Delicious but light dishes, prepared with tomatoes, broccoli and lemons. A healthy and tempting menu for lovers: caprese salad, spaghetti with broccoli, ricotta and pecorino cheese and heart-shaped lemon biscuits.
For Valentine’s Day, serve a dinner of fruit and vegetables seasoned with desire. The “I Love Fruit & Veg from Europe” campaign puts tasty and aphrodisiac seasonal produce on the table, because a romantic dinner has to delight all the senses. Candles, music, beautiful clothes and a colourful, fresh and delicious vegetarian menu. Importantly, this keeps it light, with post dinner in mind, but digestible means delicious and satisfying!
The campaign, supported by the Italian producers’ organizations, Agritalia, A.O.A., La Deliziosa, Meridia and Terra Orti, and co-funded by the European Commission, which aims to promote, in Italy and abroad, the conscious purchase and consumption of quality European fruit and vegetable products, also in their organic and PDO/PGI versions, advises against dishes that are too rich, and suggests eating fresh fruit and vegetables instead, starting with a delicious “caprese salad”.
For Valentine’s Day, cut the mozzarella into a heart shapes, place them on large slices of tomato, seasoned with basil, extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt. Tomatoes, in particular, contain high levels of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that raises testosterone levels and improves the libido.
Other recommended vegetables are those rich in carotenoids and those with dark green leaves such as chard, spinach, broccoli rabe, and kale. Broccoli, which is full of vitamin C, aids the circulation in general, improves the blood flow and, in particular, stimulates the female libido. These vegetables are full of water and fibre and therefore valued for their purifying properties. In addition, they are rich in antioxidants and vitamins A and C, and B vitamins. To finish, lemons are highly recommended for the male libido, being nutritious and high in antioxidants; they’re a real cure-all thanks to their high vitamin C content.
For Valentine’s Day, I Love Fruit & Veg from Europe proposes two light and energising recipes: spaghetti with broccoli, ricotta and pecorino cheese and heart-shaped lemon biscuits.
Spaghetti with broccoli, ricotta and pecorino cheese
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Ingredients for 2 people
- 250g broccoli
- half an onion
- 1 chilli pepper
- salt to taste
- extra virgin olive oil to taste
- 450g ricotta
- 20g pecorino
- 250g spaghetti
Take the broccoli, remove the florets, and boil in plenty of salted water for five minutes. Drain but keep the cooking water. Finely chop the half onion and sauté in a pan with a drizzle of oil, until it softens to a pulp. Add the broccoli florets, cook for a few minutes over high heat, then add a ladle of cooking water, cover and lower the heat. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring and adding water as necessary, then add the chilli. Meanwhile, in a bowl beat the ricotta with a fork until creamy. Cook the spaghetti in the broccoli cooking water, drain when still al dente and add to the pan with the sauce. Add the ricotta, a little water and stir for a minute. Serve in a nice dish with a sprinkling of pecorino.
Heart-shaped lemon biscuits
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes
Ingredients for 20 biscuits
- 2 eggs
- 150g granulated sugar (100g for the dough and 50g for sprinkling the biscuits before baking)
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 220g vegetable oil
- 300g flour
- 8g baking powder
With a blender, beat the eggs with the sugar. When the mixture becomes creamy, add the grated lemon zest and oil. Mix for a few minutes, and then add the flour and baking powder. Continue to mix until the mixture is smooth and well-combined. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Once chilled, place the dough on a pastry board, roll it out with a rolling pin and cut out hearts with a heart-shaped cutter. Dip them in granulated sugar and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake at 180°C for about 10/12 minutes, checking they don’t brown too much. Once baked, allow the biscuits to cool fully and serve them in an elegant red box.
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