The Perfect Valentine's Menu
David Duverger is the head chef of Papillon, a French brasserie located in the Brompton Cross. He gave LBC 97.3's Food and Drink show his perfect Valentine's Day menu - a three-course meal that is deceptively simple, yet cannot fail to impress.
Starter
Warm scallop ravioli with Avruga caviar, lime dressing and virgin olive oil
Ingredients
Scallops
Avruga caviar
Lime
Olive oil
This isn't made with pasta, but with very thin slices of scallops, filled with caviar. Go for avruga caviar, which is only £4 per jar. No need to go to your butchers and ask for expensive scallops - any from your supermarket will do. Go for the biggest you can find and you need only four - two per serving.
1) Slice the scallops finely and add a little dab of caviar in the middle. Then put another slice of scallop on the top to seal the caviar in.
2) Marinate it in a bit of olive oil and lime juice. Grate some lime on top and put it in the fridge for a couple of hours.
3) Cook it for just 30 seconds in the oven to add a little sweetness - although you can eat them raw if you'd prefer.
4) Serve with salad leaves.
Main course
Roast venison fillet with a pink bay crust and a red wine reduction jus
Ingredients
Venison fillets
Pink bey peppercorns
Breadcrumbs
Shallots
Red wine
Juniper Berries
Stock (Game or beef)
Butter
Butternut squash
Parsnips
Again, this sounds impressive, but is actually very simple to create.
1) Serve the venison with some roasted butternut squash and parsnip - simply cut into small pieces and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes.
2) Mix pink bey (pink peppercorns) with breadcrumbs - a 50-50 mix - and rub the mixture all around your venison fillets.
3) Roast the venison in the oven for five minutes.
4) Chop some shallots to some red wine and juniper berries and boil it down to reduce it. I use a game stock, but a beef stock will be fine if you can't find one.
5) When the sauce is ready, add a small amount of butter, melt it and whisk it in to give the sauce a great colour.
Dessert
Raspberries and glazed pastry with a light honey cream
Ingredients
Egg white
Honey
Gelatine
Whipping crea
Raspberries
Puff pastry (bought from a supermarket is fine)
Icing sugar
This is very simple to make and very cheap as well - essentially an Italian meringue.
1) Whip some egg white until it becomes fluffy and you get peaks
2) Add hot honey, gelatine and whipping cream and into the mixture, along with your raspberries
3) Buy a puff pastry - supermarket ones are very good now and making your own is quite a pro chef's job - and roll it out. Add the cream mixture onto the pastry.
4) Mix some icing sugar with egg white and top the puff pastry with your icing.
5) Cook for 10 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees.
Wine
To start the evening, wine expert Thierry Tomassin suggested Comte Audoin de Dampierre champagne, available from Harrod's amongst other places, at around £18, an absolutely bargain for fizz of that quality.
To go with the venison, Carinu was his choice, a lightish red that’s not to spicy and therefore won’t fight with the meat or its crust.