Tag: recipes

Duck with Garlic Thyme Sauce

18 December 2025

Breast of Duck (Margret de Canard) is often paired with sweet ingredients, such as figs and oranges. We love the combination of duck with a green pepper sauce, because the sharpness emphasises the natural sweetness of the duck meat. In this recipe we do something similar. The sauce with thyme and mustard is aromatic and a touch sharp, which is very nice with the duck. The grated garlic adds spiciness to the sauce, making the dish more complex and bold. Delicious when combined with the sweet and sour caponata and crunchy fried polenta.

Wine Pairing

To balance the flavours of the dish, we suggest a fruity, dry red wine, one with subtle tannins and lots of freshness. We enjoyed a glass of Nero d’Avola, made in Sicily. The unoaked wine had a ruby red colour and aromas of cherries and plum. Serving the wine slightly chilled (meaning 15°C or 16°C (59°F or 61°F)) enhanced the freshness, acidity and fruitiness of the wine.

What You Need
  • 1 Breast of Duck
  • Thyme
  • Chicken Stock
  • Garlic
  • Mustard
  • Crème Fraîche
  • ½ grated clove Garlic
  • Black Pepper
  • To serve with the Duck
What You Do
  1. Check the breast for remainders of feathers
  2. Remove the vein on the meat side of the breast (and other bits you don’t like)
  3. Place on a dish, cover with foil and transfer to the refrigerator
  4. Leave in the refrigerator for one hour, making sure it’s nice, firm and cold
  5. Fry the duck in a hot, non-sticky skillet for 10-12 minutes on the skin side. Reduce the heat after a few minutes. You don’t need oil or butter, the ducks fat will do the trick
  6. Now fry for 2-3 minutes on the meat side and remove
  7. Cover with aluminum foil in such a way that the crispy skin is not covered. The foil should only cover the meat
  8. Remove most of the fat from the pan, but not all
  9. Add chicken stock and thyme
  10. Deglaze the pan
  11. Start building the sauce by adding juices from the duck
  12. Add mustard. This will not only add complexity and sharpness to the sauce, it will also make it thicker
  13. Add crème fraîche
  14. Add stock, mustard and crème fraîche to taste
  15. After 10 – 15 minutes add grated garlic, this will give a boost to the sauce
  16. Slice the duck (we like fairly big slices; you may prefer thinner ones)
  17. Add the last juices to the sauce and serve the duck with the sauce, caponata and fried polenta
Duck with Garlic Thyme Sauce ©cadwu served with caponata and polenta
Duck with Garlic Thyme Sauce ©cadwu

Three Winter Soups

11 December 2025

A few weeks ago, we enjoyed a delicious vegan dinner at Lokaal, a small restaurant in the centre of Gent, Belgium. Friendly service, relaxed atmosphere and nice music. One of the specialties of Lokaal is fermentation, for instance homemade Tempeh from Bulgur. Lots of umami and length. We loved it!
Our dinner at Lokaal started with a nice winter soup made with kale and kohlrabi. We’re not the biggest fans of kale, but in this case it worked very well. The kohlrabi gave a nice, uplifting touch to the soup.

It made us think of other winter soups, like parsnip and Jerusalem artichoke soup, and parsley root soup. Ah, those forgotten vegetables! They bring us new flavours and combinations.

We used vegetable stock for all three soups. It is made with Carrot, Onion, Leek, Celery and Black Pepper (and optional a bouquet garni). Easy to make and lots of flavour. It freezes well, which makes it an even more important asset.

What You Need (Kale and Kohlrabi soup)
  • 500 ml Vegetable Stock
  • 200 grams of Kohlrabi
  • 50 grams of Kale
  • French Mustard
What You Do
  1. Clean the vegetables
  2. Devein the kale
  3. Peel the kohlrabi
  4. Coarsely chop the vegetables
  5. Warm the stock
  6. Add the kohlrabi
  7. Leave to simmer for 10 minutes
  8. Add the kale
  9. Leave to simmer for 10 minutes
  10. Use a blender to make a relatively smooth soup
  11. Add mustard to taste
  12. Serve
  13. PS The soup doesn’t keep well, so not one for the refrigerator
What You Need (Parsnip and Jerusalem Artichoke soup)
  • 500 ml Vegetable Stock
  • 200 grams Parsnip
  • 200 grams Jerusalem Artichokes
  • White Pepper (optional)
What You Do
  1. Clean, peel and coarsely chop the vegetables
  2. Warm the stock
  3. Add the vegetables
  4. Leave to simmer for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are done
  5. Use a blender to make a smooth and creamy soup
  6. Depending on the Jerusalem Artichokes the soup can become fairly thick. Add some stock if so required
  7. Taste (optional: add some white pepper)
  8. Serve
  9. PS You can also enjoy the soup the next day, it keeps well in the refrigerator
What You Need (Parsley Root soup)
  • 500 ml of Vegetable Stock
  • 200 grams Parsley Root
  • 1 small Shallot
  • ½ Leek (white only)
  • 1 small clove Garlic
  • Butter
  • Parsley
What You Do
  1. Warm butter in a pan
  2. Peel and coarsely chop parsley root
  3. Coarsely chop leek and onion
  4. Glaze onion and leek in butter
  5. Add parsley root
  6. Add garlic
  7. Leave on low heat for 5 minutes
  8. Add stock
  9. Simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the parsley root is soft
  10. Blender
  11. Pass through a sieve
  12. Simmer for 10 minutes
  13. Cool
  14. Serve the next day
  15. Decorate with chopped parsley leaves
Kale and Kohlrabi Soup made with vegetable stock. An intriguing combination. The kohlrabi gives this winter soup an uplifting flavour. ©cadwu
Kale and Kohlrabi Soup ©cadwu

Black Pearl

4 December 2025

Remember the Black Pearl, the ship captained by Jack Sparrow, portrayed by Jonny Depp? The ship had black sails and it was faster than the infamous Flying Dutchman. Films such as the Curse of the Black Pearl and At World’s End, characters such as Davy Jones and captain Barbossa, all good. We lost track when watching the third film and, in the end, we gave up on the series, despite the hilarious eccentricity of Jack Sparrow.

When shopping at our favourite mushroom stall, we noticed a cultivated mushroom, one we hadn’t seen before, called Black Pearl. 
The background of the Black Pearl mushroom (or Shimofuri) is as confusing as the story line of the Pirates-movies. According to some it’s a Japanese hybrid between King Trumpet and Black Oyster Mushrooms, others claim it’s a hybrid between a European and an Asian Oyster Mushroom and some say it’s a combination with Pearl Oyster mushrooms. Or perhaps a Marbled Oyster Mushroom? In all cases the Latin name seems to be Pleurotus Ostreatus, which is the name of the common oyster mushroom. 

Let’s forget about the background and enjoy its earthy, sweet, slightly peppery flavour and its firm texture. We combined the mushroom with an omelette, inspired by Tamagoyaki, the rolled Japanese omelette. We added Kashimiri pepper to the mushrooms, to emphasize their spiciness.

Drink Pairing

We enjoyed a glass of our favourite sake: Junmai Taru Sake as produced by Kiku-Masamune. The sake matured in barrels made of the finest Yoshino cedar, which is reflected in its aroma and flavour.
An aromatic, fresh and fruity white wine, with aromas of citrus and apple will also pair very well. The wine should be uplifting and juicy with a light character.

What You Need
  • 100 grams Black Pearl
  • 1 scallion, white only
  • 1/3 Kashmiri Pepper
  • 2 Eggs
  • ½ teaspoon Dashi Powder
  • teaspoon Mirin
  • teaspoon Soy Sauce
  • Olive Oil
What You Do
  1. Serve the omelette with the mushrooms on a warm plate
  2. Clean the mushrooms and cut in 2 or 4
  3. Thinly slice the white of the scallion
  4. Combine egg, dashi, mirin and soy sauce
  5. Warm a small heavy iron skillet
  6. Add some olive oil
  7. Add the egg mixture to the pan and bake a bavuese omelette
  8. In parallel: heat a small heavy iron skillet
  9. Crush pepper
  10. Add olive oil to the pan and fry the pepper, for a minute or so
  11. Reduce heat
  12. Add mushrooms to the pan
  13. Just before serving add the scallion
  14. Slice the omelette in two
Black Pearl Mushrooms served with an omelette. the omelette is flavored with dashi, soy suace and mirin. we also added crushed Kashmiri pepper ©cadwu
Black Pearl Mushrooms ©cadwu

Artichoke Pie

27 November 2025

A few weeks ago, we were shopping at the Albert Cuyp market in Amsterdam. We saw excellent, very large artichokes. We simply had to buy them. They were far too big to be served as a starter. What to do? Let’s make an artichoke pie! Other ingredients? Egg? Crème Fraîche? Parmesan Cheese? Pancetta? Herbs, of course, parsley, thyme or perhaps fresh oregano?

Wine Pairing

It’s not straightforward to pair artichokes with wine, due to cynarin, a chemical especially found in the leaves of the artichoke. When the wine and the cynarin meet in your mouth, the natural sweetness of the wine is enhanced, making it taste too sweet. Pair freshly cooked or steamed artichokes with a bone-dry, crisp, unoaked white wine with clear, present acidity. For instance Sauvignon Blanc, Grüner Veltliner or Albariño. 
Cynarin and wine are not a match made in heaven but the good news is that cynarin seems to protect your liver and even helps it regenerate.
We enjoyed a glass of white Rioja made by Vivanco. This is a bright, intense white wine with aromas of citrus fruit and green apples. Fresh, tasty and a great match with the Artichoke Pie.

What You Need
  • For the Dough
    • 100 grams of Flour
    • 50 grams of Water
    • 10 grams of Olive Oil
    • 1 gram of Salt
  • For the Filling
    • 2 large Artichokes
    • 1 shallot
    • Olive Oil
    • 1 Egg
    • Crème Fraîche
    • Fresh Thyme
    • Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
    • Black Pepper
What You Do
  1. Combine flour, salt, water and olive oil
  2. Make the dough, kneed for a minute or so and store in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes
  3. Clean the artichokes
  4. Steam the artichokes for 45+ minutes depending on the size and let cool
  5. Chop the shallot
  6. Warm a heavy skillet, add olive oil and gently fry the shallot
  7. Transfer to a plate and let cool
  8. Use a spoon remove the ‘meat’ from the leaves (bracts) of the artichokes
  9. Remove the centre choke (the hairs)
  10. Chop the hearts
  11. Strip a generous amount of thyme
  12. Whisk the egg and combine with the artichoke, the shallot, the crème fraîche, the thyme and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  13. Add black pepper
  14. Taste and adjust
  15. Coat a 15 cm or 6 inch round baking form with oil (or use a sheet of baking paper)
  16. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface
  17. Place the dough in the baking form and add the filling
  18. Transfer to the oven for 40 minutes on 180˚ – 200˚ Celsius or 355˚ – 390˚ Fahrenheit
  19. Remove the pie from the oven
  20. Brush the outside with olive oil. This will intensify the colour of the pastry
  21. Let cool and enjoy luke warm
A delicious vegetarian Artichoke Pie ©cadwu with lots and lots of steamed artichoke, egg, creme fraiche and thyme.
Artichoke Pie ©cadwu

Risotto with Porcini

20 November 2025

Risotto is amongst our favourite dishes, especially risotto with mushrooms. Preparing risotto is not difficult, as long as you pay attention to the cooking process and use the right ingredients.
It’s nearly the end of the porcini-season. We enjoyed them several times this year, but not yet in a risotto. Time to start cooking!

Wine Pairing

We enjoyed a nicely oaked, buttery South African chardonnay with our risotto with porcini. A full-bodied white wine with aromas of tropical fruit and toast. A wine that paired very well with the earthiness of the risotto and its rich flavours.

What You Need
  • 90 grams of Carnaroli or Arborio rice
  • 1 Shallot
  • Olive Oil
  • 150 grams of fresh Porcini
  • Chicken or Vegetable Stock
  • Parmesan Cheese
  • Butter
  • Black Pepper
What You Do
  1. Peel and chop the shallot
  2. Clean the porcini
  3. Slice the porcini; cube smaller parts
  4. Warm the stock
  5. Add olive oil to a pan and glaze the shallot
  6. Add the smaller parts of the porcini
  7. Add the rice to the pan and coat for 2 minutes
  8. Keep the pan on medium heat; be patient
  9. Start adding stock, spoon by spoon and stir frequently
  10. Heat a heavy iron skillet and fry the sliced porcini in butter and oil
  11. In total it may take 15 – 18 minutes before the rice is al dente
  12. 5 Minutes before the risotto is al dente, coarsely cut some of the fried porcini, making sure you have a few nice slices for decoration
  13. Add the coarsely cut and fried porcini to the risotto
  14. When the risotto is ready, transfer the pan to the kitchen countertop and leave to rest for 2 minutes.
  15. Add grated Parmesan cheese and combine
  16. Add butter and combine
  17. Add some black pepper, taste, add more Parmesan cheese and/or butter if so required.
  18. Decorate with slices of porcini
  19. Serve immediately.
PS

We have four other risotto recipes, with squid, with beetroot, with mushrooms and with peas.

Risotto with Porcini is a delicious combination of creamy, rich rice and nutty, umami flavours. Risotto is not difficult to make if you use the right ingredienst and follow the instruction.
Risotto with Porcini ©cadwu

Horn of Plenty with Sole and a Lemon Sauce

13 November 2025

In 1989 Antonio Carluccio published A Passion for Mushrooms. The book describes various mushrooms, discusses their habitat and edibility and of course offers a range of mushroom recipes. A Passion for Mushrooms includes some wonderful recipes and combinations we didn’t expect, for instance Truite aux Pied Blues and Ragout de Crevettes Rose et de Morilles. The book also includes a chapter on conservation techniques.
Earlier we prepared two dishes from the book, Sandwiched Parasol Mushrooms and Halibut with Saffron Milk Cap.
A Passion for Mushrooms is a must have for mushroom-lovers. The book is available via the usual channels and perhaps at your local second-hand bookstore. Prices will vary.

Trompette de la Mort

Horn of Plenty is a black chanterelle, also known as Trompette de la Mort, Black Trumpet, or Trumpet of the Dead. A very tasty mushroom, with just one downside: removing all the sand, small leaves and unappetizing bits is a lot of work.
Carluccio poaches sole fillets and combines these with a combination of mushrooms, butter and lemon. Inspired by his recipe we prepared Horn of Plenty with Sole and a Lemon Sauce. 

Wine Pairing

We enjoyed a glass of white Rioja with our Trompette de la Mort. The wine is made by Vivanco with three Spanish grapes: Viura, Tempranillo Blanco (a grape discovered in 1988) and Maturana Blanca (a grape that goes back to 1622). The result is a bright, intense white wine with aromas of citrus fruit and green apples. Fresh, tasty and a great match with the flavours of the mushrooms, the sole and the acidity of the sauce.
In general, we suggest a non-oaked, fresh, dry white wine, with clear acidity. 

What You Need
  • For the Poached Sole
    • 4 fillets of Small Sole
    • 5 cm of Carrot
    • 5 cm of Celery Stalk
    • 1 Bay Leave
    • Crushed black pepper
  • For the Mushrooms
    • 100 grams horn of plenty
    • ¼ Red Bell Pepper
    • Olive Oil
    • Black Pepper
  • For the Sauce
    • 1 Egg Yolk
    • 20 ml Lemon Juice
    • 10 ml Water
    • 1 Teaspoon of Mirin
    • White Pepper
What You Do
  1. Clean the mushrooms
  2. Finely cube the red bell pepper
  3. Warm a pan of water until just simmering. It’s crucial not to overheat the water. The internal temperature of fish should be between 70 °C and 75 °C (or 160 °F and 165 °F).
  4. Add sliced carrot, sliced celery, bay leave and crushed black pepper
  5. Leave on this temperature for 10 minutes or so
  6. Heat a heavy iron skillet and add some olive oil
  7. Reduce heat and add cubed bell pepper
  8. Role up the fillet: skin side on the outside and start with the smaller part of the fillet
  9. Use a simple wooden cocktail stick to fix the role
  10. Poach the sole until done, depending on the size, 4 minutes
  11. Keep the sole warm in an oven at 65 °C or 150 °F
  12. Add the mushrooms to the pan with the bell pepper
  13. Fry gently
  14. Add some black pepper to taste
  15. Keep an eye on the mushrooms
  16. Combine egg yolk, lemon juice and mirin
  17. Make the sauce au bain marie or in the microwave
  18. Add some white pepper to the sauce
  19. Serve the sole on top of the mushrooms
  20. Add the lemon sauce
  21. Serve immediately on a warm plate
PS
  • The sauce is based on Japanese Kimizu. In this recipe we explain how to use a microwave.
  • You could also use grilled and peeled red bell pepper. That will give some smokiness to the dish, which is nice, but not necessary.
Trompette de la Mort with Sole and a Lemon Sauce, based on a recipe by Antonio Carluccio. The Sauce is basically a Kimizu with lemon juice. The sole is poached. The mushrooms fried with red bell pepper
Horn of Plenty ©cadwu

Beetroot Pie

6 November 2025

Let’s enjoy the last fresh beetroots of this season by making a pie with lots of beetroot, cheese and thyme. The pie combines sweetness with savoury and slightly tangy flavours. Best to prepare a day in advance, allowing for the flavours to integrate. We top the pie with Chioggia beetroot because of their beautiful colour and pattern.

Wine Pairing

Caruso e Minini Terre Siciliane Bibbo Zibibbo, doesn’t that sound like a wonderful wine? The wine is produced by the Sicilian company Caruso e Minini, which explains the first part of the name. How about Bibbo Zibibbo? The grape used to make this wine is the Muscat of Alexandria, known as Zibibbo in Sicily. The wine is aromatic with fruity notes (think apricot, hints of almond and orange blossom). You will taste a gentle, dry wine with flavours of dried fruit. The wine has a long and present finish.
In general, we suggest a light, dry white wine with floral and fruity notes. It must have some sweetness to balance the taste of the beetroots.

What You Need
  • For the Dough
    • 100 grams of All Purpose Flour
    • 50 grams of Water
    • 10 grams of Olive Oil
    • 1 gram of Salt
  • For the Filling
    • One Red Beetroot
    • One Chioggia Beetroot
    • Firm Goat Cheese
    • One Red Onion
    • Thyme
    • Black Pepper
What You Do
  1. Clean the beetroots and wrap seperatly in aluminium foil
  2. Transfer to the oven at 180 ˚C or 355 ˚F and cook for 45-60 minutes, depending on the size
  3. Let cool
  4. Combine flour, salt, water and olive oil and make the dough
  5. Kneed for a minute or so and store in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes
  6. Slice and quarter the onion
  7. Fry the onion on low heat in olive oil until soft
  8. Peel and slice the beetroots
  9. Roll out the dough using a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface. Coat a 15 cm or 6 inch round baking form with oil
  10. Cover the form with the dough
  11. Build the pie, first a layer of red beetroot, followed by grated cheese, onion, lots of thyme and black pepper
  12. Repeat
  13. Top with gioggia beetroot
  14. Brush the top with olive oil
  15. Transfer to the oven for 40-50 minutes on 180-200 ˚C or 355-390 ˚F
  16. Immediately after having removed the pie from the oven, brush the top with olive oil. This will intensify the colour of the crust
  17. Let cool and enjoy the next day; warm is best (preferably 65 ˚C or 150 ˚F)
PS

We didn’t explain Bibbo as part of name Caruso e Minini Terre Siciliane Bibbo Zibibbo . We believe it’s the pet name of Zibibbo.

Beetroot Pie ©cadwu made with fresh beetroots, goat cheese and lots of thyme
Beetroot Pie ©cadwu

Saffron Milk Cap with Octopus and Tomatoes

30 October 2025

Saffron Milk Cap with Chorizo and roasted Bell Pepper is one of our favourites. More recently we followed a recipe by Antonio Carluccio for a combination with Halibut. Another great combination. They can also be combined with Squid, with gamba and with Potatoes and Eggplant.
Saffron Milk Caps (Rovelló de Botó) are very popular in Spain. The picture below shows fresh Saffron Milk Caps on the Mercado Central in Valencia. Thinking about Spain we came up with the idea of combining the mushroom with octopus.

Wine Pairing

We opened a bottle of Domaine Font-Mars Picpoul de Pinet. Picpoul de Pinet (Son terroir c’est la mer) is a white wine from the South of France between Narbonne and Montpellier. The terroir (think calcareous soil) is influenced by the sea, which is reflected in the mineral taste of the wine. The story is that Picpoul could be read as pique poul which translates into something like ‘stings the lip’; a nice reflection of the high acidity of the grapes. This acidity guarantees a refreshing white wine, which is exceptional given the warm climate. The wine is bright yellow with a very subtle touch of green. It’s aromatic, floral and fruity. The taste has notes of citrus and apple.
In general we suggest drinking a refreshing, unoaked white wine that goes well with seafood.

What You Need

  • For the Sauce
    • 4 Tomatoes
    • 1 Shallot
    • 1 Garlic Clove
    • Red Wine
    • Thyme
    • Olive Oil
  • 150 grams of Saffron Milk Cap
  • 200 grams of pre-cooked Octopus Tentacles
  • Parsley
  • Cayenne Pepper
  • Olive Oil

What You Do

  1. Peel, seed and dice the tomatoes.
  2. Don’t discard the skin and the seeds: use a strainer to get as much tomato juice as possible
  3. Chop the shallot
  4. Chop the garlic finely
  5. Heat a skillet, add olive oil and add the shallot.
  6. Fry for a few minutes
  7. Add garlic and tomatoes
  8. Reduce heat
  9. After a few minutes add the tomato juice, half a glass of red wine and thyme
  10. Leave to simmer on low heat for 2 hours or until the sauce is ready both in flavour and texture
  11. Cool and transfer to the refrigerator
  12. The next day clean the mushrooms and slice (not too thin)
  13. Chop the parsley
  14. Heat a skillet, add olive oil
  15. Add the sliced mushroom
  16. Fry for one minute
  17. Reduce heat
  18. In parallel grill the pre-cooked octopus tentacles (4-6 minutes)
  19. Add the tomato mixture to the pan with mushrooms and cook for a few minutes
  20. Taste and add cayenne pepper. You’re looking for a fairly sharp, spicy taste
  21. Add parsley to the mixture and combine
  22. Slice the octopus
  23. After a few minutes add octopus to the mixture without combining,
Saffron Milk Cap are combined with a rich tomato sauce and then grilld Octopus Tentacles are added ©cadwu
Fresh Saffron Milk Cap ©cadwu

Mushroom Ketchup or Catsup

23 October 2025

Recently we made Banana Ketchup, a popular condiment in the Philippines. Very tasty by the way! Sheryl (who runs a great blog with recipes and food-related information from a hundred years ago) commented that banana ketchup was new to her. She mentioned recipes for cucumber ketchup and mushroom ketchup in Lowney’s Cookbook, published in 1921.
It seems that mushroom ketchup originated in the UK and that it could be considered the original ketchup. It was used to flavour soups, marinades and meat dishes. The first reference we could find is from 1818 in a book called Apicius redivivus, the Cook’s Oracle by William Kitchiner (pages 475-477). The catsup is made by fermenting mushrooms with salt. Black pepper, allspice and brandy are the other ingredients.

Modern Version

One of the intriguing aspects of mushrooms is that you can use them to thicken a sauce. We used to do this when preparing Daube Provençale. Blender some of the cooked mushrooms until very smooth and transfer the paste back to the pan. The sauce will get a better consitency without becoming velvety or buttery, although the downside is that the mushroom paste reduces the flavour of the dish as a whole.
The recipe for modern mushroom ketchup is about cooking mushrooms and shallot with various spices (mace, clove, nutmeg) and herbs. After an hour sugar and vinegar are added. Blender the mixture until very smooth. The consistency of the ketchup is rather jelly (like wallpaper paste) and its flavour bland. We had to add more spices to make it tastier. Adding a teaspoon of mustard improved the ketchup, somewhat. We combined it with red meat, chicken and potatoes. We were not impressed.

Classic Version

This version focuses on the liquid and that turned out to be a good idea. The result is a tasty condiment, with lots of umami, but not specifically mushroom. It will strengthen the taste of a sauce or a stir fry with various vegetables. We made a beef burger patty with thinly sliced scallion, two teaspoons of mushroom catsup and black pepper. Delicious! We also used the catsup to season meatballs. The catsup emphasized the flavour of the meat and added complexity and length.
You need quite a lot of mushrooms to make it, meaning it’s both intense and expensive! If you’re in the UK, you can buy a bottle of Mushroom Ketchup produced by Geo Watkins.

Etymology

The term ketchup (also spelled catsup) is interesting. It could be related to a sauce with fruits and spices called catchup, or a fish sauce called kichap. It made us think of ketjap, or kecap in Malaysia and Indonesia. This term is related to a Chinese sauce called kê chiap, meaning fermented fish sauce!

Love-Apples

Perhaps you now wonder what the origin is of today’s Tomato Ketchup. The first known recipe for Tomatoe, or Love-Apple Catsup was published in 1812 by James Mease (1771-1846). The love-apples (tomatoes) are thinly sliced. Layers are added to a tin or pot and over every layer a little salt is sprinkled. Leave for 24 hours. Beat the love-apples well, simmer for 30 minutes with mace and allspice. When cold, add chopped raw shallot and brandy. The brandy supports the preservation.

What You Need (classic version)
  • 300 grams of Mushrooms (200 Button Mushrooms, 50 Shiitake, 50 Oyster Mushrooms or another combination of juicy mushrooms)
  • teaspoon of Mace
  • 2 teaspoons of Salt
  • 1/8 cup Rice Vinegar
  • 1/8 cup Water
  • Nutmeg
  • Clove
  • Black Pepper
What You Do
  1. Clean and slice the mushrooms
  2. Add mushrooms and salt to a skillet
  3. Mix very well
  4. Cover and leave on very low heat for 60 minutes
  5. Perhaps add some water to speed up the process
  6. After 15 minutes add mace
  7. After 60 minutes, transfer to a pan
  8. Add vinegar and water
  9. Mix
  10. Leave on medium heat for 20 minutes
  11. Add black pepper, nutmeg and grated clove to taste
  12. Leave on low heat for 5 minutes
  13. Taste and adjust
  14. Pass gently through a sieve
  15. Use cheesecloth to capture all the juices from the mushrooms
  16. Reduce if necessary
  17. Let cool and transfer to the refrigerator
Mushroom Ketchup or Catsup made with lots of mushrooms, vinegar, mace, nutmeg, clove, salt and pepper. ©cadwu
mushroom ketchup made with cooked and blended mushrooms, mace, nutmet, vinegar, sigar and clove

Kimizu (with a Twist)

16 October 2025

A few years ago we enjoyed an excellent Kaiseki dinner at Yamazato in Amsterdam. One of the dishes on the menu was Kimizu-Ae: a combination of white asparagus and Kimizu. A few days later we prepared Kimizu, a rich and light sauce. It comes with a velvety mouthfeel, a natural note of sweetness, a bright yellow colour and perfect acidity. Over the years we used it as a base for Béarnaise and Sauce Perigord.

Kimizu combines rice vinegar, mirin and egg. Compared to Hollandaise, Kimizu is lighter, easier to digest and fresher, because it does not contain butter (the egg yolk being the only source of fat).
The vinegar used to prepare Hollandaise or Béarnaise is often a flavoured vinegar, for instance with tarragon, shallot and black pepper. An idea we simply had to try when making Kimizu, with a twist!

Using a microwave oven to make Kimizu is a great idea (see our recipe for Hollandaise), although it does require more whipping and more attention compared to making Hollandaise.

What You Need
  • For the Castric (35 ml)
    • 5 ml Vinegar
    • 50 ml dry White Wine
    • 20 ml Noilly Prat
    • One corn of Black Pepper
    • One small Shallot
  • For the Kimizu
    • 35 ml Castric
    • 25 ml Water
    • 1 teaspoon Mirin
    • 2 Egg Yolks
What You Do
  1. Start by making the Castric
    • Chop the shallot
    • Combine all ingredients and leave to reduce by 1/2 on low heat
    • Pass through a sieve; try to capture the juices of the shallot
    • Set aside
  2. Make the Kimizu
    • The castric should be at room temperature
    • Whisk the egg yolks
    • Add the castric, the mirin, the water and whisk some more
    • Now transfer to the microwave and give it let’s say 10 seconds of 30%. Power and duration very much depend on your microwave
    • Remove from oven and whisk
    • Repeat
    • You will now feel the consistency changing. If not, don’t worry, just keep repeating the step
    • You may want to reduce the power or the duration
    • Whisk, whisk again and feel free to find your own way
    • When the Kimizu is ready, take it out of the oven and serve immediately
  3. We served the Kimizu with excellent beef and pommes dauphinois
Kimizu, the Japanese golden sauce
Kimizu with a Twist ©cadwu