Made With Love
Hi Ballet Beauties,
It's time to celebrate love! Here at the #BalletBeautifulKitchen, we know that no Valentine's Day is complete without some delicious food and dessert. Just because you might not be able to eat out this year, doesn't mean you can't enjoy a lovely meal at home! Whether you're cooking for a loved one, or treating yourself this Valentine's Day, we've put together an easy three-course dinner that will be sure to impress, including a sweet treat to complete your meal.
First Course
Spaghetti squash with homemade pesto and toasted whole grain garlic bread
Preheat your oven to 425. Cut spaghetti squash length-wise and scoop out seeds. Brush with a little olive oil and place cut-side down on baking sheet.
Bake for 35-45 min, until a fork can easily be inserted into skin of the squash. Remove from the oven and scrape the inside of the squash with a fork to reveal spaghetti.
Basil spinach pesto
2 heaping cups of basil
1 cup of spinach
1 garlic clove
1/3 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper to taste
Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor to combine. (Add some water to blend if needed)
Toasted whole grain garlic bread
Toast your favorite whole grain bread, brush with a little olive oil, rub peeled garlic on toasted bread and enjoy!
Main Course
We love this easy & tasty 20-minute meal! If you like salmon, this is a great recipe for busy moms and professionals.

Soy ginger salmon
Fresh salmon fillets (at room temperature)
Ginger slices
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
2-3 tablespoons sake or white wine
Sea salt & Black pepper
Sprinkle of garlic-chili (optional)
Lemon slices

For serving
Touch of fresh lemon juice
Chopped green onions

Preheat oven to 400˚F
While the oven is heating up, lay out ginger slices on the bottom of baking dish. This will help the salmon not stick to the bottom. Lay the salmon fillets on top of the ginger slices.

Add sake (or white wine), soy sauce, salt & pepper, and maybe a little garlic-chili... then place lemon slices on the salmon.

Put the salmon into the oven and cook for about 10-15 minutes or until just cooked through, depending on the size of your salmon. Be careful not to overcook it!

Finish it off by topping the salmon with a squeeze of lemon juice and sprinkle it with green onions.

Blanched Broccoli
Broccoli
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan on high heat, add olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place the broccoli in the boiling water and let cook for 1 minute. Drain water well, ready to serve.

Cauliflower blend rice
Japanese rice
Cauliflower

Cook Japanese rice. Shave cauliflower in a bowl. After the rice is cooked, add cauliflower and mix, allowing it to steam with the rice.

 

Dessert

No Valentine's Day meal is complete without dessert! Finish things off with these Greek honey dumplings, with a special Valentine's twist.

Red Velvet Loukoumades
280 g water
18 g yeast
1 tablespoon red food coloring paste
1 tablespoon honey
250 g all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
50 g corn starch
olive oil

For serving
Powdered sugar
Honey
Walnuts
Ground cinnamon

In a bowl, add the water, yeast, honey and red food coloring. Whisk until completely combined.
Add the flour, corn starch and salt. Whisk. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow mixture to rise for 45-60 minutes.
Place a deep pan with oil over heat. Dip a spoon in a cup full of oil. Pick up some of the mixture with your hands and “cut” into small dumplings with the spoon.
Add each dumpling to the pan and fry for 1 minute before transferring to a pan covered with parchment paper. Let them sit for 2-3 minutes to soften and place back in frying pan. Fry for 2-3 minutes while continuously mixing with a slotted spoon.

Cream Cheese Frosting
120 g butter
200 g cream cheese
250 g icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl, add the butter at room temperature, the cream cheese at room temperature, the icing sugar and the vanilla extract. Whisk until mixture is incorporated. Transfer frosting to a pastry bag.

Pierce the dumplings with a knife and fill them with the frosting. Serve with honey, walnuts, cinnamon and powdered sugar!

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

With love,
The Ballet Beautiful team

 

Tag us at #BalletBeautifulKitchen and share your own Valentine's treats!