Category: main dish

Tartiflette, history and recipe

20 March 2025

Perhaps we were thinking about Tartelette when we assumed Tartiflette was something sweet and small. But then we saw a cheese with ‘Fromage pour Tartiflette’ on its wrapping. We bought the cheese, looked for recipes and made Tartiflette. Two things for sure, it’s not sweet and not small.

In 1705 French chef François Massialot wrote Le Cuisinier Roïal et Bourgeois. According to wikipedia and others one of the recipes in this book is for Péla, a dish from the Savoie area. It’s a fairly simple dish with cheese, potatoes, bacon and onions. The dish is named after the pan in which it was prepared.
In the 1980’s too much of the local Savoie cheese Reblochon was produced and clever marketing people of the Syndicat Interprofessionnel du Reblochon created the Tartiflette, a Péla with Reblochon.

Obviously, we wanted to verify the story, so we looked for the recipe for Péla by François Massialot in the 1705 edition of Le Cuisinier Roïal et Bourgeois. No Péla. Well, people make mistakes,
Perhaps it was included in the first edition, published in 1691?
No, it wasn’t.
Maybe he added the recipe later?
We checked the index of the renewed 1728 edition: no Péla.

Did François Massialot write about Péla? Probably not.

Péla was (as is Tartiflette) a simple dish which makes it an unlikely candidate for royalty and bourgeois. Furthermore in those days potatoes had a bad reputation, they were seen as ‘coarse, insipid and the cause of flatulence’ (according to Barbara Ketcham Wheaton, in Savoring the Past). Not something you would happily serve to your king (and survive).

Back to the Tartiflette. It’s a tasty combination of bacon, onions, potatoes and reblochon, probably a modernized and commercialised version of an existing dish from the Savoie area, but nevertheless delicious.

Wine Pairing

An aromatic, white wine with clear acidity will go very well with the dish. It will add freshness to the combination. We decided to enjoy a red wine, one with supple tannins, medium bodied. Our choice was a glass of Château Margilliere Bastide, a wine from the Var region in France, made with grapes such as syrah, cabernet franc and grenache. A well-balanced red wine, with notes of cherries, gentle acidity and a touch of spiciness. Great with all ingredients of the tartiflette.

What You Need
  • 250 grams of firm, yellow, waxy Potatoes (Annabel, Charlotte, Ratte, Amandine)
  • 150 grams of diced (lightly smoked) Bacon
  • one large Onion
  • one Reblochon (or a piece of Morbier)
  • Olive Oil
  • Black Pepper
  • Nutmeg
What You Do
  1. Peel and slice the onion.
  2. Peel and dice the potatoes, same size as the diced bacon.
  3. On medium heat, fry bacon and onions for a few minutes.
  4. Add the diced potatoes.
  5. Preheat the oven to 200 °C or 390 °F.
  6. After 5 minutes the potatoes should be softer, but not yet ready. Duration depends on the type of potato.
  7. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and allow to cool somewhat.
  8. Halve the cheese.
  9. Coarsely chop one halve and add to the mixture. Combine. Add black pepper and nutmeg.
  10. Transfer the mixture to an oven dish.
  11. Halve the remaining cheese and put these two pieces on top of the mixture, skin side up.
  12. Leave in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden.
PS

François Massialot is well known for the introduction of Crème Brûlée.
True?
Yes! See page 219 of the 1693 edition.

dish for tartiflette
Dish for Tartiflette
Reblochon ©cadwu
Reblochon ©cadwu
Tartiflette - ready for the oven ©cadwu
Tartiflette – ready for the oven ©cadwu
Tartiflette ©cadwu
Tartiflette ©cadwu

Mushroom Balls

6 March 2025

We were asked to prepare a vegetarian main dish for a buffet style dinner. We immediately knew what we wanted to cook: mushroom balls and oven baked vegetables. Tasty and colourful. Could we make it gluten free? Which in this case means not adding breadcrumbs to the mushroom mixture, so we needed to think about an alternative. We tried well cooked rice, but that didn’t do the trick. Next idea was to blender the rice and make a very sticky paste. It did what we hoped it would do: the mushrooms balls are firm, but not dense. Great! Plus, they go very well with the vegetables!

Wine Pairing

We enjoyed a glass of French Malbec with the Mushroom Balls. In general you’re looking for a long, full bodied red wine, smooth, with hints of berries and ripe dark fruit.

What You Need
  • 25 grams of dried Porcini
  • 150 grams of fresh Mushrooms (Button Mushrooms, Shiitake)
  • 1 Shallot
  • 2 cloves of Garlic
  • 1 sprig of fresh Oregano
  • 2 sprigs of Thyme
  • 1 sprig of Rosemary
  • 1 sprig of Sage
  • 40 grams of Rice
  • ½ beaten Egg
  • Parmesan Cheese
  • Black Pepper
What You Do
  1. Boil the rice in water (with a pinch of salt) or in vegetable stock for 40 minutes. The rice should be thoroughly cooked.
  2. Soak the dried mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain and check for sand.
  3. Chop the shallot and fry in oil until translucent.
  4. Clean the fresh mushrooms, chop, add to the pan and fry on a higher heat.
  5. When the mushrooms are somewhat fried, add the chopped garlic for five minutes. Be careful not to colour the garlic.
  6. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and allow to cool.
  7. Chop the soaked mushrooms. Add to the mixture.
  8. Use a kitchen knife to chop all herbs and then add these to the mixture.
  9. Blender half of the rice until it’s a sticky paste.
  10. Add remaining rice, paste and a relatively large amount of pepper to the mixture.
  11. Beat ½ egg and grate a generous amount of Parmesan Cheese.
  12. Add cheese and egg to the mixture.
  13. Pulse with a blender. The mixture should have granularity.
  14. Taste and add pepper and/or Parmesan if necessary.
  15. Allow the mixture to cool and transfer to the refrigerator.
  16. Preheat the oven to 180 °C or 355 °F.
  17. Use your hands to make balls, line a rack with baking paper and place the balls on the paper.
  18. Bake for 15-25 minutes until the balls are slightly coloured and firm.
  19. Allow to cool and leave for a few hours at room temperature.
  20. Preheat oven to 160 °C or 320 °F.
  21. Bake mixed, chopped vegetables (beetroot, parsnips, sweet potato, potato, butternut squash, parsley root, kohlrabi) by placing them in a large oven dish with plenty of olive oil and sprigs of rosemary, thyme, sage, marjoram in the oven for 20 minutes under aluminium foil at 160 °C or 320 °F and then 15-20 minutes at 180 °C or 355 °F without foil.
  22. Warm the mushroom balls in the oven in a separate oven dish.
  23. Combine just before serving.
  24. If gluten are okay, use half the rice (no need to make the sticky paste) and add breadcrumbs. The mixture will firmer and drier, so perhaps use 1 egg.
PS

This recipe is for two. The picture shows the result of the recipe times 2.

 
Mushroom Balls ©cadwu
Mushroom Balls ©cadwu

Lamb Shank with Star Anise, Ginger and Djeroek Poeroet

28 November 2024

The obvious way to prepare lamb shanks is to fry them briefly in oil en butter and then cook them for hours in red wine with a bouguet garni of rosemary, thyme, parsley, sage and perhaps lavender. Maybe add a small tomato to help the sauce. We take a different approach by adding strong flavors like ginger, cilantro seeds, star anise, soy sauce and the leaves of the Makrut or Thai lime (also known as Djeroek Poeroet or Djeruk Purut). You will get a full, complex sauce in combination with tasty, juicy, tender and aromatic meat.

Wine Pairing

The obvious choice would be a glass of Pinot Blanc or Pinot Gris. We once enjoyed the dish with a glass of Gewurztraminer from the Alsace. A touch of spiciness and sweetness, which worked really well with the star anise and ginger.
Combining the lamb shanks with red wine is more challenging. Our choice was a bottle of Cuvée Equinoxe produced by Domaine d’Arjolle, from the Languedoc region in France. The wine is made with 100% merlot grapes. It has an intense ruby ​​color and aromas of red fruit. The flavour is soft and long, with a touch of sweetness and oak. A soft, not too complex Syrah could also be very nice with the lamb shanks.

What You Need
  • 2 Lamb Shanks
  • Shallot
  • Olive oil
  • Fresh Ginger (4 cm, depending on your taste)
  • 1/2 red Chili
  • 2 Garlic Cloves
  • Noilly Prat
  • teaspoon of Cilantro Seeds
  • 2 Star Anise
  • Low Salt Soy Sauce
  • 6 leaves of Djeroek Poeroet
What You Do

Fry the meat in olive oil, giving it a nice colour. In the mean time cut the shallot, peel the ginger and slice, remove the seeds from the chili and cut the garlic clove (but not too fine). Remove the meat from the pan and glaze the shallot, chili, ginger and garlic. Add the Noilly Prat, crushed cilantro seeds, star anise, some low-salt soy sauce and the djeroek poeroet. Stir. Transfer the meat back to the pan and add some water, perhaps 3 cm. Leave to simmer for 4 – 6 hours in total. Check the pan every hour and add water if so required. After 6 hours remove the shanks from the sauce and cool. Reduce the sauce, let cool and transfer to the refrigerator. The following day remove as much of the fat from the sauce as possible. Warm the sauce together with the shanks, check taste and tenderness.
Serve with steamed Bok Choy tossed with sesame oil or with rice.

Lamb Shank ©cadwu
Lamb Shank ©cadwu

Beef and Black Garlic

11 July 2024

This is the first of two recipes with black garlic, which is made by fermenting fresh garlic in a controlled environment (humidity, temperature) for 6 to 12 weeks. The flavour and aroma of black garlic differ from fresh garlic. Black garlic has notes of liquorice and caramel. Its taste is long, intense and rich in umami. The consistency is paste-like which makes it easy to use in sauces and dressings. Black garlic is also supposed to be very healthy thanks to the amount of antioxidants it contains.
Black garlic is becoming more popular, so your greengrocer or health food store should have it. If not, you can also order it online via the usual channels.
We combine excellent beef with a mixture of black olives, shallot, thyme, rosemary, tomato purée and black garlic. A very powerful and intense combination, with sweetness, bitterness, umami and lots of aroma thanks to the herbs.

Wine Pairing

To balance the intense sauce, we suggest drinking a glass of dry red wine, one with some earthy notes, aromas of black fruit, limited tannins and clear acidity. We enjoyed a glass of Pinot Noir from La Cour Des Dames. A very nice pinot noir with sufficient earthiness and dark fruit.

What You Need
  • Excellent Beef
  • Olive Oil
  • Black Pepper
  • For the Sauce
    • Shallot
    • Scallion
    • Thyme
    • Rosemary
    • One Clove of Crushed Black Garlic
    • Teaspoon of Tomato Purée
    • Ten Black Olives
    • Vegetable Stock
    • Teaspoon of Mustard
What You Do

The beef must be at room temperature. Halve the olives. Slice the scallion in 1-cm or 1-inch chunks. Finely chop the thyme and the rosemary. Coarsely chop the shallot. Heat a heavy iron skillet and quickly fry the meat. Transfer and keep warm. Reduce heat and gently fry the shallot. Add scallion, thyme, rosemary and black garlic. Add some vegetable stock. Combine with tomato purée and mustard until it’s a velvety sauce. The black garlic should be dissolved. Add more stock if necessary. Add liquid from the meat. Thinly slice the beef, add some black pepper and serve with the sauce. 

Beef and Black Garlic ©cadwu
Black Garlic ©cadwu
Two Cloves of Black Garlic ©cadwu

End of the Asparagus Season

20 June 2024

Only a few days left before the end of the asparagus season on June 24th! So dash off to your greengrocer and buy some lovely asparagus, white, green, purple, it’s all fine and great, as long as they are locally farmed and fresh.

Last year our favorite way to prepare them was with scrambled eggs and shrimps. A delicious combination. This year our favorite was with Truffle Butter and Egg. A combination that very much relies on the quality of the truffle butter. Other favorites this year were steamed asparagus with kimizu (the beautiful, light, golden Japanese sauce made with egg yolks and rice vinegar), à la Flamande (mimosa of egg, butter, parsley and nutmeg), as a salad and of course as a Charlotte.

Truffle Butter

Products with truffle (oil, tapenade, purée) can be very disappointing. The vast majority is based on oil that has been artificially flavoured using a synthetic agent such as 2,4-dithiapentane. Not a truffle in sight. In case of truffle purée or tapenade the mixture is often dominated by (button) mushrooms, dried cèpes, salt, garlic and again, synthetical flavored oil.
In this recipe we use white truffle oil. The two main white truffles are Bianchetti (Tuber Borchii Vitt) and Alba (Tuber Magnatum Pico). Bianchetti is a powerful and remarkable truffle (we use it in combination with oysters) but it is not as expensive and special as an Alba truffle. A Bianchetti truffle will cost you 10 euro per 10 grams whereas an Alba truffle will be priced at 70 euro per 10 grams. When buying a truffle product, make sure you read the label and check which truffle is used.

Asparagus with Truffle Butter ©cadwu

A dear friend gave us a jar of white truffle butter and a small bottle of white truffle oil, both produced by Il Mondo Del Tartufo. The butter was fantastic and so was the oil. Both are made with Alba truffle. Later we combined normal butter with truffle oil (and perhaps a pinch of salt) to recreate the truffle butter.

Wine Pairing

The obvious choice is a glass of Pinot Blanc, although we actually prefer a dry Muscat in combination with a classic preparation such as à la Flamande. Depending on the dish it could also be a Verdicchio, an Albariño or perhaps even a Portuguese Vinho Verde.
We combined our Asparagus with Truffle Butter with a Dutch wine, produced by Hoeve Nekum. The winery was founded in 1988 but the history of the actual farm (hoeve in Dutch) goes back to the 14th century. We enjoyed their Rivaner, a white wine with a light color, a floral aroma and a fresh delicate taste with some acidity. The combination with the rich, buttery slightly bitter asparagus was excellent. In general you’re looking for a fresh, gentle wine, not too complex and one that you would also enjoy as an aperitif.

What You Need
  • 14 White Asparagus
  • 1 Egg
  • some Butter
  • White Truffle Oil
  • White Pepper
What You Do

We use our Russel and Hobbs food steamer to prepare the asparagus. An essential kitchen aid for only 50 euro or US dollar. 
Towards the end of the season the asparagus can be fairly thin, hence the 14. Clean and peel the asparagus. Put butter in a cup. Start by steaming the egg. After 2 minutes add the asparagus. 3 Minutes later turn the egg upside down and place the cup in the steamer basket. Another 5 minutes later everything is ready. Peel the egg and mash with a fork, creating a ‘mimosa’ of egg. Add two or three teaspoons of truffle oil (depending on your taste and the quantity of butter) to the butter and mix. Add some white pepper to the mimosa. Spoon the butter over of the asparagus and decorate with mimosa.
PS If you make this dish earlier in the season, then steam the asparagus for 20 minutes, the egg for 5+5 minutes and the butter for 5 minutes.

Asparagus 2024 ©cadwu
Asparagus 2024 ©cadwu

Asparagus with Chervil

6 June 2024

One of the classic ways of serving asparagus is à la Flamande (Op Vlaamse wijze) with melted butter, boiled eggs, parsley and nutmeg. The mixture of melted butter and egg is like a sauce, delicious with the asparagus. In this case we add lots of chopped chervil to the mixture of melted butter and eggs, making it a light combination of bitter, crunchy and sweet (the asparagus) and velvety, anise-flavoured and savory (the mixture).

Wine Pairing

Serve the asparagus with a dry, white wine, for instance a glass of Silvaner produced by the German Winery Thörle. The wine comes with freshness, some acidity, minerality and fruit (pear, green apples). Excellent with our asparagus. A dry muscat will also be perfect.
We decided to take a different approach and balance the lightness in the dish with a Portuguese white wine, made from chardonnay grapes and aged for 4 months in oak barrels. It is produced by Casa Ermelinda, a winery some 20 kilometers south of Lisbon in the Setúbal region with over 550 hectares of vineyards and 29 different grape varieties. The barrel aged chardonnay is Intense and comes with a complex bouquet of exotic fruits. The wine is balanced, fresh, elegant and long..

What You Need

  • 4 Asparagus per person
  • 2 Eggs
  • Chervil
  • Butter
  • White Pepper

What You Do

We use our Russel and Hobbs food steamer to prepare the asparagus. An essential kitchen aid for only 50 euro or US dollar. 
Clean and peel the asparagus. Put butter in a cup. Steam them for 10+5+5 minutes. After 10 minutes add the eggs to the steamer basket. After 5 minutes, turn the eggs upside down and place the cup in the steamer basket. Another 5 minutes later everything is ready. Chop the chervil. Peel the egg and mash with a fork, creating a ‘mimosa’ of egg. Combine mimosa and chervil. Add some white pepper. Add the butter to the mixture and combine. Spoon the egg mixture on top of the asparagus.

Asparagus a la Flamande ©cadwu
Asparagus with Chervil ©cadwu

Coq au Vin

29 May 2024

A classic French dish and one of our favorites. Warm, rich and full of flavors. Obviously the dish is about two ingredients: chicken and wine. Use (organic) chicken, preferably with the bone, so a whole chicken, legs or drumsticks. A classic Coq au Vin is made with Bourgogne (Burgundy), a relatively expensive red wine from France made from Pinot Noir grapes. According to some people the wine you use for the stew must also accompany the dish. Which would mean that some of your beautiful Bourgogne ends up in the stew. Not the best idea! We think that the background of this ‘rule’ is about the quality of the wine you use for the stew: in this case you’re looking for a nice, medium bodied red wine with aromas of dark fruit; one you would be perfectly happy to drink. So not some left over red wine, or a wine you didn’t like. A perfect stew requires quality ingredients, that’s all.
Earlier we thickened the sauce using mushrooms; in this version we use Beurre Manié, the combination of butter and flour, which gives the sauce a rich, velvety feel.

Wine Pairing

We decided to open a bottle of Merlot, produced by Le Fat Bastard. An easy to drink red wine with the right aromas and a hint of wood. Worked beautifully with the richness of the sauce, the depth of the mushrooms and obviously the chicken!

What You Need

  • 4 Drumsticks
  • Slice of Pancetta or Bacon
  • 10 Pearl Onions
  • 100 grams Button Mushrooms
  • 2 Garlic Gloves
  • 1 Carrot
  • Chicken Stock
  • Red Wine
  • Bouquet Garni (Bay Leaf, Parsley, Thyme, Rosemary)
  • Black Pepper
  • Olive Oil
  • Soft Butter
  • Flour

What You Do

Cube the strip of pancetta or bacon in, peel the onions, slice and quarter the carrot, peel and finely chop the garlic. Add olive oil to a warm heavy pan. Begin by frying the pancetta or bacon until crispy. Remove from the pan and let drain on kitchen paper. Add (whole) pearl onions and carrot to the pan and fry until golden. Remove from the pan and let drain on kitchen paper. Add chicken to the pan and fry until golden. When golden add the garlic and fry for 3 minutes on medium heat. Add pancetta, carrot and onions back to the pan. Add chicken stock and red wine. The chicken should be nearly covered. Add bouquet garni and leave to simmer on low heat for 45-60 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken.
Clean the mushrooms with kitchen paper and fry them gently in a skillet. Remove chicken and bouquet garni from the pan. Transfer the chicken to an oven at 60 °C or 140 °F. Discard the bouquet. Reduce the liquid. Use a fork to combine 20 grams of butter with 20 grams of flour (or more of both, depending on the amount of liquid). Add the Beurre Manié to the liquid, stir and allow to simmer and thicken for some 15 minutes. Return the chicken to the sauce, add the fried mushrooms, black pepper and allow to integrate for 5 minutes. Serve with a fresh green salad (a vinaigrette of olive oil, white wine vinegar and Dijon mustard will be great) and crusted bread.

Coq Au Vin ©cadwu
Coq Au Vin ©cadwu

Charlotte Aux Asperges

9 May 2024

May is our peak season for white asparagus: great quality and reasonable prices. Which is very helpful because for this relatively small Charlotte you need lots of very tasty asparagus. Our Charlotte has a 16-centimetre diameter, and it requires 18 asparagus. The Charlotte has four components: the bottom made from potatoes and seasoned with nutmeg, the filling made from an asparagus mousse with ham, the side, made from halved asparagus tips and the decoration. The combination of fried potatoes, asparagus (soft in the mousse and with a gentle crunch in the tips) and egg is delicious. 

Wine Pairing

We enjoyed a glass of Pinot Blanc from the German Mosel region made by Dr. Loosen. The wine is dry and fresh with some acidity and minerality. Notes of pear, apple and citrus. It worked very well with the Charlotte. In general you’re looking for a subtle white wine, given the delicate flavors of the Charlotte.

What You Need
  • For the Filling
    • 50 grams Cream
    • 50 grams Ham
    • 13 grams of Gelatine
    • 18 asparagus
  • For the Bottom
    • 1 large Potato
    • Nutmeg
    • Butter
    • Salt
  • For the Decoration
    • Two eggs
    • Parsley
    • Black Pepper
What You Do
  1. The recipe is for a springform with a diameter of 16 cm
  2. The bottom of the Charlotte is a Paillasson de Pomme de Terre. See our post about Alain Passard
  3. Peel and grate the potato
  4. Add salt and nutmeg
  5. Bake in a heavy iron skillet with lots of butter for 15+10 minutes until golden
  6. From time to time you may need to add extra butter. Do this by slipping small dots of butter down the sides of the pan
  7. In parallel peel the asparagus and cut of the tips
  8. Steam the tips for 10 minutes
  9. Steam the eggs for 12 minutes
  10. Allow the tips to cool
  11. Peel the eggs and set aside
  12. Quarter the remainder of the asparagus and cook in water for at least 20 minutes or until very well done
  13. Blender the asparagus chunks with some of the cooking liquid until very smooth. You will need approximately 400 grams of this mixture
  14. Use the back of a spoon to pass the asparagus mixture through a sieve
  15. Transfer the potato to the bottom of the springform
  16. Coat the side of the form with neutral oil
  17. Halve the tips and add these to the form, with the cut to the outside. See picture
  18. Follow the instructions of the gelatine
  19. Whip the cream until thick
  20. Finely chop the ham
  21. Heat some of the asparagus liquid, when warm, add the gelatine
  22. Now it’s time to combine cream, ham and asparagus mixture
  23. Cool the mixture and add gently to the springform
  24. Allow to cool for at least 2 hours
  25. Just before serving make mimosa of egg with parsley and black pepper.
Slice of Charlotte aux Asperges ©cadwu
Charlotte aux Asperges ©cadwu
Bottom and Side of Charlotte aux Asperges ©cadwu

Asparagus!

11 April 2024

End of March, Mid April, depending on the weather, hurray!, it’s the beginning of the white asparagus season in the Netherlands (and many other countries). We simple love them!

One of the classic ways of serving white asparagus is with melted butter, boiled eggs, ham and parsley. Enjoying them this way, allows you to taste the slight bitterness and sweetness of the asparagus. The butter and egg bring a velvety feeling to your pallet, and the parsley and white pepper give a touch of sharpness to the dish. In this case we prefer a dry Muscat from the Alsace. A delicate, slightly sweet but dry taste, the smell of fresh fruit.

Combining white asparagus with scrambled eggs makes a lot of sense, especially if you add just a handful of shrimps. The salty, intense taste in balance with the very rich eggs and the asparagus is a very clever idea. The chives in the scrambled eggs lift the dish to a higher level. Enjoy with a Pinot Blanc from the Alsace.

Sauce Gribiche is made with capers, cornichons, and chives. The freshness works very well with the taste of the asparagus. A dish that requires a bit of work, but the result is delicious. Enjoy with a glass of Macon. The wine, made with 100% chardonnay grapes should bring gentle acidity, fruitiness and a floral aroma.

Another exciting combination was created by Johnny Acton and Nick Sandler and is included in their classic book Mushrooms (published by Kyle Books and still available via for instance Amazon and other channels). It’s about three seasonal products: asparagus, morels and wild garlic. To be enjoyed with a full-bodied white wine with a fine acidity.

White Asparagus with Summer Truffle
White Asparagus with Scrambled Eggs and Shrimps © cadwu
White Asparagus with Morels and Ramson © cadwu
grilled asparagus ©cadwu
Classic white Asparagus ©cadwu
Asparagus Soup (Blended) ©cadwu
Salad of White Asparagus and Chervil © cadwu
White Asparagus with Kimizu ©cadwu
White Asparagus with Ham, Egg, Potatoes and Parsley ©cadwu
Asparagus a la Flamande ©cadwu
White Asparagus, Chives, Shrimps and Eggs © cadwu

Wild Garlic

21 March 2024

From February to June, you can find Wild Garlic (Ramson(s) Daslook, Bear Leek, Ail des Ours, Bärlauch). It’s a shade-loving plant with beautiful white flowers that you can forage for in the woods or grow in your garden or on your balcony. If you decide to pick wild garlic, be careful not to pick its lookalike: the poisonous Lily of the Valley. Check if it’s wild garlic by grinding your fingers on the leaf. If you smell garlic and onion, you should be fine. If in doubt, don’t use it.
Wild garlic is much loved in Germany, Austria, France and other parts of Europe. The leaves and the flowers are edible (and so are the bulbs, but we haven’t tried these yet). Some sources mention that you should only eat the leaves before the plant starts flowering. But then you can’t combine the leaves and the tasty flowers in your dish, so we suggest ignoring that idea. The flowers are a touch sweet because of the honey. We suggest tasting the leaves and the flowers well before using. Adjust the quantities accordingly.
The taste is a bit like a combination of onion and garlic, but much greener, longer lasting and with a touch of bitterness at the end.  Works very well as a pesto, but equally nice with potatoes or gnocchi. You can also add the leaves and the flowers to a salad, but we feel the taste benefits from some warmth. Be very careful when cooking wild garlic because the flavour deteriorates quickly and at its best becomes unpleasant and onion-like. However, it’s possible to prepare a very tasty wild garlic soup.

We use wild garlic in four dishes. One is Farfalle with a wild garlic-based pesto, the second is a soup and the third is with white asparagus with morels and is published in the excellent book Mushrooms by Johnny Acton and Nick Sandler.

The cheese we use on our potato-wild-garlic-mash is Vacherin Fribourgeois. It originates from the region around the Swiss city Fribourg. It’s a semi-hard, creamy cheese made with raw cow milk. It matures for some 10 weeks in a damp cellar. Its taste is aromatic, floral, full-bodied and lasting, with a touch of sweetness, bitterness and umami. Ideal to combine with gnocchi or an omelette. Unfortunately, it’s not a widely available cheese. We bought it at one of our favourite cheese shops. You could replace it with Gruyère or perhaps Emmenthaler.

We combined out potato-wild-garlic-mash with a nice steak, but you could also serve it with an excellent organic sausage, perhaps one with sage?

Wine Pairing

The combination of the rich and flavourful mash and the red meat suggests a red wine with sufficient acidity, structure and tannins. We decided to enjoy a glass of Le Jardin de Queyron Pindefleurs 2018, Saint-Emilion, made from 78% merlot, 20% cabernet franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. It’s an elegant wine with aromas of dark fruit, liquorice and toast. The wine was a perfect balance with the various flavours in the dish.

What You Need
  • Floury (Starchy) Potatoes
  • Milk or Cream
  • Butter
  • Pinch of Salt
  • Cheese
  • Wild Garlic
What You Do
  1. Bring a pan of water with a pinch of salt to the boil
  2. Add the potatoes and cook until tender
  3. Transfer to a colander and drain
  4. Return to the pan (on low heat) and allow to dry
  5. Mash the potatoes using a fork or a potato masher
  6. Add hot milk, or cream and (melted) butter
  7. A few minutes before you serve the mash, coarsely chop the leaves and grate the cheese
  8. Quickly add the cheese, mix, taste, adjust, perhaps some more, perhaps some black pepper and then add the chopped leaves
  9. A few seconds later the mash is ready
PS

Watch this video (in English) about a communal garden in a park in Amsterdam, featuring Lynn and her beloved daslook.

Wild Garlic and Potato Mash ©cadwu
Fresh Wild Garlic ©cadwu