PlantforLife has teamed up with Atul Kochhar to bring you a menu of rose inspired recipes. The roses used in the recipes can be found in most garden centres so you can create a rose haven in your garden and on your dining room table when entertaining.
Rose champagne aperitif
Ingredients:
24 Arthur Bell rose petals
2 litres of water
12 strawberries
Method:
To make the rose water, combine the water and rose petals, bring to the boil and let them cool off.
Soak a sugar cube in the cooled rose water and pour into champagne flutes filling them to about a quarter full.
Pour the remainder of the flute with rose coloured pink champagne and add a strawberry as a garnish.
Rose petal salad
Ingredients:
Dressing
2 tbsp of soy sauce
1 lime
1 tsp sugar
2 cloves of garlic
1-3 tsp chilli sauce
Method:
Dressing
Mix all ingredients together in a cup. Add a little more sugar if too sour, or a little more lime juice if too salty.
Salad
Clean the roses by filling a bowl with cool, soapy water and plunge each rose head, gently swish around and rinse under cool water, shake to dry.
Peel off the rose petals, starting from the outside and work towards the centre.
Prepare the star fruit by rinsing under a cool tap. Turn the fruit on its side and slice into thin, star-shaped slices and remove any seeds. Include half the fruit in the salad.
Place all salad ingredients except the rose petals in a large bowl. Stir the salad dressing and pour it over, then toss. Now add ¾ of the rose petals and gently fold in.
Serve on individual small flat plates and decorate with a small rose head in the centre of the salad.
Chicken and rose petal curry
Ingredients:
Mint Rice
2 tbsp sunflower oil
3 tbsp mint leaves, finely chopped
40 0ml water
200g basmati rice
Garnish
1 mango, finely sliced
1 handful chopped coriander
1 dash of lemon juice
Method:
Cover the cashew nuts with four tablespoons of water and soak for 10 minutes. Heat the oil in a saucepan and lightly fry the chicken for five minutes until golden. Add the yoghurt, ground ginger, chillies and cardamom powder. Season with a little salt. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender, for 10-12 minutes.
Puree the soaked cashew nuts in a blender and stir into the chicken. Simmer for a couple of minutes, adding a little water for the sauce if necessary, and remove from the heat. Just before serving, add the cream and rose essence.
Heat the oil in a saucepan and stir in the basmati rice and mint. Fry for two to three minutes. Add the water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and leave to stand (still covered) for five minutes, so the rice absorbs the steam and fluffs up.
Serve the rice with the mango slices, scattered with the coriander and drizzled with a little lemon juice. Sprinkle the chicken with pink rose petals and serve immediately with the rice.
Rose petal cupcakes
Ingredients:
Suga red rose petals for cupcake topping
24 Climbing Summer Wine rose petals
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
Cupcake
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ¾ cups all pur pose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup milk
6 table spoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
White and coloured food colouring, for icing 1 cup sugar
Method:
To make the sugared rose petal s, use a pastry brush to brush the petals with eg g whites. Gently toss in sugar, coating both sides. Lay the petals on a cooling rack and allow them to dry overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350o F / gas mark 3. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until they’re a pale yellow. Add the flour and
beat until smooth.
Measure the milk and heat in the microwave for two minutes. Add the hot milk to the batter in a slow stream. Once combined, add the butter and melt in the microwave. Add the melted butter to the batter along with the vanilla. Beat until well combined.
Place the mix ture into cupcake casings and bake for about 15 – 20 minutes – until the tops are golden and the cupcakes spring back to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool.
For the topping, mix the icing sugar together with your chosen food colouring and spread onto each cupcake when cool. To complete, place a rose petal standing up in the centre of each cupcake.
