Tag: recipes

Asparagus à la Carbonara

16 April 2026

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
  1. Peel the asparagus
  2. Steam the asparagus for 10 minutes, depending on the size. The asparagus should remain crunchy 
  3. Cut the asparagus in 4 or 5 pieces
  4. Cut of the rind of the pancetta (if any)
  5. Dice the meat. Small cubes are best, the salty meat should become a condiment
  6. Warm a pan to medium heat
  7. Fry the pancetta
  8. Whisk the eggs, add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese, add some black pepper and whisk again
  9. Reduce the heat to minimum
  10. Add the asparagus to the pan
  11. Combine and make sure the asparagus are nicely coated with the fat and juices from the meat.
  12. Now it’s time to create the creamy sauce!
  13. Check if the pan is not too hot. If so, better wait a minute
  14. Add the egg mixture and combine
  15. 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.
  16. 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?
Asparagus à la Carbonara ©cadwu with pancetta and a very cream sauce, made with eggs and parmesan cheese.
Asparagus à la Carbonara ©cadwu

Tian

9 April 2026

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
  1. Wash the zucchini, the tomatoes and the eggplant
  2. Heat your oven to 200 °C or 390 °F
  3. Slice the zucchini, the tomatoes and the eggplant into thin, evenly sized pieces.
  4. Cut the eggplant and/or zucchini slices in half to make layering easier.
  5. Slice the onion, but thinner
  6. Crush the garlic
  7. Combine garlic, olive oil and herbes de Provence 
  8. Coat the dish with half of the oil
  9. Assemble the dish
  10. Drizzle with the remaining oil-mixture
  11. Add some black pepper
  12. Sprinkle with some extra herbes de Provence
  13. Cover the dish with aluminium foil
  14. Bake for 20 minutes
  15. Remove the cover and continue baking for another 20–25 minutes
  16. Allow to cool for 10 minutes
  17. Serve in the dish
Tian ©cadwu with eggplant, zuchhini, white onion and tomatoes. Also herbes de provence, garlic, olive oil and black pepper
Tian - ready for the oven ©cadwu with eggplant, zuchhini, white onion and tomatoes. Also herbes de provence, garlic, olive oil and black pepper

Hot and Sour Soup

2 April 2026

When shopping in an Asian Supermarket you will probably notice bags with ‘dried Black Fungus’. Not the most appealing name. Two popular edible mushrooms belong to the Auricularia family, Wood Ear and Black Wood Ear. Both are known as Black Fungus. The mushrooms grow on decaying wood and old logs. Wood Ear is common in Europe and Black Wood Ear in Asia. Alternative names are Cloud Ear, Jelly Ear and Judas’s ear.
The mushrooms have a chewy, gelatinous consistency and are often used in dishes such as hot and sour soup, stir fries, casseroles and even salads. Their flavour is rather bland which makes them ideal to absorb flavours.

A few days ago, it was our lucky day, fresh Wood Ears! First time for us and we had to buy them. We used 75 grams in a variation on Mapo Tofu and 25 grams for the soup. Both dishes were delicious and special, thanks to the structure of the Wood Ear.

What You Need
  • Chicken or Vegetable Stock
  • 1 teaspoon of Chili bean paste (Toban Djan) or Sambal
  • 1 tablespoon of Rice Vinegar
  • 25 grams of fresh Wood Ears or 5 grams of dried Wood Ears
  • Bamboo Shoots
  • Firm Tofu
  • 1 cm of Fresh Ginger
  • Sesame Oil
  • Soy Sauce
  • 1 Egg
  • Scallion
  • (optional) Corn Starch
What You Do
  1. If using dried mushrooms, soak these for 60 minutes in water and drain
  2. Remove any dirt
  3. Cut off the woody stems if necessary
  4. Slice the mushrooms
  5. Slice the bamboo shoots
  6. Drain and dice the tofu
  7. Grate the ginger
  8. Whisk the egg, you will probably need half of it 
  9. Heat the stock
  10. Add chili bean paste
  11. Add vinegar
  12. Mix well
  13. Taste and adjust
  14. Add mushrooms, bamboo shoots, tofu and ginger
  15. Leave to simmer on low heat for 10 minutes
  16. Add soy sauce and sesame oil to taste
  17. If you want to thicken the soup, do so now. We decided not to, relying on the egg to create a nice mouthfeel
  18. Slowly drizzle in the egg while stirring the soup in a circular motion
  19. Serve with sliced white scallion
Hot and Sour Soup ©cadwu with wood ear mushrooms, ginger, chili paste, tofu and rice vinegar. Also ribbons of egg
Wood Ear ©cadwu

Neck of Lamb, Asian style

26 March 2026

We can hear you thinking, ‘Shouldn’t that be rack of lamb?’.

Isn’t it interesting how much we are focused on specific parts of an animal? We love our steak, but what to do with an oxtail? We love pork loin, but how about the pig’s nose? And we enjoy grilled rack of lamb, but how about the neck?
Supermarkets know everything about our focus and preferences. So if you would like to cook pig’s feet (or trotters), kidneys, liver, sweetbread or lamb’s neck: where to go? Try finding a ‘real’ butcher, one that buys the whole animal, not just the popular parts.

Lamb’s neck is very underrated. Some feel it’s okay for your dog only, but that’s silly. When cooked slowly it becomes tasty, nicely structured, juicy and tender.
It combines very well with strong flavours such as ginger, cilantro seeds, star anise, soy sauce and the leaves of the Makrut or Thai lime (also known as Djeroek poeroet or Djeruk purut). You will get a flavourful, complex sauce in combination with lovely, aromatic meat.

Wine Pairing

If you decide to pair with white wine: we enjoyed our Neck of Lamb with a glass of Alsace Gewurztraminer, Cave de Beblenheim. The wine has a beautiful gold colour, and an expressive aromas of roses. The palate presents a nice structure with a fruity and spicy association which of course goes very well with the oriental twist to the stew. In general we suggest an aromatic white wine with just a touch of sweetness.

If you decide to pair with red wine: a few weeks later we enjoyed the dish with a glass of Cinsault, produced by Domaine Coudoulet. This is a relatively light wine, to be served chilled (12 °C or 54 °F). Cinsault is a grape native to the south of France. It was somewhat forgotten but is now gaining popularity. It has a floral nose, with aromas of raspberry and fresh fruit on the palate and discreet tannins.

What You Need
  • 300 grams Neck of Lamb
  • Olive Oil
  • Shallot
  • Fresh Ginger (4 cm, depending on your taste)
  • 1/2 red Chili
  • 1 Garlic Clove
  • Noilly Prat
  • Cilantro Seeds
  • Star Anise
  • Low Salt Soy Sauce
  • 4 leaves of Djeroek Poeroet
What You Do
  1. Cut the meat in not too small cubes – they will shrink during the cooking process
  2. Fry the meat in oil, giving it a nice colour. If so required, do so in multiple batches
  3. In the mean time cut the shallot, peel the ginger and slice, remove the seeds from the chili and cut the garlic clove (but not too fine)
  4. Remove the meat from the pan and glaze the shallot, chili, ginger and garlic
  5. Add a splash of Noilly Prat, the crushed cilantro seeds, the star anise, some low-salt soy sauce and the djeroek poeroet
  6. Stir
  7. Transfer the meat back to the pan and add water, making sure the meat is just covered
  8. Leave to simmer for 6 hours in total
  9. Check the pan every hour, stir and add water is so required
  10. Also check if the djeroek poeroet and/or chilli are not overpowering
  11. After 5 hours check the taste, perhaps add soy sauce, remove the djeroek poeroet or the star anise
  12. After 6 hours cool the stew and transfer to the refrigerator. You could also decide to transfer it to the freezer for use at a later date
  13. The following day remove as much of the fat as possible
  14. Warm the stew, check taste and tenderness
  15. You may want to reduce the liquid in a separate pan
  16. Warm through and through
  17. (Optional) thicken the sauce with potato starch, this way your sauce will remain transparant
  18. Serve with steamed Pak Choi with oyster sauce

PS Looking for a nice starter? Why not serve with Hot and Sour Soup?

Neck of Lamb Asian Style ©cadwu with djeroek poeroet, ginger, soy sauce and cilantro seeds
Neck of Lamb Asian Style ©cadwu

Tomato, Olive and Caper Sauce

19 March 2026

A powerful side dish with sweetness, acidity and umami. It’s full of flavours and aromas plus it’s easy to make. If you omit the pancetta, it will also combine very well with grilled fish.

Green olives are olives that are harvested when not yet ripe. Ideal for olive oil. After curing the green ones are bitter and firm. Black olives are olives harvested when ripe. They are sweeter and softer compared to the green ones. They also bring umami to the combination. By using both green and black olives you will have all these aspects in one dish.

Wine Pairing

We enjoyed our Beef with Tomato, Olive and Caper Sauce with an organic red wine from Italy, made by Terra Viva. The wine is made with Sangiovese grapes from the Marche area. It has a Ruby red colour, aromas of red fruit, mild tannins and subtle acidity.
In general, you’re looking for a bold, dry red wine with a long finish.

What You Need
  • 1 small Shallot
  • 1 Garlic Clove
  • 10 Green
  • 10 Black Olives
  • 1 Tomato
  • 4 slices of Pancetta (optional)
  • 2 teaspoons of Capers in brine
  • Thyme
  • One tablespoon of Red Wine Vinegar
  • Black Pepper
What You Do
  1. Chop the shallot and the garlic
  2. Quarter or halve the olives
  3. Drain capers using kitchen paper
  4. Chop the tomato in 16
  5. Cut the slices of pancetta in 10 (depending on the size)
  6. Heat a heavy iron skillet and add olive oil
  7. Fry the pancetta
  8. Reduce heat
  9. Add shallot and glaze
  10. Add garlic clove and leave for one minute
  11. Add olives, capers, thyme and red wine vinegar
  12. Wait for a few minutes before adding the tomatoes
  13. Leave on very low heat, the tomato should be warm and not cooked
  14. Taste and adjust, perhaps add some black pepper or red wine vinegar
  15. Serve the sauce with excellent (medium-) rare beef
PS

Not sure if we should call it a sauce, or a (warm) salsa, it’s more like a very tasty side dish!

Tomato, Olive and Caper Sauce ©cadwu is a powerful side dish/sauce with sweetness, umami and some acidity
Tomato, Olive and Caper Sauce ©cadwu

Orecchiette with Zucchini and Parsley

12 March 2026

How about a delicious, vegetarian starter, one that is easy to make and requires only a handful of ingredients? It combines orecchiette, zucchini (courgette), parsley, olive oil, Parmesan cheese and black pepper.
Parsley is often used, as decoration, to add a touch of green to a dish. Which is such a pity, because parsley is not just a bit of green: it’s a delicate herb. In this dish it’s crucial: you will taste its slight bitterness and its peppery notes. At the same time, it enhances the flavour of the zucchini and it brings everything together. 
Pasta-wise we think orecchiette is perfect for this dish. The ‘ears’ allow you to taste everything in the dish, with every bite.

Wine Pairing

We suggest a white wine with the orecchiette with zucchini and parsley, for instance from the Lazio region in Italy. In general a light, refreshing wine with hints of green apple and citrus.
We enjoyed a glass of Prima Luna Frascati. This is a white wine made by Mauro Merz with malvasia bianca di candia and trebbiano grapes. Its freshness matched very well with the various flavours of the dish and, obviously, with the parsley!

What You Need
  • Zucchini
  • Flat Leave Parsley
  • Orecchiette
  • Olive oil
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Black Pepper
What You Do
  1. Wash the zucchini. Don’t peel. Chop (think of the size of the orecchiette)
  2. Chop the parsley
  3. Grate Parmesan cheese
  4. Heat a skillet, add olive oil and gently warm the zucchini; no colouring needed
  5. In parallel cook the orecchiette accoding to the instruction
  6. A few minutes before the orecchiette is ready, add half of the parsley to the zucchini, combine
  7. When the orecchiette is al dente, drain but keep some of the cooking liquid
  8. Add the orecchiette to the pan with zucchini and parsley
  9. Add some black pepper and combine
  10. Check if you’re happy with the result, feel free to add cooking liquid, olive oil and/or black pepper
  11. Serve on hot plates, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese
Orecchiette with Zucchini and Parsley ©cadwu is a great vegetarian starter that pays tribute to all ingredients, including the parsley.
Orecchiette with Zucchini and Parsley ©cadwu

Ratatouille Niçoise

5 March 2026

It’s always hard to say what the original version of a dish is, assuming it even exists. In most cases recipes evolve over time, influenced by people, availability of ingredients and culinary trends. Ratatouille is a good example: it originates in the Provence, or more precisely: in the Niçoise region. Its local name is ratatolha. Ingredients are typical for this area: tomatoes, onions, garlic, zucchini, eggplants and herbs like thyme and marjoram. Meaning that we don’t really know what the ingredients were before the introduction of tomatoes and bell peppers in the region.

In 1976 chef Michel Guerard in his book Le Cuisine Minceur introduced Confit Bayaldi, a variation whereby the vegetables (and mushrooms) are thinly sliced and baked in the oven.
In 1999 chef Thomas Keller added a piperade and a vinaigrette to the Confit Bayaldi. This is the ratatouille that features in the classic film Ratatouille.

When reading the recipe for Ratatouille Niçoise, we noticed that the vegetables are fried separately, the onions are caramelised and the tomatoes are used to make a sauce that is added to the other vegetables towards the end.
The result is a very tasty, rich and powerful dish. Thanks to the way it’s prepared you will be able to taste the individual flavours and the combination. Making your ratatouille this way is perhaps a bit of work, but’s it’s not difficult and it’s worth the effort.
We served our Ratatouille Niçoise with grilled lamb chops.

Wine Pairing

We decided to enjoy a glass of red wine from the French Languedoc-Roussillon area, made with Syrah grapes by Les Jamelles. The wine has an intense dark colour and aromas of dark berries and a touch of vanilla. The flavour is a combination of some spiciness, dark fruit and mild tannins. In general, we suggest a not too complex red wine with some oak, dark fruit and character.

What You Need
  • 1 Zucchini (Courgette)
  • 1 Eggplant (Aubergine)
  • 4 Tomatoes
  • ½ Green Bell Pepper
  • ½ Red Bell Pepper
  • 1 large White Onion
  • 4 small Garlic Cloves
  • Olive Oil
  • Bouquet Garni (Thyme, Marjoram, Rosemary, Oregano)
  • Black Pepper
What You Do
  1. Clean the vegetables
  2. Coarsely chop the zucchini, the eggplant and the bell peppers
  3. Slice the onion
  4. Peel the tomatoes (heat a pan with water, dip 1 tomato in the hot water for 10 seconds and use a sharp knife to peel. If it doesn’t come off easily, dip for another 10 seconds)
  5. Chop the tomatoes
  6. Warm a Dutch oven, add olive oil and fry the onion until golden
  7. Add the chopped tomatoes, one crushed garlic clove, the bouquet garni and black pepper. Leave on low heat, no lid required. The sauce must become thick and smooth. This will take some time!
  8. In parallel: heat a skillet, add olive oil and fry the zucchini. When nicely coloured reduce the heat and add 1 crushed garlic clove and some black pepper. After a few minutes transfer to a plate and set aside
  9. In parallel: we used the same skillet to repeat step 8 twice, first with the bell peppers and then with the eggplant
  10. Once the vegetables are fried and the sauce is ready: warm a second Dutch oven, add the vegetables and combine with sauce
  11. Leave on low heat for one hour. No lid required
  12. Set your oven to traditional and 180 °C or 355 °F
  13. Transfer the pan to the oven for 30 minutes, leaving the door slightly open
  14. Just before serving remove the bouquet garni
PS

The recipe is on display in Parc Phoenix in Nice, so it must be the original! 

Ratatouille Niçoise ©cadwu based on a true original Niçoise recipe
Ratatouille Niçoise Recipe as shown in Parc Phoenix in Nice

Scallops and Morels

26 February 2026

Combining seafood with mushrooms can be magic. We prepared Cod with Horn of Plenty and Beech Mushrooms with Haddock. Both are delicious combinations.
We went shopping on the market, looking for fresh or dried morels. After having bought them, we saw great looking scallops. Why not combine these two complimentary products?
At home we searched for Coquilles Saint Jacques aux Morilles, assuming we would find lots of suggestions in French. Which we did. It turns out to be a ‘recipe from (grand-) mother’, although we don’t know why because it’s such a refined dish. The scallops are delicate; the sauce rich and the morels have a unique taste. Adding finely chopped morels to the sauce helps bringing the two main ingredients together. 

Wine Pairing

We decided to enjoy a glass of lightly oaked chardonnay with our Scallops with Morels, produced by Doudet-Naudin. The wine is fresh with some acidity. Its aromas are floral with some nuttiness. The freshness is nice with the sauce, and the nuttiness is great with the aroma of the fried morels. In general, we suggest a nicely balanced, pleasant white wine with some oak, fruitiness and freshness.

What You Need
  • 10 grams of dried Morels (or 50 grams of fresh Morels)
  • 6 Scallops
  • 1 small Shallot
  • Parsley
  • Cream
  • Stock (vegetable or chicken)
  • Mustard
  • Black Pepper
  • Butter
  • Olive oil
What You Do
  1. If using dried morels, then soak the morels in warm water, wait for 30 minutes, remove morels from water, check for dirt and pass the morel-water through a fine sieve if necessary
  2. If using fresh morels: check for dirt
  3. Clean the scallops
  4. Warm 2 skillets
  5. Finely chop shallot
  6. Remove the white stem of the morels
  7. Halve 2/3 of the morels lengthwise
  8. Finely chop 1/3 of the morels
  9. Chop the parsley
  10. Gently fry the sliced morels in butter in one skillet, for a few minutes or until a touch golden
  11. Wrap the fried morels in aluminium foil and transfer morels to the oven on 50 °C or 120 °F
  12. Glaze shallot in the same skillet
  13. After a few minutes add chopped morels
  14. After 5 minutes add some chicken stock, some morel-water, cream and black pepper
  15. Add ½ teaspoon of mustard. The mustard will add flavour and help thicken the sauce
  16. Reduce and taste
  17. Have morel-water and/or stock on stand-by in case you need to be thinning the sauce
  18. Add some chopped parsley
  19. Taste the sauce and adjust
  20. Quickly fry the scallops in olive oil until opaque
  21. Time to assemble: the sauce, the scallops and the halved morels on top. Sprinkle with parsley  
Scallops and Morels ©cadwu with a rich creamy morel sauce with chopped shallots, stock, mustard and chopped parsley
Scallops and Morels ©cadwu

Caramelised Belgian Endive with Lemon

19 February 2026

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
  1. Clean the Belgian Endive by removing the outer leaves and cut in half (top down)
  2. No need to remove the centre core
  3. Heat a skillet
  4. Add olive oil
  5. Place the Belgian Endive in the pan, flat side down
  6. Keep on medium heat for some 10 minutes until caramelised, so really dark brown
  7. Turn the Belgian Endive and continue for another 5 to 10 minutes
  8. Optional: reduce heat and add some butter
  9. When you’re happy with the result, add fresh lemon juice to taste
  10. Leave in the pan for a few seconds
  11. Stir and check the taste
  12. 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.

Belgian Endive ©cadwu caramalised with olive oil and lemon juice
Belgian Endive ©cadwu

Blue Cheese and Mushroom Mini Bites

12 February 2026

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
  1. Slice the mushrooms
  2. Chop the dill
  3. Prepare the semi-sphere mould according to the instruction. We lightly buttered ours
  4. Pre-heat your oven to 170 °C or 340 °F (traditional, so not fan)
  5. Gently fry the slices of pancetta in a skillet
  6. When nicely done, transfer from the pan to a plate with kitchen paper
  7. Fry the mushrooms in the pan until done
  8. Transfer the mushroom to a plate and allow to cool
  9. Whisk the eggs and add the cream
  10. Add Roquefort, dill, crumbled pancetta, mushrooms and black pepper. Mix
  11. Taste and adjust
  12. Use a blender to pulse the mixture: you’re looking for a batter that is a bit smoother, but not completely smooth
  13. Pour the batter in the semi-sphere silicon mould and transfer to the oven for 20 minutes or until golden-brown
  14. Let cool in the mould for a few minutes, then pop them out
  15. Serve warm
PS

If you want to go for larger bites, then skip step 12. You could decorate each with a slice of mushroom.

Roquefort and Mushroom Bites ©cadwu with egg, pancetta and dill.
Roquefort and Mushroom Mini Bites ©cadwu with egg, pancetta and dill