To prepare this classic Japanese broth you need between one and four ingredients. These are kelp (kombu), dried tuna flakes (katsuobushi), dried small anchovies or sardines and dried shiitake. The simplest dashi is made with kombu only. Its taste is gentle with a touch of umami. It’s a great vegetarian broth. We use it to make pumpkin soup. The best known is awase dashi and it’s made with kombu and katsuobushi. It is the basis of oden, miso soup and many other dishes. It’s also the basis of our dashi with matsutake and shrimps and for tentsuyu, the dipping sauce for tempura. If you add a splash of dashi and some Japanese mustard (karashi) to your mayonnaise you have your own Japanese mayonnaise.
Katsuobushi is made from skipjack tuna (bonito). It’s a complex and time-consuming process. A Japanese chef will begin her or his day with shaving katsuobushi. We keep it simple and buy flakes.
What You Need
1 liter of Water
20 grams of Kombu
30 grams of Katsuobushi
What You Do
Use a wet cloth to gently clean the kombu
Put the kombu in the cold water and leave for 30 minutes
Heat slowly to 80 °C or 175 °F
Take you time!
When the temperature has reached 80 °C or 175 °F, remove the kombu (and store it for a second dashi)
Bring the liquid to the boil
Immediately reduce heat
Add the katsuobushi
Bring to a boil
Immediately remove from heat
Let it sit for 10 minutes or so until the katsuobushi has sunk to the bottom
Pass the liquid through a sieve
You can also use a clean cloth, but don’t squeeze it. You want a clear broth
The dashi can be used immediately, stored in your refrigerator for a few days or kept in the freezer for a few weeks (not preferred)
Portobello mushrooms are mature chestnut mushrooms (also known as common mushroom, champignon de Paris, button mushroom, cremini etcetera). Ideal to stuff and serve as a starter. We found them stuffed with ratatouille, with blue cheese and walnuts, with shrimps, with sausage and peppers: it seems anything goes! We decided to remain close to the flavour of the mushroom by stuffing them with chestnut mushrooms, shiitake and oregano. We topped them with taleggio, a semi-soft cheese from Italy with a mild taste. It melts easily, so you need to keep an eye on your oven! If you can’t get hold of taleggio, then use mozzarella instead and add a bit more flavour to the mushroom stuffing.
Wine Pairing
We decided to enjoy a glass of Viognier, made by Domaine Coudoulet in the Languedoc (France). The wine has aromas of peach and anise. The taste is fresh with a hint of orange zest. In general, we recommend a fresh, lightly fruity, unoaked white wine.
What You Need
For the Mushroom Stuffing
150 grams of Button Mushrooms and Shiitake
one small Shallot
one Garlic Clove
Oregano
Black Pepper
(Excellent) Olive Oil
2 Portobello mushrooms
Taleggio
What You Do
Clean and chop the button mushrooms and shiitake
Finely chop the oregano, the shallot and the garlic
Gently fry the shallot in olive oil in a heavy iron skillet
Add the mushrooms and fry on medium heat
Reduce heat
Add herbs and garlic
Continue on low heat for 10-15 minutes
Transfer the mushroom mix to a plate and let cool
Add some olive oil to make the mixture smoother
Taste and add some black pepper
Store in the refrigerator
Preheat your oven to 180 °C or 355 °F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Remove the stem of the portobello
Using a small spoon, scrape out the dark gills from the caps
Generously brush both sides of the caps with olive oil
Slice the taleggio (with crust!)
Stuff the portobello with the mushroom mixture and top with slices of cheese
If you’re a true lover of taleggio: add a slice of cheese to the cap before stuffing with the mushroom mixture
Transfer the mushrooms to the oven for 15 minutes
(optional) During the last minutes increase to 200 °C or 400 °F
It’s always a great idea to combine seasonal ingredients: asparagus and morels, strawberries and rhubarb, summer truffle and golden chanterelle. The season of the chanterelle runs from June to December. It’s a firm, bright yellow mushroom with subtle earthy, fruity flavour. It’s native to North America, Europe and Asia. Summer truffles can be found between May and August. Their aroma and taste is very subtle. If slightly warmed, the flavour is more present (a bit nutty). If heated, the truffle loses its flavour.
The combination of chanterelle, truffle and cream is elegant and complex. The chanterelle gains depth from the truffle and vice versa. The pasta and the creamy sauce support the flavours beautifully.
Wine Pairing
We suggest a fruity, dry, red wine, with light tannins, for instance a Pinot Noir or perhaps a Gamay. We enjoyed a glass of Domaine Coudoulet Pinot Noir. This is a light, red wine from the Pays d’Oc in the south of France. It has a nice, light colour, aromas of strawberries, it’s refreshing and has a long finish. To be served somewhat chilled.
What You Need
200 grams of Golden (Yellow) Chanterelle
20 grams of Summer Truffle
1 Garlic Clove
Stock (vegetable or chicken)
Cream
1 teaspoon of Mustard
Parmesan Cheese
Spaghetti
Olive Oil
Butter
Black Pepper
Salt
What You Do
Add olive oil to a heavy iron skillet. Set on low heat
Slice the garlic in 3 or 4 and add to the oil
Leave the oil on very low heat for 10-15 minutes
Clean the chanterelle with a brush. Take your time!
Cut the chanterelle in 2 or 4, depending on the size
Clean the truffle
Grate a quarter of the truffle, slice the remainder
Grate some Parmesan cheese, just to thicken and gently flavour the sauce
Cook the spaghetti in boiling water with some salt until al dente, according to the instruction on the package
Remove the garlic from the pan
Add some butter to the pan and increase the heat
Fry the chanterelle
Reduce heat
Add stock, mustard and cream. Combine
Add Parmesan cheese. Combine
Add the spaghetti to the pan
Taste and adjust
Just before serving add black pepper and grated truffle
Œufs Dur Mayonnaise is a classic French bistro dish. Beginning of the 20th century the instruction was simple: make mayonnaise (egg yolk, white wine vinegar, oil, salt and white pepper), quarter or halve hard boiled eggs and place these on a layer of mayonnaise. Today’s versions use mayonnaise with mustard. Delia Smith adds garlic to her mayonnaise. Presentation-wise the eggs are topped with mayonnaise and served with lettuce, cornichons or olives. Another possibility is to serve the halved eggs as a dome, covered with mayonnaise.
Œufs Dur Mayonnaise may look simple, and perhaps you think it’s too simple to be a starter on its own. It’s actually very nice, if you use quality ingredients and make your own mayonnaise. Its simplicity doesn’t allow you to cheat (boil the eggs days in advance, overcook them, use cheap eggs, use ready made mayonnaise etcetera).
Today’s recipes suggest leaving the egg yolk slightly creamy. After having tried a number of cuissons (donenesses if that’s a word!) we think it’s best to use hard boiled eggs. We rely on our Emerio egg cooker to create the perfect egg!
Drink Pairing
The taste of Œufs Dur Mayonnaise is savoury, mineral and rich. The mayonnaise gives a velvety mouthfeel. As this is a classic bistro dish, we suggest a simple white wine, nicely cooled, or a beer, or a glass of cold water.
What You Need
fresh, organic Eggs
Mayonnaise
(optional) Chervil
What You Do
Prepare mayonnaise. We suggest adding a bit more mustard and vinegar than usual
Prepare hard boiled eggs
Peel the eggs and let cool
Halve the eggs and add some mayonnaise on top
(optional) decorate with chervil
PS
The number of bistro’s in France went down from some 170.000 in the 1960’s to 35.000 in the 2020’s. Œufs Dur Mayonnaise became unpopular: eggs contain a high amount of cholesterol and mayonnaise is high-fat food and calorie-dense. In 2018 L’Association pour la Sauvegarde de l’Œuf Mayonnaise (the association to protect Œuf Mayonnaise) was founded, to promote the dish and bring it back to the table. The Association organises an annual championship. The 2026 winner of the award was restaurant Au Rêve in Paris (Œufs Mayonnaise is on the menu for 4 euro).
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!
We love refreshing chilled soups during summer. Could be gazpacho, could be avocado and cucumber soup or this classic. It’s delicious and uplifting when it’s really warm. Serve with crusted bread for a lovely, light starter.
What You Need
1 small Shallot
1 clove of Garlic
400 ml of Vegetable Stock
175 grams of (frozen) Peas
handful of fresh Mint
Lemon Juice
Black Pepper
2 tablespoons of Cream
Olive Oil
What You Do
Chop the shallot, the garlic and the mint
Heat the oil in a large pan
Add shallot to the pan and glaze for a few minutes
Add garlic to the pan and gently sauté for one or two minutes
Pour in the stock and bring to the boil
Add peas and reduce heat
Leave for a few minutes until the peas are relatively soft
Add mint and cream
Allow to simmer for one or two minutes
Add some lemon juice and black pepper
Hand blender until smooth
Taste and adjust (mint, lemon juice, black pepper)
Pour into a large bowl and allow to cool
Cover and chill in the refrigerator for three or more hours
Spoon the soup into cold soup bowls and decorate with a sprig of mint
PS
Don’t overcook the peas. If you do, the soup will become too smooth and it will not be bright green.
You could add some olive oil just before serving and pulse with a hand blender. This will give the soup a velvety, rich feel plus it will make the taste more complex.
We wanted to celebrate the end of the Dutch season for white asparagus with something special, perhaps grilled asparagus with Parmesan cheese or asparagus with miso. Normally the season ends on June 24th, the feast day of Saint John the Baptist. This year the season started very early (March 7th) and probably ended early, so we were too late. No final dish with white asparagus this year!
We decided to prepare a very tasty salad with green asparagus, oregano, basil and black olives. A very limited list of ingredients, but there is no need to add anything else. The olives bring umami, the asparagus sweetness and bitterness, the basil and oregano are aromatic, sweet and a touch peppery. A very uplifting combination.
Wine Pairing
We enjoyed a glass of Verdicchio, a dry white wine made by Tenuta Colpaola in Italy. The wine has a very nice balance of fruit (green apples) and acidity, body and freshness. The wine has a beautiful, deep yellow colour, medium body and complexity, making it ideal with the various flavours of the dish. In general we suggest a dry white wine with sufficient acidity and character, to balance both the asparagus and the olives. You could also serve the salad with a glass of dry, crisp, floral and flavourful rosé, for instance Monte del Frà Bardolino Chiaretto. It has delicate aromas of berries accompanied by light and refreshing hints of green apples and subtle spicy tones. The refreshing acidity works very well with the salad as a whole.
What You Need
350 grams of Green Asparagus
10-15 Black Olives (Taggiasca preffered, pitted)
1 generous teaspoon of Dried Oregano
Basil
Black Pepper
Olive Oil
What You Do
Pre-heat your oven to 190 °C or 375 °F
Wash the asparagus and dry
Remove the bottom of the asparagus. Be generous, you don’t want to serve a chewy salad
Halve the olives
Slice the asparagus (chunky)
Add asparagus, dried oregago and olives to a (cast iron) oven dish
A few weeks ago John Rieber wrote about the miracle of garlic. He also explains the 10-minute rule and the way it creates additional benefits when using garlic. His post includes a recipe for a garlicky soup, a variation of Avgolemono.
The post made us think of ‘knofsoep’ (in English it would be ‘garsoup’) as described by author, poet and performer Johnny Van Doornin 1988. He was known for his ecstatic performances, enabled by the use of various substances. His knofsoep, based on a recipe from Roman times, helped him through the day. The soup is uplifting, supports overall health and more specifically the liver. It is to be served with crusted bread and a glass of wine. We adjusted the recipe slightly by using vegetable stock and adding some chives. The soup has a very mild, sweet garlic flavour (thanks to not roasting or frying the garlic) and complexity thanks to the herbs and the clove.
The original recipe (in Dutch) is available in his diary Door de Weken Heen, available for 5 euros, second hand only.
What You Need
500 ml Vegetable Stock
8 cloves of Garlic
1 starchy Potato
Olive Oil
Bouquet Garni (Thyme, Sage, Rosemary, Parsley, Bay Leaf)
1 Clove
2 crushed Black Peppers
Parmesan Cheese
Chives
(optional) Black Pepper
(optional) Salt
What You Do
Bring the stock to a boil
Add garlic and potato
Reduce the heat
Add a small tablespoon of olive oil
Add bouquet garni, clove and crushed black peppers
After 40 minutes pass the soup through a sieve
Use a spoon to capture all the flavours of the ingredients
If you search for Lion’s Mane mushrooms, you will find lots of references to supplements with wonderful health benefits, ranging from supporting longevity to improved cognitive functions. It’s also supposed to have antibiotic, anti-fatigue and anti-ageing properties. Sounds great, but how do the fresh mushrooms taste?
Lion’s Mane (also known as Yamabushitake and Hou Tou Gu) is a mushroom native to North America, Asia and Europe. Their flavour and texture sets them apart from many other mushrooms. A bit sweet, mild, some umami, subtle, a hint of seafood (crab, lobster). The texture meaty and elastic with a unique structure thanks to the spines.
Alan Bergo (the Forager Chef) uses them to make crab cakes. He writes: This is one of my all-time favorites. I guarantee this is so good, some people may not be able to tell it’s a crabcake made from mushrooms instead of crab.
We thought it would be nice to make a dish with various flavours, allowing us to taste the mushroom on its own, but also with the Tomato Confit and Polenta. Combining it with tomato enhanced the flavour of the mushroom and made it more complex (sweet, sour, umami, aromatic). The combination with Polenta was nice, perhaps because of the various textures.
Wine Pairing
Grüner Veltliner is a wine typical for Austria, with flavours such as lime, grapefruit and white pepper. We enjoyed a glass of Grüner Veltliner, made by Eisacktal Valle Isarco, from the Alto Adige region in Italy. It is fruity, fresh and slightly spicy with clear acidity. Very nice with the flavours in the dish. In general we suggest a fresh, dry white wine with hints of green apple and/or citrus.
What You Need
Mushrooms
100 grams of Lion’s Mane
Olive Oil
Polenta
Polenta
Vegetable Stock (optional)
Parmesan Cheese
Thyme
Tomatoes
Tomatoes
Thyme
Rosemary
Garlic
Olive Oil
What You Do
Day before
Cook (in vegetable stock) the polenta according to the package until ready
Add some Parmesan cheese and thyme
Pour the polenta on a plate and smooth it into an even layer (1,5 centimetres) with a spatula
Cool to room temperature
Cover with foil
Transfer to the refrigerator for use the next day.
A few hours before
Wash and dry the tomatoes and add these to a baking dish
Chop the garlic
Add herbs, garlic and a generous amount of olive oil to the dish
Put in the oven for something like 2 hours on 90 °C or 200 °F
Baste the tomatoes once or twice
Don’t forget to use the cooking liquid as well, it’s another pack of flavours!
Preheat your oven to 65 °C or 150 °F
Turn out the polenta onto a cutting board
Cut it into a shape you like (strips, triangles, circles)
Fry in relatively hot olive oil in a non-stick pan until golden, probably 2*5 minutes.
In parallel clean the mushroom and slice (not too thin)
Fry in olive oil until golden brown, probably 2*2 minutes
Transfer to the oven
Leave for 5 minutes in the oven
Add just a hint of black pepper to the mushrooms before serving.
Assemble and serve on a warm plate.
PS
Best to buy young mushrooms, the size of a tennis ball.
We love white asparagus and traditionally we make classic white asparagus at the start of the season. We have prepared a range of dishes with asparagus and are always keen to try something new. Recently we saw a recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara with Asparagus. Wrong idea. Spaghetti Carbonara is an iconic Italian dish, made with spaghetti, guanciale, eggs, Parmesan cheese and/or Pecorino and black pepper. No reason to change or add anything. The picture showed penne, asparagus, basil and a creamy, rich sauce. Well, we must admit, it did look tempting. What if we would skip the penne and basil? That combination is not too dissimilar to the classic one. Knowing how tasty the combination of grilled asparagus and Parmesan cheese is, what’s stopping us? Let’s give it a try!
Before you dash of to your kitchen: the recipe comes with a challenge. The starch of the spaghetti helps thicken the sauce of Spaghetti Carbonara. There is no starch in this combination. Even more challenging, the asparagus are moist which will make the sauce thinner. When you’ve added the egg mixture to the pan, you will have to increase the heat to thicken the sauce. Too quickly or not enough stirring and your sauce will become an omelette. Be careful!
Wine Pairing
A Pinot Gris form Northern Italy will go very well with this dish. In general, a white wine with aromas of for instance lemon, green apple or pear. Some refreshing acidity is perfect with the rich sauce. The wine should be light to medium bodied.
What You Need
500 grams of (white) Asparagus
100 grams of Pancetta
2 Organic Eggs
Parmesan Cheese or Pecorino
Black Pepper
What You Do
Peel the asparagus
Steam the asparagus for 10 minutes, depending on the size. The asparagus should remain crunchy
Cut the asparagus in 4 or 5 pieces
Cut of the rind of the pancetta (if any)
Dice the meat. Small cubes are best, the salty meat should become a condiment
Warm a pan to medium heat
Fry the pancetta
Whisk the eggs, add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese, add some black pepper and whisk again
Reduce the heat to minimum
Add the asparagus to the pan
Combine and make sure the asparagus are nicely coated with the fat and juices from the meat.
Now it’s time to create the creamy sauce!
Check if the pan is not too hot. If so, better wait a minute
Add the egg mixture and combine
Now for the difficult part: carefully increase (!) the heat while moving the asparagus, the pancetta and the sauce, keep moving, add more grated cheese, it helps thicken the sauce, taste, keep moving, and do so until the sauce has the right consistency. This may take a few minutes.
Serve immediately on a warm plate
PS
We decided to use pancetta instead of guanciale because pancetta has a milder taste, which combines better with the bitterness of the asparagus.
We haven’t prepared the dish with Green Asparagus. Anyone willing to give it a try?
