Author: Michiel and Jeen

Sharing our love for good food and excellent wine with you: mushrooms, sauces, forgotten vegetables, pies and tartelettes. Join us and Cook and Drink with us!

Scallopini

14 September 2023

A very tasty and simple dish from the Italian cuisine: Scallopini. It’s been popular for decades (a recipe is included in La Scienza in Cucina e l’Arte di Mangiar Bene by Pellegrino Artusi, published in 1891) and for very good reasons. A dish like Scaloppine al Limone is rich, refreshing and very tasty.

Scallopini is about thin slices of meat (veal preferred). The meat is dusted with flour and then fried (not browned) very briefly in oil and butter. Transfer from the pan, keep warm and make a sauce in the pan (with lemon and parsley for instance). Transfer the meat back to the pan, coat with the sauce and serve.

Unfortunately, you will find lots of recipes for Scallopini that suggest keeping the meat in the pan while making the sauce. If you do so, your sauce is not sufficiently reduced and the meat will be rubbery because it’s overcooked.

Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking 

In 1992 Marcella Hazan published Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, a comprehensive overview of the Italian Cuisine. To quote Nigella Lawson: “If this were the only cookbook you owned, neither you nor those you cooked for would ever get bored.” The recipes are well written, clear and helpful. In her book she includes several recipes for Scallopini. One combines veal, ham, anchovies, capers and grappa. Intriguing, but wouldn’t that be a bit too much?
It turned out to be delicious. The veal was tender, juicy and delicious. The sauce had a long, rich intense but subtle taste, one that worked very well with the veal. We balanced the Scallopini with an aromatic fennel mash.

Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking is available via your local bookstore or the usual channels for 25 euro or 30 US$.

Wine Pairing

We enjoyed our Scallopini with a glass of Bardolino, made by Monte del Frà from Italy. The grapes used are Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. It is a well-balanced, vibrant ruby red wine with lots of fruit and a hint of spices. Medium acidity. In general, you’re looking for a refreshing red wine with lots of fruit that should be served slightly chilled.

What You Need

  • Buy the book is probably the best option!
  • Butter
  • 2 anchovy fillets
  • 2 Veal Cutlets (flattened)
  • 75 grams Pancetta or Guanciale
  • 1 tablespoon Capers (in brine)
  • Grappa
  • Black Pepper
  • Double Cream

What You Do

As with all Scallopini, make sure you have first class veal, nicely flattened, similar to a schnitzel, but perhaps even thinner (but not torn).
In a small pan combine butter and mashed anchovies. Warm gently, creating a warm mash. Dice the pancetta or the guanciale. Fry for a few minutes in a separate pan. Transfer the pancetta to the butter and anchovy combination. Discard the fat. Drain (and somewhat dry) the capers. Chop and add to the mixture. Fry for a minute on relatively high heat and then set aside.
Preheat a heavy iron skillet, medium heat is fine. Add olive oil and butter to the pan. Dust the veal with flour and fry for 30 seconds. Transfer to a dish and keep warm. Remove most of the fat from the pan, deglaze with grappa. Now add the anchovy mixture, juices from the meat (if any) and the cream. Reduce. Add the Scallopini and warm them through and through in the sauce for perhaps 2 minutes. Add some black pepper. Serve immediately on warm plates.

Fennel Mash

Chop the fennel and cook in vegetable stock. Reduce. Add butter, crème fraîche and white pepper. Coarsely blender the mash, perhaps add a drop of Pastis.

Scallopini ©cadwu
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

Great Bloggers’ Bake Off

7 September 2023

A few weeks ago we joined the 2023 Great Bloggers’ Bake Off. An online competition open to anyone on WordPress. Bread, pies and cakes, savoury or sweet, all home baked by many talented bloggers.  This year the theme was Express Yourself. Our submission was a Pear and Almond Pie.
Joining the competition turned out to be great fun. We saw some exceptional bakes and intriguing combinations. All these great bakes can be found on Mel’s blog. The result of the Bake Off is available on A Jeanne in the Kitchen.

Our Favourites
  • Irene Arita’s Zucchini Squares, made with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and vanilla. Beautifully decorated with zucchini flowers made with marzipan. The pictures in the post will help you recreate the flowers.
  • The Spicy Veggie Strudel made by Kevin looks very tempting and the combination of ingredients (mushrooms, celery, cumin, coriander, tomatoes, kidney beans) sounds great. One we will definitely try.
  • And, obviously, the winner of the 2023 Great Bloggers’ Bake Off: a beautiful classic French Fraisier, made by Sheree. Very nicely piped Crème Mousseline, the strawberries halved and the decoration lovely.
PS

We are very happy to win the award in the Pie category! Baking is not something we do on a daily basis, so winning the award encourages us to focus more on baking.

Spicy Veggie Strudel ©Kevin
Plain and decorated zucchini squares ©Irene Arita
Plain and decorated zucchini squares ©Irene Arita
Fraisier ©Sheree - view from the back
Pear and Almond Pie ©cadwu

Summer Truffle and Egg

1 September 2023

Only a few weeks to go before the end of the summer truffle season. A truffle with mild flavours and aromas but nevertheless great when used in cold dishes, such as truffle mayonnaise or a salad with chicory. We decided to go for a luxurious appetizer with an excellent glass of white wine. We bought 25 grams of truffle (and paid € 12,50) and enjoyed every minute of it.

Wine Pairing

A lightly oaked chardonnay with lots of character will be great with the summer truffle and egg. We opened a bottle of Casa da Passarella Dão A Descoberta Branco. An elegant Portuguese wine with lots of character. Fresh, aromatic, lasting. 

What You Need

  • 3 Eggs
  • Mayonnaise
  • 25 grams of Summer Truffle
  • (optional) White Pepper

What You Do

Boil the eggs until nearly hard. Peel and allow to cool. Slice in halve, remove the egg yolk and use a fork to create mimosa. Grate half of the summer truffle, combine this with the mimosa and add some mayonnaise, just to get the right consistency. Perhaps some white pepper. Stuff the eggs, cover with cling foil and transfer to the refrigerator. After 2 hours decorate the eggs with thinly sliced summer truffle. Time to sit back, relax and enjoy summer.

Summer Truffle and Egg ©cadwu
Summer Truffle - Rippitippi / Public domain

Pear and Almond Pie

24 August 2023

Only a few weeks to go before we can enjoy fresh, new pears and apples. Time to start thinking about a traditional Dutch apple pie, about stuffed apples with raisins and cinnamon, about a chocolate-pear pie and of course about this classic pear and almond pie. Rich in taste with a crunchy crust and a soft, light, creamy filling. A very taste dessert but also great with a cup of tea in the afternoon.

We begin by making the dough. It freezes well, so it’s a great idea to make a bit extra.

What You Need
  • 50 grams of White Caster Sugar
  • 100 grams of soft Unsalted Butter
  • Egg (beaten)
  • ½ teaspoon of Lemon Zest
  • 1 gram of Salt
  • 3 grams of Baking Powder
  • 150 grams of All Purpose Flour
What You Do

Adding an egg to the dough makes its flavour richer and the dough will be easier to handle when lining the baking tin. The lemon in the crust will work very well in combination with the pear and the sweetness of the filling. Start by combining the sugar and the butter. Use a hand mixer with kneading hooks. When mixed, add halve of the beaten egg, then add the lemon zest. Combine salt, baking powder and flour. Pass through a sieve and add to the mixture. Use the kneading hooks to mix. When done, remove from the bowl and wrap in foil. Store in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

The filling is a combination of almond paste, crème fraîche and pear. We used Conference, but you could also use the very aromatic Doyenne du Comice. 

What You Need
  • 50 grams of Almond Paste
  • ½ egg
  • 100 grams of Crème Fraîche
  • 10 grams of Calvados
  • 2 or 3 pears
What You Do

Preheat your oven to 200 °C or 390 °F. Roll out the dough, it should be 4-5 mm (0,15-0,20 inch). Coat your pie tin with butter (we used a 15 cm, 6 inch tin). Line the tin with the dough. Don’t worry if the dough breaks; it’s easy to repair. Remove the excess dough. Peel the pears and slice in nice chunks. Combine the almond paste, the egg, the crème fraîche and the calvados until the mixture is smooth. Add the mixture to the tin, Add the pear. Transfer to the oven for in total 40 minutes. After 20 minutes reduce the heat to 160 °C or 320 °F. Allow to cool and then remove from the tin.

PS

In case you want to make your own almond paste, then combine 250 grams of almond flour with 225 grams of sugar. Add one beaten egg and (optional) lemon zest. Mix until you have a paste. Keeps well in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for months.
You could also use 250 grams of white almonds. Grind these and continue as if almond flour.

Pear and Almond Pie ©cadwu
StarBaker Award 2023

Fairy Ring Mushrooms with Tarragon and Fennel

17 August 2023

July was sunny and very warm in some parts of Europe, but not in the Netherlands. Moderate temperatures, a bit of sunshine, sometimes, and lots of rain. Not ideal for sunseekers but very promising for mushroom lovers.
Let’s enjoy one of our favourites, the Fairy Ring Mushroom, a very common mushroom in many countries. It’s a small, very edible mushroom, available from early spring until late autumn. Its taste is a bit sweet (the mushrooms contain a sugar called trehalose) and perhaps that’s why some people suggest using them to make sweet mushroom cookies.

In this recipe we enhance their specific sweetness by combining them with tarragon and fennel. Both come with their own sweetness plus a hint of liquorice and anise. Flavours that go very well with fish, veal and mushrooms. A delicious, aromatic and surprisingly light dish. We served the mushrooms and vegetables with veal rib eye.

Wine Pairing

A glass of Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay could be nice, but we prefer an unoaked Merlot. A fruity red wine with an intense colour and flavours of strawberries and raspberries. For instance a glass of Merlot as produced by Di Lenardo in Italy.

What You Need

  • What You Need
  • Mushrooms
    • 150 grams of Fairy Ring Mushrooms
    • Tarragon
    • Vegetable Stock
    • Black Pepper
    • Olive Oil
  • Fennel
    • One Fennel
    • Fennel sprigs
    • Olive Oil
  • Veal Rib Eye

What You Do

Chop the fennel and add it to a pan with some olive oil. Allow to simmer. This may take 20 minutes.
Meanwhile clean the mushrooms with kitchen paper. Remove the stems. Chop the tarragon. Add olive oil to a heavy iron skillet and gently fry the mushrooms. No rush. Add the tarragon. Add one or two cubes of homemade vegetable stock. Reduce.
Happy with the firmness (or softness) of the fennel? Add some fresh tarragon and black pepper to the mushrooms. Taste and adjust. Add some fennel sprigs to the fennel, mix. Serve the fairy ring mushrooms and the fennel with gently fried veal rib eye (with some extra tarragon, obviously!).

Fairy Ring Mushrooms with Tarragon and Fennel ©cadwu
Early (non edible) Mushrooms ©cadwu

Tartelette aux Myrtilles

10 August 2023

We love seasonal products and although blueberries seem to be available all year round, however, we think they are best during summer. We use them to make a tartelette. Works very well as dessert, but also nice with a cup of afternoon tea.
Earlier we baked the tartelette shell ourselves, based on a recipe of Dutch patissier Cees Holtkamp. You could of course also rely on a French classic, for instance Tarte Tatin by Ginette Mathiot. You could also buy the shell and focus on the filling.

What You Need (Filling)

  • 500 grams of Blueberries
  • Gelatine
  • Sugar
  • Lemon Juice
  • Cream Cheese
  • Double Cream

What You Do (Filling)

Wash the blueberries. Keep a handful apart (to be used as decoration). Cook the blueberries with a touch of water and sugar for let’s say 5 minutes. Blender and keep on low heat. Add lemon juice to taste. Follow the instruction on the package of the gelatine. The idea is to thicken the blueberry mixture somewhat, but not to create a gummy layer. Add the gelatine, stir, transfer to the refrigerator and allow to set.
Whip the double cream and the add some cream cheese. We used Philadelphia Original Soft Cheese but you could also use Mascarpone for a fresher result. Taste and perhaps add more cream cheese or some lemon juice.

What You Need (Pâte Sucrée)

  • 50 grams of Butter
  • 125 grams of All Purpose Flour
  • 40 grams of Sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • Pinch of Salt

What You Do (Crust)

We use tartelette moulds with a diameter of approximately 7 centimetres (2,75 inches). The butter must be soft but not warm (18 °C or 65 °F). Beat the egg. Combine flour, sugar and salt. Dice the butter and knead with the mixture. You could use a hand mixer with kneading hooks. When well mixed, add the egg and knead until you have a nice dough. Leave to rest in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
Coat the moulds with butter. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator. Place it on a floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin. Perhaps dust the dough with flour. Divide the dough into 6 portions and make small circles. Press the pastry onto the bottom and to the sides. Cut of overhanging dough. Transfer to the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 175 °C or 350 °F.
Line with parchment paper and use dry beans to fill the moulds. Blind bake for 10 minutes. Remove the paper and the beans. Bake for another 10 minutes. When golden brown, remove the tartelette from the mould and let cool on a grid.

Assemble

When cool and ready to serve, add the blueberry jam, the cream cheese mixture and decorate with remaining blueberries. The tartelette keeps well in the refrigerator for an hour or two. If you store them longer, then the blue of the berries will blur the cream cheese mixture.

Tartelette aux Myrtilles ©cadwu
Tartelette aux Myrtilles ©cadwu

Cauliflower with Mint and Cilantro

3 August 2023

Dutch cuisine and cauliflower? Nice, but not sensational. Normally the cauliflower will be broken into florets, cooked in water (and in the old days this meant cooking until the cauliflower was more than well done), drained and served with a béchamel sauce and nutmeg. That is, if you’re lucky, it can also be a thin sauce made with the cooking liquid and corn starch.
A pity because cauliflower is such a delicious and versatile vegetable. As curry, korma, gratin, casserole (with potatoes, thyme and garlic), in a pickled sauce, as vada (a snack from South-India), steamed or fried, all very yummy!
We combine our cauliflower with grilled lamb chops and a mint and cilantro sauce. Lots of flavours, colours and aromas!

Wine Pairing

Given the various spices we would suggest a white wine or a rosé. A glass of Verdejo will be a great choice if you decide to drink a glass of white wine. We opened a bottle of Monteabellón Rueda. The wine comes with the right acidity, bringing freshness to the dish. It has floral aromas typical for the Verdejo grape. You may recognize the aromas of banana and exotic fruit. A glass of Provence rosé will also be nice. Or our favorite rosé: Chiaretto di Bardolino, produced by Monte del Frà from Italy.

What You Need (Cauliflower)

  • One small Cauliflower
  • Turmeric
  • Fresh ginger
  • Garam Marsala
  • Red Onion
  • One clove of Garlic
  • Fresh Cilantro (optional)
  • Olive Oil

What You Do (Cauliflower)

Clean the cauliflower and break into florets. Peel and slice the fresh ginger, match size. Peel and slice the onion (rings). Chop the garlic. Add olive oil to the pan and fry the turmeric (curcuma) and the garam marsala on medium heat. After a few minutes add the florets. Make sure the florets are nicely coated with the spices. Now add the fresh ginger and the garlic. Reduce the heat somewhat. A few minutes begore serving add the sliced onion. You could add some cilantro, to bring the cauliflower and the sauce together.

What You Need (Sauce)

  • Three Mint Leaves
  • Lots of Cilantro
  • Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
  • One clove of Garlic
  • Ginger
  • ½ Green Chili Pepper (depending on the taste)
  • Olive Oil
  • Lemon Juice
  • Black Pepper

What You Do (Sauce)

Crush the cumin seeds in a mortar. Chop the garlic, some ginger and the green chili pepper. Combine everything and use a blender to make a smooth paste. Add lemon juice to taste. Transfer to a bowl. Drizzle some olive oil into the mixture and stir using a spoon. Happy with the consistency? Add black pepper and perhaps some extra lemon juice.

Cauliflower with Mint and Cilantro ©cadwu
Cauliflower with Mint and Cilantro ©cadwu

Classic Dutch Apple Pie

27 July 2023

Let’s enjoy some real Dutch comfort food, let’s make a classic Dutch Apple Pie, one that is rich and full of flavours. Could be eaten warm, could be served with whipped cream, as long as you use lots of apples, just the right amount of cinnamon and don’t forget to add some lemon zest to the dough.

Apple-wise you’re looking for a tart apple, one that will keep its structure when cooked. If the apple is very high in acid content (for instance the Belle de Boskoop, another Dutch classic, also known as Goudrenet) then you risk having compote in your pie. We prefer using Jonagold. Widely available, tasty, just the right firmness and not expensive.

Making a classic Dutch apple pie is a bit of work, especially when everything is homemade: the dough (shortcrust), the almond paste and the pie itself. Just keep thinking of the delicious result!

What You Need (Dough)

  • 50 grams of White Caster Sugar
  • 100 grams of soft Unsalted Butter
  • ½ Egg (beaten)
  • ½ teaspoon of Lemon Zest
  • 1 gram of Salt
  • 3 grams of Baking Powder
  • 150 grams of All Purpose Flour

What You Do

Adding an egg to the dough makes its flavour richer and the dough will be easier to handle when lining the baking tin. The lemon in the crust will work very well in combination with the cinnamon and the sweetness of the filling. Start by combining the sugar and the butter. Use a hand mixer with kneading hooks. When mixed, add halve of the beaten egg, then add the lemon zest. Combine salt, baking powder and flour. Pass through a sieve and add to the mixture. Use the kneading hooks to mix. When done, remove from the bowl and wrap in foil. Store in the refrigerator for at least two hours. The dough freezes well, so it’s a great idea to make a bit extra.

What You Need (Almond Paste)

  • 250 grams of Almond Flour
  • 225 grams of Sugar
  • 1 beaten Egg
  • (optional) Lemon Zest

What You Do

You could also use 250 grams of White Almonds. Grind these and continue as if Almond Flour.
Combine the flour and the sugar. Add the beaten egg and lemon zest. Mix until you have a paste. Keeps well in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for months.

What You Need (Classic Dutch Apple Pie)

  • 300 grams of Shortcrust Dough
  • 60 grams of Almond Paste
  • 700 grams of Jonagold
  • 30 grams of Sugar
  • Cinnamon
  • 30 grams of Raisins
  • 30 grams of Currents
  • Butter
  • 1 beaten Egg

What You Do

Start by soaking the raisins and currents for 10 minutes in hot water. Drain and squeeze gently. This way the raisins will be tasty and moist. Preheat your oven to 200 °C or 390 °F. Peel the apples, remove the core and chop coarsely. Combine with the raisins, currents, sugar and cinnamon. Roll out the dough, it should be 4-5 mm (0,15-0,20 inch). Coat your pie tin with butter (we used a 15 cm, 6 inch tin). Line the tin with the dough. Don’t worry if the dough breaks; it’s easy to repair. Remove the excess dough. Roll out the almond paste and cover the bottom of the pie with it. Now add the apple mixture, make sure it’s a bit compact. Make strips from the remaining dough and use them to make a criss cross pattern (lattice) on top of the pie.

Transfer to the oven for in total 40-50 minutes. After 20 minutes reduce the heat to 160 °C or 320 °F and brush the strips with beaten egg. Allow to cool and then remove from the tin.

Apple Pie ©cadwu
Apple Pie sliced ©cadwu
Jonagold

Grilled Vegetable Salad

20 July 2023

A great example of a delicious dish, simple to prepare and nothing fancy required. Excellent vegetables, tasty olive oil, fresh rosemary and a bottle of rosé and crusted bread as accompaniment. Wonderful when enjoyed al fresco on a summer’s evening!
You can make the salad a few hours in advance, which is helpful if you have guests.

Wine Pairing

Combining wine and salad is not straightforward because in general acidity is an important aspect of the dressing and therefore of the salad. In this salad the acidity is not key to the overall flavour, it’s very much about the individual vegetables, brought together by the rosemary, the sweetness of the caramalised vegetables sugars, the subtle smokiness and the olive oil.

A rosé will be a good choice (a Bardolino 2022, produced by Monte del Frà from Italy or a rosé from the Provence region) but you could also combine the salad with a more present white wine, for instance a glass of Albariño Rias Baixas produced by Bodegas Bouza do Rei, made from 100% Albariño grapes. 

What You Need

  • 1 Zucchini
  • 1 red Bell Pepper
  • 1 Eggplant
  • Finely chopped fresh Rosemary
  • Olive Oil
  • White Wine Vinegar

What You Do

Wash the vegetables, quarter the bell pepper and slice the zucchini and eggplant. Heat your contact grill and grill the bell pepper 2 times 3 minutes until nicely charred. Dry the slices of egg plant and zucchini. Add olive oil to a plate and coat the slices of zucchini with olive oil, using a brush. Grill for 2 times 2 minutes. Same for the eggplant. Allow for the vegetables to cool. In the meantime, combine olive oil with a little vinegar and the finely chopped rosemary. Once cool, add the vegetables to the dressing and mix. Be careful, the eggplant is fairly brittle. Store the salad in the refrigerator and mix every hour or so. Serve with crusted bread.

Grilled Vegetable Salad ©cadwu
Grilled Vegetable Salad ©cadwu

Vegetable Stock

13 July 2023

It’s all too familiar, you’re reading a recipe, you like what you read until it says, “Use 250 ml home-made broth or dissolve a bouillon cube in 250 ml water”. Hm. The cube is not an option because it’s salty and salty only. Perhaps open a jar of (organic) fond made by Jürgen Langbein? Or make your own?

You only need four ingredients to make a very tasty vegetable stock: onion, leek, carrot and celery. The result is full of flavours, with a touch of sweetness, saltiness and length.

The combination of onion, carrot and celery is known as mirepoix in the French cuisine and as soffritto in the Italian kitchen. A classic when making a stew, a ragu or the aromatic base of a sauce. Adding leek to the combination makes it more complex and tastier.

The celery could be a bit confusing: should it be celeriac, the root (knob) or celery, the fibrous stalks? Some suggest using the root in winter and the stalks in summer. We suggest using the stalks in all cases. They are very aromatic and they bring saltiness to the stock, different from the root.

The stock freezes very well. We have two versions in our freezer, as ice cubes for sauces and small 250 ml containers for risotto, soup, a stew etcetera.
Problem solved!

What You Need
  • 1 Large Onion
  • 3 Celery Stalks
  • 1 Carrot
  • 1 Leek
  • 1 Bouquet Garni (Parsley, Bay Leaf, Chives)
  • Black Pepper Corn
What You Do
  1. Clean and chop the celery, the carrot and the onion
  2. Add all ingredients, some crushed pepper corns and the bouquet garni (if using) to a pan with cold water
  3. Allow to simmer for one hour
  4. Pass through a sieve, taste and decide if you want to reduce the liquid
  5. Use immediately or transfer to your freezer
PS

Three stalks of celery, you think, but what to do with the remaining ones? The answer is simple, chop the stalks, add to boiling water for 1 or 2 minutes, cool in ice water and freeze. They will be perfect for months. Ready to use as accompaniment with fish, with pork or as an ingredient of your mirepoix or soffritto. Or your vegetable stock, of course.

Vegetarian Stock ©cadwu
Onion, Carrot, Leek and Celery ©cadwu