Instead of going out to a fancy dinner with your lover, why not try some of these recipes full of aphrodisiac ingredients. According to Webster, an aphrodisiac is an agent (as a food or drug) that arouses or is held to arouse sexual desire. So eat at home, light some candles, and get it on!

Cauliflower Soup with Almond Parsley Pesto (serves 4)

• 1 small (about 750g) cauliflower
• 1 litre (4 cups) chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 fresh parsley sprigs
• Freshly ground pepper
• Almond parsley pesto
• 50g blanched almonds
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh continental parsley
• 1/2 cup (125ml) extra virgin olive oil

Cut cauliflower including stalks into chunks. Place in a saucepan with stock, garlic and parsley sprigs. Season with pepper. Cover and bring to boil. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Cool slightly and discard parsley stalks. For pesto, preheat oven to 180°C. Place almonds on a baking tray and bake 5 minutes. Cool.Blend almonds, garlic and parsley in a food processor until chopped. Add oil in a thin stream until combined. Blend or process soup until almost smooth. Return to pan and stir over a medium heat until heated through. Divide among bowls and serve topped with a spoonful of pesto.

Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

• 2 pounds asparagus spears, about 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick
• boiling water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Hollandaise sauce (below) or melted butter and Parmesan cheese

Break off tough ends of stalks then use a vegetable peeler to peel tough skin from lower part of stalks and remove scales. Rinse well. Place stalks in a deep large skillet. Add 1 inch boiling water to skillet and add the salt. Bring to a boil and boil, uncovered, for 5 minutes. cover, simmer 7 minutes longer. With tongs, remove asparagus to a heated serving dish. Serve with Hollandaise sauce or melted butter and Parmesan cheese,