Are you tired of Saint Valentine’s Day listicles yet? Please, indulge me. This is nice and short and the only one you really need for your luxury St V bed-in this weekend. Don’t forget to stock up on candles, ice to keep the champagne chilled, and you are all set.

Fancy pasta, no sauce.

It needs to be sourced, not merely grabbed from the cupboard. Fresh and eggy if possible, or flavoured with porcini, squid ink, truffles or similar. It should be served piping hot, comfortably but not drippingly, oiled, buttery and/or creamy and have a topping, dusting or shaving of something special which wil not slide off your fork. That can be Hederman’s smoked salmon, poutargue, a very good aged parmesan or pecorino with characterful freshly ground pepper and some excellent olive oil, or, if you can get your hands on one, some fresh truffle.

Ham, very good ham

And by that I mean small slices of melting Bellota or a wafer-thin proscuitto. At room temperature and accompanied by decent (drained of oil or brine) olives or cornichons. Note the absence of cheese here. Cheese means bread or biscuits, and they mean crumbs.

Caviar and medium-boiled egg soldiers

Sourdough, baguette or anything remotely chewy or otherwise crumb generating is banned. Toasted, thick cut white pan without crusts, is what you are after. Boil the eggs for seven minutes (in already boiling water) peel, mash with a little butter and pepper and top with a line of caviar.

Fresh strawberries or figs

Appallingly sinful in Ireland, in February. Which is entirely the point.

Dates with tahini and Dulcey chocolate

Two bites, luscious and delicious.

30 minutes preparation

12 pitted medjool dates
180g Valrhona Dulcey, milk or white chocolate
2 tbsp tahini
200g dark chocolate

Melt the Dulcey/milk or white chocolate. Stir the tahini well to allow it to soften, then mix it in with the chocolate. Place the resulting ganache in the fridge for 15 minutes to allow it to harden. With a teaspoon, spoon the ganache into the centre of the dates.

Melt the dark chocolate and dip each filled date in it. Place them on grease-proof paper. Let them dry before tucking in.