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Valentine's Day Dinner: Charcuterie Carpaccio, Stuffed Chicken Blanquette & Tiramisu
by Giacomo Bocchio
recipe intermediate French-Italian-Peruvian Fusion

Valentine's Day Dinner: Charcuterie Carpaccio, Stuffed Chicken Blanquette & Tiramisu

A complete three-course Valentine's Day dinner designed to impress. The starter is a carpaccio of smoked cured pork loin served with a classic vinaigrette and a garlic emulsion (aioli-style mayo with blanched garlic), topped with Parmesan, arugula, watercress, and rocoto brunoise. The main course features a chicken breast stuffed with duxelles (slow-cooked finely chopped mushrooms and onions) mixed with cheese, served on creamy fettuccine with a blanquette sauce made from chicken stock thickened with a roux, finished with cream and egg yolk. Dessert is a classic tiramisu with a coffee-rum syrup, sabayon-mascarpone cream layered with ladyfinger biscuits, dusted with cocoa powder. Giacomo teaches professional techniques throughout: brining, expansion cooking for garlic, making a sabayon, mother sauces and their derivatives (velouté to suprême to blanquette), the pocket-stuffing method for chicken breast (credited to Ariel Rodriguez), and proper pasta finishing in the sauce pan.

60m Prep
90m Cook
2h 30m Total
2 Servings
valentine date-night multi-course romantic-dinner tiramisu carpaccio stuffed-chicken blanquette duxelles fettuccine french-technique italian peruvian-fusion sabayon mother-sauces charcuterie

Ingredients

Ingredients
  • 1 to taste Salt
  • 1 to taste Black pepper (freshly ground)
Carpaccio
  • 200 g Smoked cured pork loin (charcuterie) (thinly sliced for carpaccio)
  • 30 g Parmesan cheese (shaved)
  • 1 unit Rocoto pepper (brunoise, deseeded and deveined) optional
  • 1 handful Arugula
  • 1 handful Watercress
  • 2 tbsp Parsley (finely chopped)
  • 6 unit Toast slices
Carpaccio - Garlic Emulsion
  • 3 tbsp Mayonnaise (maicena-based)
  • 4 unit Garlic cloves (blanched from cold water (expansion method))
  • 1 tsp Lemon juice
Carpaccio - Vinaigrette
  • 3 tbsp Olive oil
  • 0.5 tbsp Lemon juice
  • 0.5 tbsp Vinegar
Fettuccine
  • 200 g Fettuccine pasta (cooked 2 min under package time)
  • 80 ml Heavy cream (for finishing pasta)
Stuffed Chicken
  • 1 unit Chicken breast (half) (brined 2 hours in 10% brine, pocket-cut)
Stuffed Chicken - Blanquette
  • 30 g Butter (for searing chicken + roux)
  • 500 ml Chicken stock (hot, for poaching and sauce)
  • 30 g All-purpose flour (for roux (equal parts with butter))
  • 100 ml Heavy cream
  • 1 unit Egg yolk (for finishing blanquette sauce)
  • 2 tbsp White wine (for deglazing)
Stuffed Chicken - Duxelles
  • 250 g Mushrooms (champignon) (finely chopped for duxelles + some halved for garnish)
  • 1 unit Onion (very finely chopped)
  • 2 unit Bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp White wine
  • 60 g Cheese (Edam or similar) (cut in brunoise)
  • 1 tbsp Parsley (finely chopped)
  • 1 tsp Truffle oil optional
Tiramisu
  • 227 g Cream cheese or mascarpone (softened)
  • 60 g Heavy cream (whipped to yogurt consistency)
  • 15 g Rum
  • 12 unit Ladyfinger biscuits (savoiardi) (halved)
  • 1 tbsp Unsweetened cocoa powder (sifted for dusting)
Tiramisu - Coffee Syrup
  • 120 ml Strong brewed coffee (espresso or French press)
  • 50 g Sugar (dissolved in equal part water for syrup)
  • 50 ml Water (for syrup)
  • 1 tbsp Rum (splash for coffee syrup)
Tiramisu - Sabayon
  • 2 unit Egg yolks
  • 50 g Sugar

Steps

  1. 1
    Prepare the tiramisu coffee syrup: dissolve sugar in equal parts water over heat, add strong brewed coffee and a splash of rum. Let cool.
    Tip: Use quality coffee — double espressos from a good cafeteria if you don't have a home extraction method. Instant coffee works in a pinch.
    ~10 min
  2. 2
    Make the sabayon: whisk egg yolks with sugar over a bain-marie (water bath), beating vigorously until the mixture turns pale (blanches) and triples in volume. Remove from heat.
    Tip: The technique of 'blanching yolks' means beating yolks with sugar until they become noticeably lighter in color.
    ~8 min
  3. 3
    Cream the mascarpone until smooth, add a splash of rum, then fold in the sabayon. Separately whip cream to yogurt consistency (not stiff), then fold gently into the mascarpone-sabayon mixture. Transfer to a piping bag.
    Tip: Stop whipping cream at 'yogurt point' — if you overwork it after mixing, it will split. Mascarpone has a richer flavor than cream cheese.
    ~10 min
  4. 4
    Assemble the tiramisu: brush halved ladyfingers with coffee syrup, layer in jars or glasses alternating with piped mascarpone cream (3 layers each). Refrigerate until serving.
    Tip: Ladyfingers (bizcotelas) should be dry and firm so they absorb the syrup like a sponge without falling apart.
    ~10 min
  5. 5
    Prepare the duxelles: finely chop mushrooms and onion, cook slowly with bay leaves and a splash of white wine for 15-20 minutes until caramelized. Transfer to a tray to cool.
    Tip: Use a wide, flat pan (rondeau) for better evaporation. The duxelles should be dry and deeply caramelized.
    ~25 min
  6. 6
    Mix cooled duxelles with cheese brunoise and chopped parsley to make the farce (stuffing). Optionally add a few drops of truffle oil. Season with salt and pepper.
    Tip: Cut cheese in small cubes (brunoise) rather than grating — it gives better texture pockets when the chicken is cut.
    ~5 min
  7. 7
    Create a pocket in the chicken breast by inserting a knife and opening it sideways without piercing through. Stuff with the duxelles farce, then cover the opening with the separated tenderloin (solomillo) piece, tucking it in with the back of a spoon.
    Tip: The chicken contracts when it hits heat, naturally sealing the stuffing inside — no toothpicks or string needed. Technique credited to chef Ariel Rodriguez.
    ~8 min
  8. 8
    Sear the stuffed chicken in butter, starting with the 'key' (sealed side) down. Brown lightly on all sides just to contract and seal. Remove and set aside.
    Tip: You're not looking for deep color here — just enough heat to make the meat contract and lock the stuffing in place.
    ~5 min
  9. 9
    Deglaze the pan with white wine, add hot chicken stock. Return the chicken breast and poach covered for about 20 minutes until cooked through.
    Tip: Cooking from hot liquid is concentration method — scrape up all the caramelized bits from the pan for maximum flavor.
    ~22 min
  10. 10
    Remove chicken from stock. Add the cold roux (equal parts butter and flour, mixed) to the hot stock, whisking until thickened (this is a velouté). Add cream to make a suprême. When slightly cooled (~70°C), whisk in an egg yolk to finish the blanquette sauce. Season.
    Tip: Add roux cold to hot liquid for a lump-free sauce. The bubbles ('ojos de sapo'/frog eyes) indicate proper thickness. Add yolk off high heat to avoid scrambling.
    ~10 min
  11. 11
    Cook fettuccine in well-salted water (like sea water) for 2 minutes less than package instructions. In a separate pan, heat cream with reserved duxelles and sautéed mushroom halves. Toss pasta in the cream sauce to finish cooking.
    Tip: A bit of starchy pasta water in the sauce helps emulsify and prevents the cream from splitting.
    ~10 min
  12. 12
    Make the garlic emulsion: blend blanched garlic cloves with mayonnaise, a squeeze of lemon juice, and salt until smooth.
    Tip: Blanching garlic from cold water (expansion method) removes the harsh bite while keeping the aroma — the aggressive flavor stays in the water.
    ~5 min
  13. 13
    Make the vinaigrette: combine 1 part acid (lemon juice + vinegar) with 3 parts olive oil, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add chopped parsley just before serving.
    Tip: The 1:3 acid-to-fat ratio is the classic French standard. The lemon gives freshness while vinegar provides depth.
    ~3 min
  14. 14
    Plate the carpaccio: arrange charcuterie slices on a plate, dress with vinaigrette, dot with garlic emulsion, top with Parmesan shavings, rocoto brunoise, arugula, and watercress. Serve with toast.
    Tip: Acid always pairs beautifully with fat and umami — the vinaigrette cuts the richness of the cured meat and cheese.
    ~5 min
  15. 15
    Plate the main course: arrange fettuccine on a serving plate, slice the stuffed chicken breast on the bias and place on top, spoon blanquette sauce over everything, garnish with sautéed mushroom halves, parsley, and fresh herbs.
    Tip: Serve family-style in the center of the table so neither person spends too much time plating — more time together on Valentine's Day.
    ~5 min
  16. 16
    Finish the tiramisu: place a paper template with a circular cutout over each jar and dust with bitter cocoa powder through a sieve. Serve cold.
    Tip: These individual tiramisu jars also make a great small business product — Giacomo encourages trying to sell them as an emprendimiento.
    ~3 min

Nutrition (per serving)

350
Calories
20g
Protein
35g
Carbs
15g
Fat
3g
Fiber
Cultural Context
Giacomo Bocchio presents this Valentine's Day dinner as a way to showcase culinary skill while keeping the cook out of the kitchen long enough to enjoy time with their partner. He emphasizes that Valentine's dishes should be whatever your partner loves most. The menu bridges Italian and French classical technique — tiramisu (a mid-20th century Italian dessert), carpaccio (Italian), blanquette (a French mother sauce derivative), and duxelles (classic French mushroom preparation). Giacomo credits Argentine chef Ariel Rodriguez (Bocuse d'Or team Argentina coach) for the pocket-stuffing chicken technique, showing his respect for YouTube as a learning platform even for professional chefs. He explains the etymology of 'farce' (stuffing) from ancient Greek theater intermissions. The Peruvian touch appears in the rocoto garnish and his maicena-based mayonnaise technique from his causa video.
Video thumbnail
Giacomo Bocchio
LA CENA POR SAN VALENTÍN CON LA QUE QUEDARÁS COMO TODO UN MAESTRO | GIACOMO BOCCHIO
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