Happy Valentine's Day - The Legend

Eros, Greek God of Love and Desire

The first idea of romantic love came from the god, Eros (God of Love and Desire). The Greek poet Hesiod, who writes in his Theogony, that Eros was one of the first gods born out of Chaos (the void), along with Gaia (the earth) and Tartarus (the underworld). 

Theogony described Eros in the following as: "…and Eros, the fairest of the deathless gods; he unstrings the limbs and subdues both mind and sensible thought in the breasts of all gods and all men." (Hesiod, Theogony, 120-2)

Cupid and his arrows of desire

In Roman mythology Eros' name translation was Cupid, which means desire. He is depicted as a capricious winged child carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows.

St. Valentine, is patron saint of lovers.

Valentine’s Day is named after St. Valentine the patron saint of lovers.

One Valentine legend says St. Valentine secretly married many young lovers and therefore became their patron saint.

It is thought that  Valentine's Day most likely came from the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which had been celebrated for eight hundred years on February 15th. The day was dedicated to the god Lupercus and young men would take a woman as a sexual companion for a year, by means of drawing her name in a lottery.

Pope Gelasius changed this custom, which was unacceptable to the Catholic Church. He decreed that the lottery be changed so that both young men and women drew the names of saints to emulate for the coming year.

Valentine instead of Lupercus became the patron of this feast. Despite this change in custom, Roman men continued to seek the affections of women on this date and sent notes of endearment to their sweethearts, including Valentine's name in their missives.

Tasty Tuesday - A Valentine's Feast

Oysters with champagne sauce

Ingredients:

125ml (1/2 cup) champagne or sparkling white wine

1 French shallot (eschalot), finely chopped

125ml (1/2 cup) thickened cream

Freshly ground white pepper

Rock salt, to serve

12 (1 dozen) natural oysters (such as Sydney rock oysters), in the half shell

Chopped fresh chives, to serve

Method:

Step 1

Place the champagne and shallot in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until reduced by half. Add the cream and season with white pepper. Simmer for 3-4 minutes or until reduced by half and the sauce is thick and creamy.

Step 2

Preheat grill on high. Scatter rock salt over the base of 2 small heatproof serving dishes. Arrange the oysters on the rock salt. Pour the cream mixture evenly among the oysters. Cook under grill for 1-2 minutes or until golden. Set aside for 2 minutes to cool slightly. Sprinkle with chives to serve.

Duck legs braised in pinot noir

Ingredients:

1/2 onion, roughly chopped

1 carrot, roughly chopped

1 celery stalk, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 cup (250ml) pinot noir

150ml port

Zest and juice of 2 oranges

2 bay leaves

4 duck marylands (see note)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup (80ml) demiglaze (see note)

8 eschalots, peeled

20g unsalted butter

1 tablespoon caster sugar

Steamed peas and creamy mashed potato, to serve

Method:

Step 1

Place onion, carrot, celery and garlic in a heavy-based saucepan with pinot, port, orange zest and juice, and bay leaves. Bring to the boil, then remove from heat and set aside to cool. Pour over duck legs in a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 150°C.

Step 3

Drain the duck legs, reserving the marinade and vegetables separately. Pat duck dry with paper towel. Heat oil in a large ovenproof frypan over medium heat. Fry the duck legs for 2-3 minutes each side until golden all over. Remove duck from pan and set aside, then drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat.

Step 4

Place the reserved vegetables in the frypan and cook for 3-4 minutes until golden. Add reserved marinade, demiglaze and 1 cup (250ml) water and bring to the boil. Add the duck legs and cover with a round piece of baking paper to keep in the moisture, then cover with a lid or foil. Place in the oven and cook for 2 hours or until the duck is tender. Remove the pan from the oven and strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve into a saucepan. Place the liquid over medium heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes until mixture has reduced to a thick sauce.

Step 5

Meanwhile, cook the eschalots in a small saucepan of lightly salted water over medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes until tender. Drain well and pat dry with paper towel. Heat butter in a small-heavy based frypan over medium-low heat. Add the eschalots and swirl pan to coat in butter. Sprinkle with the sugar and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, for 3-5 minutes until golden.

Step 6

Serve the duck with the peas, mashed potato and caramelised eschalots.

Strawberries in cointreau

Ingredients:

250g (1 punnet) strawberries, washed, hulled, halved

2 tablespoons Cointreau liqueur

60g good-quality dark chocolate

3 tablespoons double thick cream

Method:

Step 1

Place the strawberries and Cointreau in a medium bowl and stir until well combined. Cover and place in the fridge for 1-2 hours to macerate.

Step 2

Run a vegetable peeler to peel along the long edge of the block of chocolate to make chocolate curls. Set aside until serving.

Step 3

To serve, spoon the strawberry mixture into serving bowls. Top with cream and chocolate curls.