Home Entertaining Ideas - Three Enchanting Romantic Recipes for a French Dinner for Valentines Day

When you cook for Valentine's Day, love radiates from your heart, pours into the food and gives it the magical quality that ignites the soul. When you serve your Valentine an elegant meal do it with some beautiful candles, good champagne or wine if you like, and a loving and warm smile. Remember the real aphrodisiac is you!

Cream of Courgette soup with tarragon

Ingredients:
1 chicken bouillon (stock) cube
2 sprigs of tarragon washed and drained
1 large tablespoon creme fraiche
500 g small courgettes (zucchini) firm and a shiny green
1/2 teaspoon of crushed peppercorns
salt to taste

Wash trim and slice the zuchinnis/courgettes. Fill a saucepan with 1 1/2 cups of water, add the bouillon/stock cube and bring to the boil. Add the sliced courgettes/zuchinnis. Cook for 15 minutes. Transfer to a blender, add the creme fraiche, peppercorns, and salt, and then blend. Pour into soup bowls and add the sprigs of tarragon as a garnish.

Tagliatelle with pancetta and sage

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
200 grams fresh tagliatelle pasta
1/2 bunch fresh sage washed and drained
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 slices pancetta ham
2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
60 grams of grated parmesan cheese

Saute the slices of pancetta and drain on paper towel. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a pan and add the sage leaves and saute for 1 minute. Drain. Cook the pasta according to the directions with 1 tablespoon of oil added to the water to keep the strands of pasta separate during cooking. Drain the pasta and add the butter and ricotta. Stir together. Heap the pasta on two plates and top each pile with the pancetta, sage leaves, grated Parmesan, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Heart with Raspberries

Ingredients:

150 grams fresh raspberries
100 grams bitter chocolate
1 teaspoon raspberry liqueur
3 eggs
100 grams unsalted butter
100 grams of granulated sugar
1 tablespoon plain flour
Icing sugar to decorate

Preheat oven to 150C or 300F
Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg yolks,raspberry liqueur,sugar, butter and flour. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and then fold into the chocolate mixture. Butter a heart-shaped or round cake tin. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 40 minutes. The cake should be slightly runny in the centre. If using a round cake tin then cut a piece of cardboard into a heart-shaped template approximately the same size as the cake. Remove the cake from the tin and place the heart shaped template on top and use a sharp knife to cut out a heart. Cool. Wash and drain the fresh raspberries. Just before serving, arrange the raspberries in an even way over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with icing sugar (use a tea strainer) and serve immediately.

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