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Romance recipe

Celebrate this Valentine’s Day with succulent, sensuous seafood

by Fiona Sims

Valentine’s Day dinner is best played out at home. Prepare a meal with a minimum of fuss, the right bottle by your side and some mood-setting music, and it’s a lovers’ paradise. That leaves the question of what to eat.

Much has been written about the aphrodisiac qualities of certain seafood. Remember famed 18th-century Italian lover Casanova and his 50-a-day oyster habit? Even the word “aphrodisiac,” with its link to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and fertility—who rose from the sea—suggests there might be some truth in it.

That said, oysters, along with mussels, clams and other mollusks, have been found to contain a high amount of zinc, a mineral that may boost testosterone; shrimp are high in iodine, which is essential to our thyroid and may help to maintain energy levels; while salmon is packed with omega-3s, which may help to maintain the body’s libido-affecting hormone production. Because the concept of food as an aphrodisiac has survived through the millennia, I say we continue to run with it.

The best methods for cooking seafood are usually the simplest, whether stuffing a whole fish and roasting it, poaching it or pan-frying it. Great accompaniments to seafood include lime, coriander, ginger and extra-virgin olive oil to finish the dish.

When it comes to shellfish, the fun is in the presentation. Think mussels on the half shell with an herby breadcrumb crust (you could cheat with bottled pesto); scallops cooked simply in a hot sea salt–scattered pan (it stops them from sticking) for one minute on each side, then dressed in a lemony butter; or easy teriyaki salmon with noodles.

To drink? Pair the wine with the sauce or dressing, rather than the seafood. So, for lobster mayo, think chablis; for lobster thermidor, go with fatter-textured, oakier chardonnays. Say you’re serving prawns with pasta: If it has a tomato-based sauce, think pink with a Provence rosé; if it’s creamy, try an Italian white with a bit of weight, such as Gavi. Want Champagne throughout the entire meal? Try a dry non-vintage for clean flavors, such as a mixed seafood platter, or a richer vintage Champagne for seafood with punchier sauces. Cupid would approve.

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