Category: starter

Girolle and Guineafowl

10 October 2024

The Girolle (or Chanterelle) season in Europe runs from late summer until late autumn. It’s a much-loved mushroom, especially the golden (common) girolle, but let’s not forget the chanterelle jaune, the chanterelle grise and the trompette de la mort. The common girolle remains tender and somewhat meaty when cooked, which makes it ideal when thinking of a rich sauce. You will taste delicate nutty, buttery and earthy flavours. Delicious when combined with the gentle flavours of guineafowl. The sauce we made is fairly simple: it’s all about enhancing the texture and the flavours of the mushroom. The parsley will bring a freshness and bitterness to the sauce.

Guineafowl meat is leaner, somewhat darker and more flavourful compared to chicken. It is not difficult to prepare, but due to the low-fat content you must be careful not to overcook. In this recipe we use guineafowl supreme (the breast fillet with the skin on plus the wing bone) which is perhaps the tastiest part of the guineafowl. 

Wine Pairing

We enjoyed a glass of Le Jardin de Fleur La Mothe made by Château Fleur la Mothe with merlot and cabernet sauvignon grapes. An affordable wine from the French Médoc region. The wine has a beautiful deep red colour, the tannins are balanced and the fruit nicely present, both in the aroma and the flavour. In general, we suggest a smooth, medium bodied red wine with fruity aromas. 

What You Need
  • For the Guineafowl
    • 2 Guineafowl Supremes
    • Pancetta
    • Olive Oil
  • For the Sauce
    • 150 grams of Golden Girolle
    • One small Shallot
    • One small Garlic Clove
    • Double Cream
    • Crème Fraîche
    • Dijon Mustard
    • Vegetable Stock
    • Parsley
    • Butter
    • Black Pepper
What You Do
  1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 °C or 355 °F
  2. Thinly slice the pancetta
  3. Open the supreme, add pancetta and then close the supreme, using kitchen twine
  4. Fry the supreme in olive oil in a heavy iron skillet until golden
  5. Transfer the skillet to the oven. The internal temperature of the meat should be minimum 70°C or 160°F.
  6. Clean the mushrooms with kitchen paper.
  7. Halve or quarter the mushrooms, depending on the size
  8. Finely chop the shallot and the garlic.
  9. When the guineafowl is ready, transfer the pan to your kitchen top, cover the meat with aluminium foil and allow to rest. This way the meat will be moist and not over-cooked.
  10. Now it’s time to prepare the sauce. Add butter to a warm pan, add the shallot, gently fry for a few minutes, add the girolles, fry, reduce heat, add the garlic.
  11. After a few minutes add the vegetable stock. Stir.
  12. After a few minutes add double cream, crème fraîche and some Dijon mustard.
  13. Stir well and create a thick creamy sauce. Taste and add some black pepper.
  14. wo minutes before serving add the parsley.
  15. Slice the guineafowl and serve 3 or 4 slices on top of the sauce.
Girolle and Guineafowl ©cadwu
Girolle and Guineafowl ©cadwu
PS

More mushroom recipes on our mushroom page.

Cordyceps

3 October 2024

Bright orange mushrooms that look like spaetzle? Interesting. We pick one up and look carefully: a long stem but without a cap with spores. Odd. We ask if they are edible, and the obvious answer is “yes”. We buy 100 grams and decide to look for details and recipes in our mushroom cookery books when at home.
Hm. No mention of Cordyceps. We visit the Forager Chef (Alan Bergo) and read about the background of the Cordyceps (or better: Ophiocordyceps). Parasite mushroom, infects insects, controls them, takes over, kills and then sprouts a fruiting body from their head. The fruit we just bought…
Fortunately, the Cordyceps we bought are grown on substrates that are not made of insects, which make them less scary. Normally when we find a new mushroom on the market, we taste it raw, but not today.
We quickly wash our hands and watch this BBC video as suggested by Chef Bergo. Interesting, but we prefer the culinary aspects of mushrooms.

Use

In traditional Chinese medicine dried and powdered cordyceps are used. Today it is considered to be superfood, supposedly boosting your vitality and endurance. Fresh cordyceps are used in Chinese soups and hot pots. Chef Bergo uses them in a dish with linguini. He writes: “The cordyceps weren’t mind blowing, but they definitely weren’t bad”.
We decide to make an Asia-inspired salad, with stir fried cordyceps, obviously. The salad tasted great. It was nutty, mild, fresh and the texture of the mushrooms worked beautifully with the crunchy radishes. 

Wine Pairing

Best to drink a white wine with a touch of oak, perhaps a chardonnay. We tried something different, a wine made with a grape called Bouquet 1359. The wine is produced by French winery Abbotts & Delaunay. The grape was developed by Alain Bouquet. It is somewhat similar to the chardonnay grape but more resistant and easier to use in an ecologic environment. It comes with aromas of brioche and yellow fruit; the taste is fresh, long and slightly nutty. 

What You Need
  • 100 grams Cordyceps
  • 1 Scallion
  • Bok Choy
  • White Radishes or Daikon
  • Walnut Oil
  • Jerez Vinegar
  • Light Soy Sauce (we used Tsuyu)
  • French Mustard
  • Olive Oil
What You Do
  1. Clean the mushrooms if necessary
  2. Cook radishes or daikon for 4 minutes in boiling water
  3. Let cool quickly and slice or quarter
  4. Finely slice one or two bok choy stems, depending on the size
  5. Heat a skillet, add some olive oil and fry the mushrooms
  6. After 1 minute add the sliced bok choy and the pre-cooked radishes
  7. Toss, leave for 1 or 2 minutes and allow to cool
  8. Transfer to the refrigerator
  9. When ready to serve, make a dressing by combining walnut oil, soy sauce, Jerez vinegar and a touch of mustard. The mustard will emulsify the dressing
  10. Taste and adjust
  11. Happy?
  12. Then add the dressing to the salad, mix and serve as a side dish or small appetizer.
Inspiration

If you’re into video games you will have recognised cordyceps as inspiration of the action-adventure game The Last of Us, which was the inspiration for the American post-apocalyptic drama television series with the same tittle and produced by HBO.
The 2016 movie The Girl with All the Gifts was also inspired by cordyceps. Two Pokémon species are also based on Ophiocordyceps.

Nasty Details

A few days later we opened Merlin Sheldrake’s impressive book Entangled Life. He explains that the fungus doesn’t turn the insects into zombies but controls it like a puppeteer master. He describes how a specific species of Ophiocordyceps is focused on giant ants. The fungus infects the ant and from that moment on it controls the insect. In the end 40% of the body weight of the ant is mycelium (the network created by the fungus). Through the mycelium the fungus controls the ant. When the Ophiocordyceps is ready to propagate, it steers the ant to a height of approximately 25 cm, ideal for the fungus and its spores. The ant then bites into the main vein of a leaf and locks its jaws. The ant is now in an ideal position for the fungus. This is the moment the fungus kills the ant and the fruit begins to grow.
Very pleased our cordyceps were grown on a substrate of grains!

PS

More mushroom recipes on our mushroom page.

Salad of Cordyceps ©cadwu
Fresh Cordyceps ©cadwu
Cordyceps as a side dish ©cadwu

Girolle Omelette

26 September 2024

Friday morning, beginning of September, we go shopping at the organic street market in the beautiful city of Haarlem. We want to buy fruit and vegetables, cheese and obviously mushrooms. The season just started but already the stall offers lobster mushrooms, truffle, chicken of the wood, mai take, trompette de la mort, cèpes and girolles, also the grey (grise) and the yellow ones (jaune). They look perfect and we decide to buy 150 grams. Greyish cap, bright yellow stem, perfect with an omelette. We cross the street and buy extremely old goat cheese, one that matured for 2 to 3 years. Its taste is full of umami, a bit spicy and makes us think of Roquefort. It will be perfect with the aromas and flavours of the girolle jaune.

Wine pairing

The fried girolle comes with an aroma that will make you think of a forest in autumn. Its taste is complex and nutty. The rich egg in combination with the grated old cheese made us decide to drink a glass of Flor de la Mar, barrel aged Chardonnay, produced by Casa Ermelinda Freitas in Portugal. The wine aged for 4 months in barrels made of American oak. It is medium bodied, nicely oaked and comes with hints of citrus and caramel. In general, you’re looking for a lightly oaked chardonnay, balanced, fresh, not too complex.

What You Need
  • 150 grams of Girolle (Jaune)
  • 2 Organic Eggs (preferably Demeter)
  • Very Old Goat Cheese
  • Garlic Clove
  • Olive oil
  • Butter
  • Black Pepper
What You Do

Whisk the eggs together. Warm a small non-stick pan, add some butter and make sure the pan is warm through and through. Add the mixture and leave on low heat until the omelette is baveuse. In the meantime, clean the mushrooms. Perhaps you need to cut off some of the stem. Slice the mushrooms lengthwise in halve. The stem is hollow and may contain sand or other bits of the forest floor. Quickly fry the mushrooms in olive oil. Grate some garlic and add to the mushrooms. Time to plate up: the omelette, fresh black pepper, the mushrooms and some grated goat cheese, not too much, it can be overpowering.

PS

More mushroom recipes on our mushroom page.

Girolle Omelette ©cadwu
Girolle Jaune ©cadwu
Very Old Goat Cheese ©cadwu

Watercress Soup

15 August 2024

Watercress tastes fresh and somewhat peppery. In this soup we combine it with chervil and dill (hints of anise) making it an even more uplifting, delicious soup. Adding cream or olive oil is optional. Easy to make, quick and vegan!

What You Need
  • 50 grams Watercress
  • 10 grams Chervil
  • Some Dill
  • Small Shallot
  • 1 Clove of Garlic
  • 1 Small Potato
  • Butter
  • Black Pepper
  • Vegetable Stock
  • (Double) Cream (optional)
  • Excellent Olive Oil (optional)
What You Do

Chop the shallot and the garlic. Peel and chop the potato. In a heavy iron pan heat the butter, glaze the shallot and later add the potato and garlic. Allow to simmer for a few minutes. In the meantime, remove the coarse stems of the watercress and the chervil. When the potato is done, remove some of the stock and blender this with the watercress, the dill and the chervil until very smooth. Transfer back to the pan and leave on low heat for a few minutes. Press the mixture through a sieve and continue on low heat for a few minutes. You could add some excellent olive oil or some double cream. If you add cream, make sure you give the soup a few more minutes, otherwise your soup will have the typical milky taste of cream.

PS

Many recipes for watercress soup suggest smoothing the mixture (including the potatoes) with a blender. Please don’t be tempted to do so! It will give the soup a gluey texture, not nice at all. Our method is perhaps a bit more work, but the result is much, much tastier.

Watercress Soup ©cadwu
Watercress Soup ©cadwu

Shiitake Salad

8 August 2024

We love mushrooms and are always keen to explore new recipes and ideas. This recipe for a salad is very much about the nutty flavour and the moist texture of the shiitake. An easy to make and delicious, aromatic salad with lots of umami and citrus.
We used Grains of Paradise (also known as Maniguette or Awisa). This West African spice was introduced in Europe in the 14th or 15th century as a substitute for black pepper. We like its peppery, citrusy flavour.

Wine Pairing

The fish sauce brings briny, caramel-like flavours with obviously some fishiness. The cilantro is very present with notes of citrus and pepper. The result is an aromatic, umami rich salad, best enjoyed with a glass of Pinot Blanc. We decided to open a bottle produced by Dr. Loosen. The winery was founded over 200 years ago and is well known for its Riesling and other excellent wines from the German Mosel region. In general, you’re looking for a white wine that is fruity and easy to drink, with gently acidity and some minerality.

What You Need
  • 150 grams of Shiitake
  • 2 cloves of Garlic
  • Olive Oil
  • Rice Vinegar
  • Thai Fish Sauce
  • Grains Of Paradise (Maniguette) or Black Pepper and Lemon Juice
  • Cilantro (Coriander)
  • Smoked Breast of Duck
What You Do

Remove the stems of the shiitake (they are chewy and fibrous). If necessary, clean the caps with kitchen paper. Slice. Finely chop the garlic. Warm a heave iron skillet, add olive oil and gently fry the shiitake. After a few minutes add the garlic. Keep on medium/low heat for a few minutes. Combine olive oil, rice vinegar and fish sauce. Ground grains of paradise and add to the dressing. The grains of paradise can be replaced with freshly grounded black pepper and a few drops of lemon juice. Taste the dressing and adjust. Add the shiitake to the dressing and mix. Allow to cool somewhat. Add a generous amount of chopped cilantro. Mix again. Garnish with slices of smoked duck breast.

PS

More mushroom recipes on our mushroom page.

Shiitake Salad ©cadwu
Grains of Paradise (seed pods) ©cadwu
Shiitake ©Sharon Mollerus

Cod in Green

1 August 2024

“Perhaps you would like to try ling? It’s similar to cod, perhaps more delicate.” We’re always happy to try something new, so we said “yes” to our fishmonger and bought a nice slice of ling. It’s an impressive fish with a length of 200 cm and its weight can be 30 kg. There is no data available on the size of the population per region because it’s a solitary, deep water species, which makes it a ‘fish to avoid’.
We prepared the ling and unfortunately it wasn’t our most successful kitchen experiment. Taste and texture were very good, the combination with blue cheese didn’t work and frying ling turned out to be a mistake. Next time we will stew ling in a green sauce, like Paling in ‘t Groen (Eel in Green or Anguilles au vert) we decided.
A few days later.
“We would like to have some ling please.”
“Sorry, no ling today.”
“Ah, pity! What would you suggest as an alternative?”
“Cod!”, our fishmonger said, smiling.
Since eel is critically endangered, we decided to make Cod in Green.

Wine Pairing

Lots of fresh, aromatic flavours in this dish, making it light and uplifting. We would suggest a glass of Chardonnay, perhaps one with a touch of oak. We decided to open a bottle of Coteaux Varois en Provence rosé, produced by Estandon and made with grenache, cinsault en syrah grapes. Fruity, a touch spice and with a great finish.

What You Need
  • For the Sauce
    • Watercress
    • Parsley
    • Chervil
    • Dill
    • 50 ml Double Cream
    • 100 ml Fish Fond
    • 65 ml Noilly Prat
  • For the Fish
    • 200 grams of Cod
    • Butter
What You Do
  1. Combine cream, fond and Noilly Prat
  2. Stir well and reduce until it thickens. This may take 15 minutes or more
  3. In parallel remove the stems of a generous amount of watercress and chervil. Be less generous with the parsley. Add some dill
  4. Poach this for 20 seconds in boiling water
  5. Remove and transfer to an ice bath
  6. Drain and blender until you have a smooth, green mixture
  7. When the sauce starts to thicken, fry the cod in butter until it’s nicely browned and opaque
  8. Four minutes before the cod is ready, add the green mixture to the reduced sauce and warm through and through
  9. Do not boil
  10. Add the sauce to a deep plate and serve the fish on top of the sauce. Garnish with chervil
Cod in Green ©cadwu
Cod in Green ©cadwu

Oyster Mushrooms with Parmesan Cheese

25 July 2024

An easy to make and delicious vegetarian starter with only five ingredients! We combine oyster mushrooms with Parmesan cheese, nutmeg, black pepper and olive oil. The oyster mushroom is a common, edible and often cultivated mushroom. Its texture is firm, meaty and moist, its taste mild, nutty and slightly creamy. Some website mention flavours like anise and seafood, flavours we don’t recognize.

The other main ingredient is nutmeg. Its sweetness and spiciness combine very well with Parmesan cheese and the oyster mushroom. The dish looks simple and we were tempted to add some greens, but the result is intense, tasty and uplifting.

Wine Pairing

We enjoyed our mushrooms with a glass of white wine made with Verdejo and Sauvignon grapes byPiqueras Almansa. This is a dry white wine with lots of aroma and a slightly spicy, fruity aroma. A balanced wine that goes very well with the various flavours in this dish. In general, we would suggest a white wine with clear aromas, not too much acidity and present flavours.

What You Need
  • 200 grams of Oyster Mushrooms
  • Olive Oil
  • Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
  • Freshly grated Nutmeg
  • Black Pepper
What You Do

Grate a generous amount of Parmesan cheese, add some black pepper and nutmeg. Combine and taste. The nutmeg should be clearly present. Add the olive oil to a heavy iron skillet, quickly fry the mushrooms, sprinkle with cheese and transfer the skillet to the oven. Allow to grill for 8 – 10 minutes. Divide in two and serve on a hot plate. You could serve it with some crusted bread.  

Other Recipes

Our favorite with oyster mushrooms is Alla Milanese. Another tasty recipe is this salad.

Fresh Oyster Mushrooms ©cadwu
Oyster Mushrooms with Parmesan Cheese ©cadwu

Roasted Bell Peppers

18 July 2024

The recipe of Peperoni alla Piemontese goes back to 1954 when Elizabeth David published it in her (third) book Italian Food. The dish is a true classic. Super simple, tasty, uplifting and a tribute to summer.  The recipe as published by Elizabeth David was popularised by Delia Smith in her TV series and her book Summer Collection, published in 1993. A helpful video is available via her website.
Bell peppers are popular in Piemonte and it seems they were originally prepared with anchovies and parsley only. It was probably Elizabeth David who came up with the idea to add tomatoes. Later others added tuna, which we think takes away the lightness of the dish. Another option is to replace the anchovies with black olives, making it a vegetarian dish.
We prefer using sweet long bell peppers. They combine very well with the flavour of the tomatoes and the juices. Delia Smith uses quartered, peeled tomatoes which helps to brings the flavours and textures together. Our alternative is a bit more work: we use tomato confit. The tomatoes are very tasty with hints of garlic, rosemary and thyme.

Wine Pairing

Enjoy the roasted peppers with a crisp white wine or rosé. If you want to spend some money, then buy a bottle of white Piemonte wine, made with the arneis grape. The wine is made in the Roero area close to the village of Canale. A wine with a bright, intense yellow colour, present aromas of ripe fruit (especially apples), very fragrant. The taste is delicate and fruity with good acidity and a long finish.

What You Need
  • 2 Sweet Bell Peppers
  • 8 Tomato Confit
  • 4 Anchovies
  • 1 Clove of Garlic
  • Black Pepper (optional)
  • Olive Oil
What You Do

Preheat your oven to 180 °C or 350 °F. Halve the bell peppers lengthwise. Slice the garlic. Chop the anchovies. Use a shallow baking dish. Add 2 tomatoes, some garlic, some anchovies and a generous amount of olive oil (and/or cooking juices of the confit) to each halved bell pepper. Transfer to the oven. The peppers will be ready in 30+ minutes. Enjoy with crusted bread. No need to serve with basil!

Roasted Bell Peppers ©cadwu
Bell Peppers Ready for the Oven ©cadwu

Miso Sauce and Asparagus

4 July 2024

Miso is made by combining soybeans, salt and koji, a fungus that is cultivated on rice. The fermentation process may take months. Additional ingredients include (brown) rice, barley or wheat. Originally from Japan, it is now used in many other countries. In general miso is intense, salty and deep. Expect lots of umami!
In this recipe we use white miso, because of its mildness, its delicacy and because it has some sweetness. Ideal for a sauce, marinade or dressing. Red miso combines well with oily fish and hearty vegetables.
More information about miso, the manufacturing process and how to use it (including recipes by chef Nobu Matsuhisa) on the website of Hikari Miso.
When buying miso we suggest to focus on organic miso and if possible a miso with less salt. Normally miso contains 12% salt.
A starter with miso and asparagus was not on our radar until we saw the menu of Restaurant Green in Amsterdam. One of their dishes combines white asparagus with miso, wild garlic, hazelnuts and yuzu. We planned to enjoy the very last white asparagus of the season in a classic way, but why not end the season with something completely new? Unfortunately, the season for wild garlic finished a few weeks ago, so we replaced this flavourful component with chives.

Wine Pairing

A Pinot Grigio will be perfect with this dish. Light, crisp, citrus and apple. We opened a bottle of Pinot grigio produced by Zenato. An affordable wine that combined very well with both the asparagus and the sauce.

What You Need
  • White Asparagus
  • Crushed Hazelnuts
  • Chives
  • For the Sauce
    • White Miso
    • Yuzu
    • Mirin
    • Light Soy Sauce (we used Tsuyu)
    • (optional) Rice Vinegar
    • (optional) Water
    • Potato Starch
What You Do

Clean and peel the asparagus. Steam them for 10-20 minutes, depending on the size. We use our Russel and Hobbs food steamer. An essential kitchen aid for only 50 euro or US dollar. Combine 2 teaspoons of white miso with a tablespoon of mirin, a tablespoon of tsuyu and a teaspoon of Yuzu. Gently warm the sauce and thicken with some potato starch until it is silky. Now it’s a matter of tasting and adjusting. Probably add more tsuyu; perhaps add some water and/or rice vinegar. Also taste the combination with the asparagus before serving. The asparagus make the sauce milder. Serve the asparagus with the sauce. Add crushed hazelnuts. Add chopped chives.

Miso Sauce and Asparagus ©cadwu
Miso Sauce and Asparagus ©cadwu

Salad with Truffle and Asparagus

27 June 2024

Sometimes a dish is all about seasonal products, for instance the combination of white asparagus, morels and wild garlic. Sometimes it’s about a winning combination, for instance truffle and potato, or truffle and egg. This dish has a bit of both aspects because this year the end of the Dutch white asparagus season coincides with the beginning of the summer truffle season. And since both combine very well with egg, why not make an extravagant salad?

Wine Pairing

The salad has a velvety, rich mouthfeel. You will taste subtle truffle, some bitterness and sweetness of the asparagus and a hint of acidity thanks to the mayonnaise. The salad will combine very well with a Chardonnay with subtle oak. We enjoyed our salad with a glass of Mâcon-Bussières, produced by Thierry Drouin. The white wine is made from 100% chardonnay grapes and comes with a touch of oak, aromas of apple and citrus and a rich flavour with hints of toast and butter. An excellent wine and a perfect accompaniment of the salad.

What You Need
  • 3 Eggs
  • 12 Asparagus (tips only)
  • (home-made) Mayonnaise
  • 30 grams of Summer Truffle
  • 1 or 2 teaspoons of Excellent White Truffle Oil
  • White Pepper
What You Do

Cook or steam the eggs until slightly runny. We steamed the eggs for 9 minutes. Peel and leave to cool. Steam the tips of the asparagus for 9 minutes. No need to peel them. Leave to cool. Mix two tablespoons of mayonnaise with one or two teaspoons of truffle oil. Roughly chop the eggs and crunch the truffle. Gently combine the asparagus tips, the truffle, the eggs and some white pepper with the mayonnaise. Transfer to the refrigerator for one or two hours.

Salad with Truffle and Asparagus ©cadwu
Salad with Truffle and Asparagus ©cadwu