServes 2

Ingredients (2 portions)

  • 100 g dark chocolate (about 70% cocoa), broken into pieces
  • 100 g butter, plus extra for the ramekins
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 50 g caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp plain flour (about 25 g)
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder, for the ramekins
  • 100 g fresh raspberries, to serve
  • 1 tbsp icing sugar, to dust
Make it ahead
Fill the ramekins up to 24 hours ahead, cover and keep them in the fridge. Cook straight from the fridge, adding 2 minutes to the baking time. This leaves you free to enjoy the main course.

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Grease two 150 ml ramekins well with butter, using a pastry brush and brushing upwards. Dust the insides with cocoa, tipping out any extra.
  2. Melt the chocolate and the 100 g of butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (the bowl must not touch the water), stirring until smooth. Leave for 5 minutes to cool a little.
  3. Whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl for 3 to 4 minutes, until thick, pale and doubled in volume. Fold in the chocolate mixture, then the flour, until just combined.
  4. Divide the mixture between the ramekins. Put them on a baking tray and bake for 10 to 12 minutes (12 to 14 from the fridge), until the tops are risen and set but the middle still wobbles when you shake the tray.
  5. Leave to stand for 1 minute. Run a knife around the edge, put a plate on top, flip it over and lift off the ramekin. Dust with icing sugar and serve straight away with the raspberries.
Molten means a soft middle
The fondant is meant to have a runny centre, but the outside is cooked. If anyone at the table is pregnant, very young, elderly or unwell, bake for 2 to 3 minutes longer so that the middle is set, or make a sponge pudding instead. Eat straight away.

Swaps

A square of caramel or a teaspoon of peanut butter pushed into the middle. Orange zest in the mixture. Vanilla ice cream or cream on the side.

Shopping list for this recipe
Coming up next
Occasion 4 is Mother's Day (Mothering Sunday in the UK), with a chicken, ham and leek pie with a puff pastry lid, followed by a lemon drizzle traybake with strawberries and cream.