Valentine's day menu: steak, carrot ginger sauce, Brussels sprouts, spiced poached pears and ice cream

An impressive, delicious, but surprisingly quick three course meal perfect for sharing on Valentines day.

Creamy ginger carrot sauce, rare steak with gochujang butter, crispy Brussels sprouts, and lastly the most effortlessly decadent tea poached pears with saffron caramel.

“Three course meal” makes this sound far more intimidating than it is, and while it’s colorful and complex in flavor; it is easily achievable in two hours.

This meal is perfect for making for someone you love on Valentines day, be it your special someone, lover, best friend, or yourself; it is definitely worth it.

My only request is that this wonderful and thought out meal is NOT made for a situationship, don’t spend Valentines day with that man with commitment issues, make it for your friends instead.

The pears can be made up to a day ahead which is perfect for when I’m finally posting this and also because it will keep you from scrambling last minute in the kitchen. The caramel is incredibly easy to make and is just as delicious without the saffron, given current grocery prices.

The carrot sauce can also be prepared in advance and reheated for serving.

Steak with carrot sauce

For the carrot ginger puree:

• 2 large carrots, peeled

• ¼ in piece of ginger, peeled

• 3 cloves garlic

• ¼ cup coconut milk

• ½ cup milk

• ¼ cup water

• 1 tsp salt

• ½ tsp pepper

• 1 tsp lemon juice

• 2 tbsp butter

Peel carrots and chop into ½ inch pieces. Peel the ginger and thinly slice.

Melt butter in a small sauce pot, add in three cloves of lightly smashed garlic (you just use the heel of your palm to do so, it doesn’t need to be crushed). After 30 seconds, add in the ginger and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add in the chopped carrots and stir, cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes or until the carrots are fork tender. Remove two garlic cloves and set aside in a bowl.

Once the carrots are cooked, add in the milk and coconut milk. Stir and simmer for 5 minutes. Add in salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Transfer to a separate container or a blender; add in the water and let cool down for 5 or so minutes. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Set aside.

While the carrots cook you can prepare the compound butter (see below)

For the gochujang compound butter:

• 2 tbsp butter, softened

• 1 ½ tsp gochujang

• 2 reserved garlic cloves for carrot sauce

Smash up the cooked garlic into a paste, add gochujang and butter. Mix well with a fork until fully combined. Place in the fridge.

For the steak:

• 2 steaks (I used NY strip but a 1 lb hanger steak would work beautifully as well)

• Salt (around 1 tsp)

• Pepper (I used a combination of pink and black pepper corns)

• 1 tbsp avocado oil (or another high smoke point oil like canola)

• 2 garlic cloves (optional)

• 1 inch long strip of lemon peel (optional)

• 4 sage leaves or 1 small bunch of rosemary (optional)

20 minutes before cooking, remove steak from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature.

This is good time to start preparing the Brussels sprouts.

Make sure the steaks are dry and salt and pepper each side generously. This helps develop a good crust. Have a clean cutting board ready with aromatics on it (smashed garlic, lemon, herbs).

Heat up a stainless steel skillet until ripping hot, you can test this by putting a little water on the pan, if it forms little beads that speed around the pan and maintain a round form; it is hot enough. Make sure there is no oil on the pan when you do this (please).

Once hot enough, add in oil followed by the steak. Use a spatula to press it into the pan.

If you are cooking a hanger steak you want to cook it for around 3 minutes and then flip it (it is a thinner cut).

If you are cooking a NY strip or ribeye, cook for around 4 minutes on this side and flip.

Cook the second side for the same amount of time. Turn the temperature down slightly to medium high. Start flipping the steak every minute until reached desired doneness. I like my steak rare so I cooked it for around 10 minutes, until it reached 110 degrees F (it will finish cooking as it rests). If you like your steak medium rare, cook until 130 degrees.

Remove the steaks with tongs and set on the cutting board on top of the aromatics. Lightly tent aluminum foil over the steaks. Let rest for at least 10 minutes.

Remove the gochujang butter from the fridge.

Slice the steak thinly against the grain, spread the carrot sauce on a plate and place the steak on top. Top with gochujang butter.

Smokey Brussels sprouts

For the Brussels sprouts:

• 12 large Brussels sprouts

• 1 tsp olive oil

• ½ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp pepper

• ¼ tsp smoked paprika

• 3 tbsp Labneh

• Green onion (optional)

• Lemon

• Carrot sauce

Put a large sheet tray in the oven and heat to 375 degrees F.

While that heats, halve the Brussels sprouts, or quarter if very large, and add to a bowl. Toss in oil, salt, pepper, and paprika.

Once the oven reaches temperature, pour the Brussels sprouts on the tray, cut side down. Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the Brussels sprouts from the oven and set up your plating. I did a dollop and swoop of the carrot sauce and labneh on opposite sides of the plates and piled the Brussels sprouts in between and garnished with green onions and a little drizzle of lemon juice.

Poached pears and ice cream

For the pears:

• 2 Bosc pears

• 1 stick of cinnamon

• 1 tsp whole pink peppercorns

• 2 green tea bags

• ¼ cup brown sugar

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 quart water

• ¼ cup red wine (white wine also works)

• 1 pinch saffron (optional)

• 1 mandarin orange cut in half

• 1 lemon cut in half

Peel the pears, leaving the stems on. Trim the bottom so the pears stand up on their own. Place in a bowl of water.

In a small sauce pot, heat up 1 quart of water and add in the tea bags; let steep for 20 minutes. Add in the sugar, cinnamon, peppercorns, salt, and citrus. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Add in the pears and turn the heat to low, after 10 minutes remove the tea bags. Poach the pears for one hour, turning once half way through.

Very gently remove the pears with a spoon and set aside. Strain the aromatics from the poaching liquid, making sure to keep the liquid.

In the same pot reduce the liquid for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, if using, gently grind up the saffron threads into smaller pieces in a small bowl, place an ice cube on top of the saffron and let it melt at room temperature. This blooms the saffron for the flavor is more fragrant and the color is brighter.

The poaching liquid should begin to thicken slightly, add in the wine. Continue reducing for 6 minutes. Once thick enough to just slightly coat the back of a spoon, pour in the saffron water and cook for 5 more minutes.

Scoop some vanilla ice cream in a bowl, place a pear next to it and drizzle the caramel over top.

Enjoy!

Cooking for the people you love is one of the most wonderful things humans do, take the time to show people you love them with a wonderful meal. It’s my favorite thing to do.

Happy Valentines day!

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