Mother’s Day Menu

Every year in May it's that time again - we say THANK YOU to our mums! And what could be better than surprising your mum with a home-cooked meal?

Head chef of the MS Primadonna Pietro de Rosa has come up with a particularly tasty menu that even inexperienced cooks can manage: a red and yellow pepper soup, risotto with asparagus and prawns and a dream for dessert - yoghurt pot dumplings with rhubarb compote.

One thing is for sure - a home-cooked meal will make Mother's Day unforgettable and mum will be delighted!

Sauté the chopped shallots and peppers in olive oil, deglaze with the vegetable stock and a dash of white wine. If necessary, add a piece of star anise and cook until soft. Remove the star anise, puree finely with a blender and strain through a fine sieve. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the soup back into the blender jug or pouring cup. Sauté the chopped shallots and paprika in olive oil, deglaze with the vegetable stock and a dash of white wine. Add finely chopped garlic to taste and cook until soft. Puree finely with a blender and strain through a fine sieve. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the soup back into the blender jug or pouring cup. Season the king prawns with salt and pepper and fry in olive oil. Then skewer onto the rosemary sprigs. Pour the two soups into a soup plate at the same time so that they are nicely separated in red and yellow. Place the skewered prawns in the centre of the plate.

Preparation:

Carefully peel the asparagus, cut off the tender tips and set aside. Remove the woody ends. Roughly chop the asparagus spears and cook in about ¾ litre of lightly salted water for about 25 minutes until soft.
Then lift the cooked asparagus pieces out of the water, finely puree and, depending on the desired fineness, pass through a sieve. Pour the asparagus puree back into the asparagus stock - there should be about 0.5-0.6 litres of liquid.

Heat the olive oil in a wide pan. Finely chop the shallots and sauté until translucent, stirring constantly. Add the risotto rice and sauté until translucent. Deglaze with the white wine and gradually pour in the hot asparagus stock, stirring the rice constantly and allowing it to swell slowly.

Shortly before the end of the cooking time, add the asparagus tips and toss briefly so that they are slightly cooked but still firm to the bite.

Sauté the prepared king prawns in a little olive oil. Add the finely chopped garlic and fresh herbs and season the prawns with salt and pepper.

Finally, fold the butter and freshly grated Parmesan into the finished risotto and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the creamy asparagus risotto on plates and garnish with the fried king prawns.
 

Preparation:

Soak the gelatine in cold water.
Mix the curd cheese, yoghurt, sour cream, vanilla pulp and icing sugar well. Whip the cream until stiff and fold into the quark mixture.
Squeeze out the gelatine well and heat with the lemon/orange liqueur until well dissolved. Fold the gelatine into the quark mixture.
Pour into a bowl, cover with cling film (to protect the flavour) and leave to cool.
Cut out dumplings with a warm, wet soup spoon.
Place the spices and sugar in a bowl with the rhubarb pieces, cover and leave to infuse at 80-90°C for 2-3 hours. Remove the rhubarb pieces from the juice. Boil the juice with the spices, apple juice, raspberry juice and honey for 2-3 minutes. Thicken slightly with starch dissolved in raspberry brandy. Pour the lukewarm sauce over the rhubarb pieces.

PS: You can buy these and other delicacies on board our MS Primadonna!