The world is celebrating Valentine’s day today. A date with your loved ones is mandatory whether it is at your favourite restaurant or at home. It is tough to get a seat at restaurants on February 14 and if a reservation is not made in advance, it is nearly impossible without waiting for hours. 

Keeping in mind the pandemic, there would be limited eating as well so this time, the best option is to have an amazing dinner date back at home.

Five spice chicken salad

You might think that what is a salad doing in a valentine’s dinner, but this is not an ordinary bland salad and packs a mouthful of flavours. It is light, so there would always be space for the main course and dessert and uses only a handful of ingredients.

Just marinate some boneless chicken thighs in soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey, lime, a clove of grated garlic and stir fry it till the chicken is cooked. In a bowl, add some sesame oil, soy sauce, lime juice, toasted sesame. Add some julienned carrots and spring onions, as well as a handful of either baby greens or Chinese cabbage. Mix all the ingredients, check seasonings and serve with the chicken on top. Check the full recipe here

Chicken Parmesan

The salad should be followed by something meaty, cheesy and full of carbs. And chicken parmesan with some pasta is the perfect combination of all these. First saute some onions and garlic in some olive oil.  Then add a can of tomatoes, salt, pepper and sugar. Simmer this for 10 to 15 minutes. In the meantime, butterfly some chicken breasts. Coat it in some flour, eggs and breadcrumbs mixed with some parmesan cheese. Fry the chicken till golden brown. The chicken will now go into the broiler, topped with some slices of mozzarella cheese and parmesan until the cheese is completely melted.

Now boil some pasta of your choice and once boiled, take it out and mix it in a bowl with the tomato sauce, some fresh basil and chilli flakes along with the required seasoning. 

While serving, top the chicken with some of the tomato sauce and freshly chopped basil. Check the full recipe here

Chocolate Mousse

Valentine’s dates are more than just dinner. One should not give all their energy making a chocolate cake and then be tired for the date. So the dessert should definitely be something less fussy to make and requires less ingredients. All these criterias lead to a perfect velvety chocolate mousse. 

In a food processor, add some ricotta cheese and blend till smooth. Then gradually add some sugar, followed by some melted dark chocolate. You can also add a dash of bourbon or orange liqueur for that extra oomph but this is optional. Now serve the mousse with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Check the full recipe here

Once all the food is ready, put on your favourite clothes, light some scented candles and have an amazing valentine’s day dinner.