A few weeks ago Gido and Lien, owners of the now closed vegetarian restaurant Betty’s in Amsterdam, mailed us a recipe for Zhoug (also known as Zhug, Skhug or Schug), a hot sauce from Yemen. It combines cilantro, parsley, red or green peppers and various spices. Lien and Gido use a combination of spices known as Serinissima, produced by the French company Roellinger. Not something we have in our cupboard, so we used the ingredients as mentioned by Roellinger.
Zhug is spicy, bold, bright and intense. We enjoyed Zhug with crusted bread. We could imagine it’s also very tasty with falafel, grilled fish, oven roasted vegetables or fresh tomatoes.
What You Need
30 grams of fresh Cilantro
15 grams of fresh Parsley (leaves only)
Excellent Olive Oil
1 small clove of Garlic
½ Jalapeño
2 teaspoons in total of
Clove
Ginger Powder
Melegueta Pepper (Grains of Paradise)
Saffron
Cumin
Black Pepper to taste
½ teaspoon of Salt
Lemon Juice to taste
What You Do
Grate the cloves, ground the Melegueate pepper and the cumin
In the 1860’s Lucien Olivier was chef of the restaurant Hermitage in Moscow. The restaurant served a dish with luxurious ingredients, such as pheasant, caviar, lobster, tongue, potatoes, pickles and lettuce with a sauce, perhaps sauce Provençal. These ingredients were served separately on one plate. One evening some of the guests combined the ingredients into one dish, which was not the intention of chef Olivier, but when he tasted it, he found that the blend worked very well. He improved the sauce by adding one or more secret ingredients and the Olivier Salad was born! It quickly became a very popular dish at the restaurant.
Sadly the recipe for the original Olivier Salad is not known. One of his sous chefs, Ivan Ivanov, wrote down what he thought was the recipe (without the secret ingredients, obviously), became head chef at another restaurant and sold the recipe to various publishers. It became known as Russian Salad. As more often, the popular version is made with less expensive ingredients, such as ham, chicken, carrots, green peas and mayonnaise.
In 1909 Tsar Nicholas II visited King Victor Emmanuel III in Racconigi, some 35 kilometres south of Turin. Russian chefs explained to their Italian colleagues how to prepare Russian salad. The Italian chefs used vegetables from the royal gardens such as carrots, peas, beans and potatoes (which we think is a bit odd given the luxurious ingredients of the original). The salad was decorated with cream to evoke the snow of the Russian steppes. It became very popular in the Savoy region, a region that included the Principality of Piedmont and the County of Nice, among others. In the south of France it is known as Salade Piémontaise.
The anecdote about the creation of the Olivier Salad seems credible, but is it? The second edition of The Modern Cook by Charles Elmé Francatelli (chef to Queen Victoria) was published in 1846. Recipe number 1215 is for…. Russian Salad! It is made with lobster, thunny (‘tuna’ we think), anchovies, crayfish, prawn tails, stuffed olives, capers and red mayonnaise (a combination of lobster coral, mayonnaise, cayenne pepper and mustard), to be served in a vegetable border (made with cauliflower, asparagus, beans, peas, potatoes, artichoke bottoms and aspic). Two great chefs think alike?
We can’t recreate the Olivier Salad, but we can follow Francatelli’s instructions and make an original Russian salad. Anyone?
Our version of the Salade Piémontaise is based on the salad as sold by the Boucherie de France in Nice. It’s a surprisingly light dish that allows you to enjoy all ingredients, thanks to the lemon juice and the fairly neutral mayonnaise.
Wine Pairing
Piemonte is well known for its great wines, such as Barolo and Barbaresco, both made with Nebbiolo grapes. We decided to go for a more simple wine from the region, produced by Fontanafredda and made with 100% Barbera grapes. A wine that is fruity (black berries, plums) with low tannins and a relatively high acidity, which is very nice with the salad.
De-seed the tomatoes and slice, same size as the potatoes and the ham
Steam or boil the egg, let cool and dice
Slice the cornichons
Combine the ingredients
Coat with mayonnaise and mix gently
Add lemon juice, black pepper and adjust
Leave in the refrigerator until cool
Serve with crusted bread
PS
In 1852 Francatelli published A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes to help poorer members of society. The book contains 241 recipes with inexpensive ingredients. Not just royalty and exclusivity for him!
A delicious combination of tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and onion. Add flavoured olive oil (garlic and Herbes de Provence), assemble and transfer to the oven. That’s all! The result is a Tian, a vibrant and very tasty dish. Thanks to the preperation in the oven, without additional liquid or sauce, the taste and aromas of the vegetables are pleasant and intense.
A few weeks ago, we prepared Ratatouille Niçoise. We read about variations such as Confit Bayaldi and saw beautiful presentations by Remy (Ratatouille) and other chefs. We also came across a recipe for Tian. Then it all made sense: the nouvelle cuisine version of ratatouille combines the ingredients and preparation of a classic ratatouille with the presentation of Tian.
Tian is the name of a ceramic casserole dish used in the Provence and other parts of France. The dish prepared in it is also called Tian. We found lots of versions, including a Tian d’Anchois, in Hélène Barale’s book La Cuisine Niçoise. A combination of a rich tomato sauce, fresh anchovies and bread.
When shopping for our Tian we wondered if we should add onion. Our greengrocer on the Cours Saleya in Nice was clear: white onions are mandatory.
What You Need
1 Courgette or Zucchini
1 Eggplant or Aubergine
Tomatoes
White Onion
2 teaspoons (or more) Herbes de Provence
2 cloves of Garlic
Black Pepper
Olive oil
What You Do
Wash the zucchini, the tomatoes and the eggplant
Heat your oven to 200 °C or 390 °F
Slice the zucchini, the tomatoes and the eggplant into thin, evenly sized pieces.
Cut the eggplant and/or zucchini slices in half to make layering easier.
Slice the onion, but thinner
Crush the garlic
Combine garlic, olive oil and herbes de Provence
Coat the dish with half of the oil
Assemble the dish
Drizzle with the remaining oil-mixture
Add some black pepper
Sprinkle with some extra herbes de Provence
Cover the dish with aluminium foil
Bake for 20 minutes
Remove the cover and continue baking for another 20–25 minutes
Belgian Endive (or Chicory or Witloof) used to be a fairly bitter vegetable. There were two ways of solving this: cook it for a long time in salted water and/or remove the solid part from the stem. Today’s Belgian Endive is not that bitter, so you can happily enjoy all of it and forget about cooking it.
A traditional way of preparing Belgian Endive is to blanch it in boiling water, drain, then wrap the endive in ham, cover it with a béchamel sauce with cheese (sauce mornay) and chapelure. Transfer the dish to the oven until golden. It’s a nice way of preparing Belgian Endive when you want to take a trip down memory lane. Another option is to slice it and make a salad, preferably the one created by Antonio Carluccio. His salad with truffle and truffle oil is brilliant. A much better idea is to caramelise Belgian Endive in a hot skillet. Adding lemon juice will enhance the bitterness of the Belgian Endive and add acidity. And if you bought the right kind of lemon, you will also have a floral touch because of the bergamot.
Enjoy the caramelised Belgian Endive with lamb or pork chops.
Wine Pairing
A simple full-bodied red wine will work very well with the Belgian Endive. Make sure it’s not too subtle!
What You Need
Belgian Endive
Olive Oil
(optional) Butter
Lemon
What You Do
Clean the Belgian Endive by removing the outer leaves and cut in half (top down)
No need to remove the centre core
Heat a skillet
Add olive oil
Place the Belgian Endive in the pan, flat side down
Keep on medium heat for some 10 minutes until caramelised, so really dark brown
Turn the Belgian Endive and continue for another 5 to 10 minutes
Optional: reduce heat and add some butter
When you’re happy with the result, add fresh lemon juice to taste
Leave in the pan for a few seconds
Stir and check the taste
Serve on a hot plate
PS
If you feel inspired by this recipe, then search for Witloof from Belgium by Liesbeth Hobert and Felix Alen. Over 150 pages with suggestions how to prepare Witloof. Pity it’s in Dutch only, despite its title.
A few months ago we read a recipe for Herb and Mushroom Egg Bites. The bites looked like mini quiches. They were made with a combination of bacon, sauteed mushrooms, cheese, thyme and chives. We simply had to make them. They egg bites turned out to be delicious. Thanks Jeanne for sharing! More delicious recipes on her website.
Jeanne served them as a side dish with grilled tuna, focaccia and a rich salad. As she wrote: a perfect summer meal. We wanted to serve the bites as a starter. Worked well, but we felt something was missing. Why not make them smaller and serve them with an aperitif? That could work, but we would have to enhance the flavour. Which we did by using Roquefort (our favourite blue cheese) and dill. We used a silicon mould with 2,8 cm (1.1 inch) semi-sphere holes.
Wine Pairing
We enjoyed the mini bites with a glass of dry, sparkling wine. They will also combine very well with a dry white or rosé wine, or with a beer. Given the flavours of the mini bites, they are best combined with a non-sweet drink.
What You Need
2 Eggs
50 grams of Roquefort or another strong blue cheese
100 ml Cream
Lots of Dill
2 slices of Pancetta
100 grams of mixed mushrooms, including Shiitake
Black Pepper
What You Do
Slice the mushrooms
Chop the dill
Prepare the semi-sphere mould according to the instruction. We lightly buttered ours
Pre-heat your oven to 170 °C or 340 °F (traditional, so not fan)
Gently fry the slices of pancetta in a skillet
When nicely done, transfer from the pan to a plate with kitchen paper
Fry the mushrooms in the pan until done
Transfer the mushroom to a plate and allow to cool
Whisk the eggs and add the cream
Add Roquefort, dill, crumbled pancetta, mushrooms and black pepper. Mix
Taste and adjust
Use a blender to pulse the mixture: you’re looking for a batter that is a bit smoother, but not completely smooth
Pour the batter in the semi-sphere silicon mould and transfer to the oven for 20 minutes or until golden-brown
Let cool in the mould for a few minutes, then pop them out
Serve warm
PS
If you want to go for larger bites, then skip step 12. You could decorate each with a slice of mushroom.
Perhaps you wonder what kind of fish we prepared for this post. Well, actually, it’s Tortang Talong, a Philippine dish made with charred eggplant. Earlier this year we made banana ketchup and the idea was to serve it with Tortang Talong, but we couldn’t find the right eggplants. For Tortang Talong you need long, purple, slender eggplants, known as Chinese or Japanse eggplants. They not only look different from the oblong eggplant, their taste is slightly sweeter and softer. The shape is key to a moist and homogenous result.
Thanks Monch Weller for introducing us to the delectable sauce and the very tasty Tortang Talong!
Food Pairing
Serve Tortang Talong with banana ketchup as a starter. We could also imagine it as a side dish with fried vegetables, rice and perhaps chicken.
What You Need
2 Chinese or Japanese Eggplants
1 Egg
Black Pepper
(optional) Salt
Oil
What You Do
Grill the eggplants for 5-10 minutes using the wire rack, following the instructions of your oven
Flip and grill for another 5-10 minutes or until charred
Let cool
Peel of the skin
Use a fork to flatten the eggplants
Combine egg, salt (if using) and pepper
Beat the mixture well
Heat a heavy iron skillet
Add oil to the skillet
Dip the eggplant in the mixture
Fry the eggplant
Flip and use a brush to coat the top with the egg mixture
Having made Banana Ketchup, we were keen to explore what kind of food would combine well with it. Monch Weller wrote us: It’s often paired with fried food here in the Philippines – spring rolls (both meat and vegetable versions), fried chicken, and eggplant omelette. The ketchup paired nicely with vegetarian rolls, but not as well as hot sweet and sour sauce. We decided to make an eggplant omelette, known as Tortang Talong in the Philippines. The eggplant is grilled, peeled, flattened, dipped in an egg mixture and fried in oil. The outside crispy and brown, the inside soft and moist. Best to use the long and slender purple variety, for instance Chinese or Japanese eggplant. Our eggplant was a standard eggplant, large and oblong. Very different in size and shape compared to the one used in the Philippines. We were not sure how we could turn our eggplant into Tortang Talong. Slice it? Fan it? Or mash it and add the eggplant to the egg mixture?
What You Need
1 regular or Italian Eggplant
2 Eggs
Small Garlic Clove
Black Pepper
(optional) Salt
Oil
What You Do
Heat your oven to 230°C or 450°F
Poke the eggplant with a fork. This allows for steam to escape
Place the eggplant on lightly oiled aluminium foil
Roast the eggplant for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size
Let cool
Peel of the skin
Mash the eggplant, but not too much
Combine eggs, salt (if using) and pepper
Beat the mixture well
Add the mashed eggplant. We used 2/3 of our eggplant. Combine
Add grated garlic and mix again
Add oil to a small skillet, set to medium heat
Add the mixture and fry until brown
Flip the omelette and fry the other side until brown
Slice the omelette and serve immediately
Serve with banana ketchup
PS
When we can buy a long slender eggplant, we will prepare the original Tortang Talong. To be continued!
A few weeks ago we were reading Monch Wellers food and lifestyle blog. He writes about Via Mare, a Filipino restaurant that opened its doors 50 years ago. In his blog Monch writes about the food Via Mare offers, for instance Spanish Hot Chocolate, Bibingka (rice cake), Crab Omelette with Banana Ketchup, Lumpiang Ubod (spring rolls made with heart of palm) and Puto Bumbong, a glutinous rice dyed violet and steamed in bamboo tubes. We learn so much about the Filipino food culture thanks to Monchs excellent blog!
Why Bananas?
Maria Orosa (1893–1945) was born in the Philippian province of Batangas, some 100 kilometres south of Manilla. She studied food chemistry and pharmacology in the US. She returned to the Philippines in 1922. She was a food chemist, innovator and war hero. She saw the potential of many local products, for instance bananas and soy, and used these to empower the Philippines. She invented Soyalac (a protein-rich powdered soybean product), Darák (bran rice powder rich in vitamins) and Tiki-Tiki cookies. The powders and cookies saved many lives during wartime food shortages in the Philippines. One of her more frivolous inventions is Banana Ketchup. Why rely on imported tomatoes when it’s possible to make an equally tasty condiment using local bananas?
We loved the philosophy behind the ketchup and began searching for recipes. We noticed that tomato paste is often added, to give the ketchup a more familiar and appetizing colour. We didn’t do this. Afterall, the idea was not to use tomatoes. Plus: what’s wrong with the colour?
Food Pairing
The Banana Ketchup is smooth, its taste long, tangy, spicy and uplifting. The bananas give the ketchup natural sweetness and depth. They also support the spices. A condiment to love. We asked Monch for his favourite combination. He wrote us: It’s often paired with fried food here in the Philippines – spring rolls (both meat and vegetable versions), fried chicken, and eggplant omelette (which was No. 2 in TasteAtlas’ 50 Best Egg Dishes). We tried it with eggplant omelette and vegetable spring rolls. The ketchup paired perfectly with the moist and more delicate flavours of the omelette. Thanks Monch for introducing us to this unknown, delectable sauce!
What You Need
2 small ripe Bananas
½ Shallot
2 cloves of Garlic
20 grams fresh Ginger
½ Kashimiri Pepper
1/8 cup Brown Sugar
¼ cup Rice Vinegar
¼ cup Water
¼ teaspoon Turmeric
Dash of Cinnamon and Nutmeg plus 1 Clove (replacing dash of All Spice)
Oil
What You Do
Chop onion, garlic and ginger
Mash the bananas
Heat oil in a heavy iron skillet
Add chopped onion and glaze, about 5 minutes
Add garlic and ginger
Leave on medium heat, stirring constantly
Add bananas and combine
After a few minutes add vinegar, water, sugar, spices and Kashmiri pepper
When the mixture begins to simmer, reduce heat to low
Leave for 15-20 minutes, stir regularly
Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes
Transfer to a food processor and blend until smooth. This may take one or two minutes
Pass through a sieve to get the right velvety smoothness
Leave to cool before transferring the ketchup to the refrigerator
Serve with eggplant omelette (recipe next week!)
The ketchup will remain tasty for up to 3 days.
PS
In general, we find tomato ketchup too sweet, too salty and bland. Have we ever considered making our own tomato ketchup? No, we haven’t. We’re okay with a small bottle of Heinz Tomato Ketchup Zero, in case we have an irresistible craving for ketchup. Heinz doesn’t add sugar and salt to the Zero Ketchup. They add more tomatoes than usual (great) and a sweetener (pity). The taste? Well, still typically tomato ketchup. Fortunately, Banana Ketchup has far more flavour, spiciness and complexity.
The traditional way of eating Fava Beans in the Netherlands is by combining them with an herb called ‘bonenkruid’. The name isn’t very helpful, it translates into ‘bean herb’, so it’s ‘beans with bean herb’. The tradition is based on the idea that the herb would help your body digest the fava beans and that it would compensate for the bitterness of the inner skin of the beans.
Given its name we didn’t pay too much attention to ‘bean herb’, until we saw it in France, where it’s called ‘sarriette’. In English it’s ‘satureja’ or ‘savory’. It turns out to be a very tasty herb, related to rosemary and thyme. It is one of the main herbs in Herbes de Provence, together with marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and oregano.
Its history goes back to Roman times, when it was one of the main ingredients of Garum (or Liquamen), the fermented fish sauce that was used to flavour food. Amongst the herbs used in garum are cilantro, dill, fennel, celery, mint, thyme, oregano and clary sage. The Romans also used satureja as an aphrodisiac.
In her book Van Soeter Cokene Professor Van Winter describes a recipe from 1430 for Crustade, a pie with veal, various herbs (satureja, sage, parsley, hyssop) and spices such as cinnamon, saffron, cloves and mace. According to Van Winter one of the first recipes to combine (green) herbs with spices.
Our ‘bonenkruid’ has much more potential than we expected! We decided to combine it with slowly baked waxy potatoes. They will be very crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The satureja makes it into a very light, uplifting side dish, great with Coq au Vin or a hearty stew.
What You Need
Waxy Potatoes
Satureja
Olive Oil
Butter
(optional) Black Pepper
What You Do
Peel the potatoes, wash and cook until not yet done
Let cool
Heat a heavy iron pan
Add butter and olive oil
Chop the satureja
Slice the potatoes, not too thin, add to the pan and fry on medium heat
Turn the slices every one or two minutes. The potatoes should become very crispy, a touch golden but not brown
When ready to serve, add ¾ of the satureja and mix
Add black pepper (if using)
Serve and add the remainder of the satureja
PS
Making your own garum is perhaps not the most obvious thing to do. We made it once, many years ago. It turned out to be a very tasty and subtle condiment, despite the fairly present aroma.
Field Peas (Pisum sativum subsp. Arvense, Austrian winter pea, Kapucijner in Dutch or Blaue Speiseerbse in German) are well known as dried or canned peas. Typical winter-food. The season for fresh Field Peas is relatively short (6 weeks in June and July) so we were happy to buy them earlier this week, for a reasonable price. Last year they were incredibly expensive because of a very poor harvest. Ask your greengrocer for Field Peas and explore another forgotten vegetable. One that has been around for over 7000 years!
Fresh Field Peas are tasty, sometimes a bit dry and should be eaten young. Best is to combine them with rich flavours and butter or oil. We could imagine adding Satureja to a dish with Field Peas. We combined the peas with bacon and served them with Boudin Blanc and mustard.
Wine Pairing
A not too complex red wine will be great with the rich flavours of this dish. We enjoyed a glass of Rioja made by Campo Viejo. The wine is made with tempranillo grapes. It’s an aromatic, fairly bold, dry red wine with pleasant tannins.
What You Need
500 grams of fresh Field Peas
Olive Oil
100 grams of Bacon
Black Pepper
(optional) Boudin Blanc and French mustard
What You Do
Shell the peas
Cook or steam the peas 5 minutes or until al dente
Drain and let cool
Add olive oil to a warm heavy iron skillet
Add peas and bacon to the pan and fry on medium heat for 10 minutes
Cook and Drink 