Tag: recipes

Herring Salad

21 September 2023

In 1910 Mrs. Wannée published her Amsterdams Kookboek. A book dedicated to nutritious, easy to prepare and inexpensive food. She was teacher and director of the Amsterdam Huishoudschool, which was a school for domestic skills, aimed at training future maids and housewives. The book is currently in its 32nd edition and has sold over one million copies. It continues to be a popular cookbook because every new edition reflects the current culinary trends. We own a copy of the 14th edition (published around 1955?) and it clearly reflects the post second world war Dutch cuisine: very limited use of spices and herbs combined with cooking vegetables and meat for hours. We prepared Leek à la Wannée and decided it was perhaps edible in 1955 but certainly not today.

Recently we were reading the 7th edition of the book, published around 1935. The recipes are interesting and showcase a very different Dutch cuisine. We decided to prepare a Herring Salad inspired by the 1935 recipe of Mrs. Wannée.

Wine Pairing

A nice cold beer will be great with the salad. You could also go for a white wine from the Alsace or Mosel region. Nice acidity, perhaps a touch sweet, floral and aromatic.

What You Need

  • 1 Dutch Herring
  • ½ Apple
  • ½ Cooked Beetroot
  • 1 Boiled Egg
  • Small Pickled Onions
  • Cornichons
  • (Olive) Oil
  • Vinegar
  • Mayonnaise
  • Chives
  • Black Pepper
  • Corn Salad (Lamb Lettuce, Mâche)

What You Do

Peel the apple and the beet root. Chop herring, apple, beetroot, onions, cornichons and a generous amount of chives. Chop the white of the egg, crumble the yolk. Quickly combine the ingredients, add a teaspoon of mayonnaise, black pepper, small tablespoon of vinegar and the same quantity of olive oil, mix and serve immediately on top of the lettuce. Decorate with chives.

PS

Being Dutch we love our herring. Sometimes Dutch herring is called ‘raw’ because it’s not cooked. Actually, it’s placed in lightly salted brine for 5 days so it’s fermented and not raw at all. Herring is not to be compared with sashimi.

Herring Salad ©cadwu
Wannée-kookboek_7e_druk © Erik Wannee - public domain
Haringsla ©Wannée

Great Bloggers’ Bake Off

7 September 2023

A few weeks ago we joined the 2023 Great Bloggers’ Bake Off. An online competition open to anyone on WordPress. Bread, pies and cakes, savoury or sweet, all home baked by many talented bloggers.  This year the theme was Express Yourself. Our submission was a Pear and Almond Pie.
Joining the competition turned out to be great fun. We saw some exceptional bakes and intriguing combinations. All these great bakes can be found on Mel’s blog. The result of the Bake Off is available on A Jeanne in the Kitchen.

Our Favourites
  • Irene Arita’s Zucchini Squares, made with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and vanilla. Beautifully decorated with zucchini flowers made with marzipan. The pictures in the post will help you recreate the flowers.
  • The Spicy Veggie Strudel made by Kevin looks very tempting and the combination of ingredients (mushrooms, celery, cumin, coriander, tomatoes, kidney beans) sounds great. One we will definitely try.
  • And, obviously, the winner of the 2023 Great Bloggers’ Bake Off: a beautiful classic French Fraisier, made by Sheree. Very nicely piped Crème Mousseline, the strawberries halved and the decoration lovely.
PS

We are very happy to win the award in the Pie category! Baking is not something we do on a daily basis, so winning the award encourages us to focus more on baking.

Spicy Veggie Strudel ©Kevin
Plain and decorated zucchini squares ©Irene Arita
Plain and decorated zucchini squares ©Irene Arita
Fraisier ©Sheree - view from the back
Pear and Almond Pie ©cadwu

Summer Truffle and Egg

1 September 2023

Only a few weeks to go before the end of the summer truffle season. A truffle with mild flavours and aromas but nevertheless great when used in cold dishes, such as truffle mayonnaise or a salad with chicory. We decided to go for a luxurious appetizer with an excellent glass of white wine. We bought 25 grams of truffle (and paid € 12,50) and enjoyed every minute of it.

Wine Pairing

A lightly oaked chardonnay with lots of character will be great with the summer truffle and egg. We opened a bottle of Casa da Passarella Dão A Descoberta Branco. An elegant Portuguese wine with lots of character. Fresh, aromatic, lasting. 

What You Need

  • 3 Eggs
  • Mayonnaise
  • 25 grams of Summer Truffle
  • (optional) White Pepper

What You Do

Boil the eggs until nearly hard. Peel and allow to cool. Slice in halve, remove the egg yolk and use a fork to create mimosa. Grate half of the summer truffle, combine this with the mimosa and add some mayonnaise, just to get the right consistency. Perhaps some white pepper. Stuff the eggs, cover with cling foil and transfer to the refrigerator. After 2 hours decorate the eggs with thinly sliced summer truffle. Time to sit back, relax and enjoy summer.

Summer Truffle and Egg ©cadwu
Summer Truffle - Rippitippi / Public domain

Pear and Almond Pie

24 August 2023

Only a few weeks to go before we can enjoy fresh, new pears and apples. Time to start thinking about a traditional Dutch apple pie, about stuffed apples with raisins and cinnamon, about a chocolate-pear pie and of course about this classic pear and almond pie. Rich in taste with a crunchy crust and a soft, light, creamy filling. A very taste dessert but also great with a cup of tea in the afternoon.

We begin by making the dough. It freezes well, so it’s a great idea to make a bit extra.

What You Need
  • 50 grams of White Caster Sugar
  • 100 grams of soft Unsalted Butter
  • Egg (beaten)
  • ½ teaspoon of Lemon Zest
  • 1 gram of Salt
  • 3 grams of Baking Powder
  • 150 grams of All Purpose Flour
What You Do

Adding an egg to the dough makes its flavour richer and the dough will be easier to handle when lining the baking tin. The lemon in the crust will work very well in combination with the pear and the sweetness of the filling. Start by combining the sugar and the butter. Use a hand mixer with kneading hooks. When mixed, add halve of the beaten egg, then add the lemon zest. Combine salt, baking powder and flour. Pass through a sieve and add to the mixture. Use the kneading hooks to mix. When done, remove from the bowl and wrap in foil. Store in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

The filling is a combination of almond paste, crème fraîche and pear. We used Conference, but you could also use the very aromatic Doyenne du Comice. 

What You Need
  • 50 grams of Almond Paste
  • ½ egg
  • 100 grams of Crème Fraîche
  • 10 grams of Calvados
  • 2 or 3 pears
What You Do

Preheat your oven to 200 °C or 390 °F. Roll out the dough, it should be 4-5 mm (0,15-0,20 inch). Coat your pie tin with butter (we used a 15 cm, 6 inch tin). Line the tin with the dough. Don’t worry if the dough breaks; it’s easy to repair. Remove the excess dough. Peel the pears and slice in nice chunks. Combine the almond paste, the egg, the crème fraîche and the calvados until the mixture is smooth. Add the mixture to the tin, Add the pear. Transfer to the oven for in total 40 minutes. After 20 minutes reduce the heat to 160 °C or 320 °F. Allow to cool and then remove from the tin.

PS

In case you want to make your own almond paste, then combine 250 grams of almond flour with 225 grams of sugar. Add one beaten egg and (optional) lemon zest. Mix until you have a paste. Keeps well in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for months.
You could also use 250 grams of white almonds. Grind these and continue as if almond flour.

Pear and Almond Pie ©cadwu
StarBaker Award 2023

Fairy Ring Mushrooms with Tarragon and Fennel

17 August 2023

July was sunny and very warm in some parts of Europe, but not in the Netherlands. Moderate temperatures, a bit of sunshine, sometimes, and lots of rain. Not ideal for sunseekers but very promising for mushroom lovers.
Let’s enjoy one of our favourites, the Fairy Ring Mushroom, a very common mushroom in many countries. It’s a small, very edible mushroom, available from early spring until late autumn. Its taste is a bit sweet (the mushrooms contain a sugar called trehalose) and perhaps that’s why some people suggest using them to make sweet mushroom cookies.

In this recipe we enhance their specific sweetness by combining them with tarragon and fennel. Both come with their own sweetness plus a hint of liquorice and anise. Flavours that go very well with fish, veal and mushrooms. A delicious, aromatic and surprisingly light dish. We served the mushrooms and vegetables with veal rib eye.

Wine Pairing

A glass of Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay could be nice, but we prefer an unoaked Merlot. A fruity red wine with an intense colour and flavours of strawberries and raspberries. For instance a glass of Merlot as produced by Di Lenardo in Italy.

What You Need

  • What You Need
  • Mushrooms
    • 150 grams of Fairy Ring Mushrooms
    • Tarragon
    • Vegetable Stock
    • Black Pepper
    • Olive Oil
  • Fennel
    • One Fennel
    • Fennel sprigs
    • Olive Oil
  • Veal Rib Eye

What You Do

Chop the fennel and add it to a pan with some olive oil. Allow to simmer. This may take 20 minutes.
Meanwhile clean the mushrooms with kitchen paper. Remove the stems. Chop the tarragon. Add olive oil to a heavy iron skillet and gently fry the mushrooms. No rush. Add the tarragon. Add one or two cubes of homemade vegetable stock. Reduce.
Happy with the firmness (or softness) of the fennel? Add some fresh tarragon and black pepper to the mushrooms. Taste and adjust. Add some fennel sprigs to the fennel, mix. Serve the fairy ring mushrooms and the fennel with gently fried veal rib eye (with some extra tarragon, obviously!).

Fairy Ring Mushrooms with Tarragon and Fennel ©cadwu
Early (non edible) Mushrooms ©cadwu

Cauliflower with Mint and Cilantro

3 August 2023

Dutch cuisine and cauliflower? Nice, but not sensational. Normally the cauliflower will be broken into florets, cooked in water (and in the old days this meant cooking until the cauliflower was more than well done), drained and served with a béchamel sauce and nutmeg. That is, if you’re lucky, it can also be a thin sauce made with the cooking liquid and corn starch.
A pity because cauliflower is such a delicious and versatile vegetable. As curry, korma, gratin, casserole (with potatoes, thyme and garlic), in a pickled sauce, as vada (a snack from South-India), steamed or fried, all very yummy!
We combine our cauliflower with grilled lamb chops and a mint and cilantro sauce. Lots of flavours, colours and aromas!

Wine Pairing

Given the various spices we would suggest a white wine or a rosé. A glass of Verdejo will be a great choice if you decide to drink a glass of white wine. We opened a bottle of Monteabellón Rueda. The wine comes with the right acidity, bringing freshness to the dish. It has floral aromas typical for the Verdejo grape. You may recognize the aromas of banana and exotic fruit. A glass of Provence rosé will also be nice. Or our favorite rosé: Chiaretto di Bardolino, produced by Monte del Frà from Italy.

What You Need (Cauliflower)

  • One small Cauliflower
  • Turmeric
  • Fresh ginger
  • Garam Marsala
  • Red Onion
  • One clove of Garlic
  • Fresh Cilantro (optional)
  • Olive Oil

What You Do (Cauliflower)

Clean the cauliflower and break into florets. Peel and slice the fresh ginger, match size. Peel and slice the onion (rings). Chop the garlic. Add olive oil to the pan and fry the turmeric (curcuma) and the garam marsala on medium heat. After a few minutes add the florets. Make sure the florets are nicely coated with the spices. Now add the fresh ginger and the garlic. Reduce the heat somewhat. A few minutes begore serving add the sliced onion. You could add some cilantro, to bring the cauliflower and the sauce together.

What You Need (Sauce)

  • Three Mint Leaves
  • Lots of Cilantro
  • Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
  • One clove of Garlic
  • Ginger
  • ½ Green Chili Pepper (depending on the taste)
  • Olive Oil
  • Lemon Juice
  • Black Pepper

What You Do (Sauce)

Crush the cumin seeds in a mortar. Chop the garlic, some ginger and the green chili pepper. Combine everything and use a blender to make a smooth paste. Add lemon juice to taste. Transfer to a bowl. Drizzle some olive oil into the mixture and stir using a spoon. Happy with the consistency? Add black pepper and perhaps some extra lemon juice.

Cauliflower with Mint and Cilantro ©cadwu
Cauliflower with Mint and Cilantro ©cadwu

Classic Dutch Apple Pie

27 July 2023

Let’s enjoy some real Dutch comfort food, let’s make a classic Dutch Apple Pie, one that is rich and full of flavours. Could be eaten warm, could be served with whipped cream, as long as you use lots of apples, just the right amount of cinnamon and don’t forget to add some lemon zest to the dough.

Apple-wise you’re looking for a tart apple, one that will keep its structure when cooked. If the apple is very high in acid content (for instance the Belle de Boskoop, another Dutch classic, also known as Goudrenet) then you risk having compote in your pie. We prefer using Jonagold. Widely available, tasty, just the right firmness and not expensive.

Making a classic Dutch apple pie is a bit of work, especially when everything is homemade: the dough (shortcrust), the almond paste and the pie itself. Just keep thinking of the delicious result!

What You Need (Dough)

  • 50 grams of White Caster Sugar
  • 100 grams of soft Unsalted Butter
  • ½ Egg (beaten)
  • ½ teaspoon of Lemon Zest
  • 1 gram of Salt
  • 3 grams of Baking Powder
  • 150 grams of All Purpose Flour

What You Do

Adding an egg to the dough makes its flavour richer and the dough will be easier to handle when lining the baking tin. The lemon in the crust will work very well in combination with the cinnamon and the sweetness of the filling. Start by combining the sugar and the butter. Use a hand mixer with kneading hooks. When mixed, add halve of the beaten egg, then add the lemon zest. Combine salt, baking powder and flour. Pass through a sieve and add to the mixture. Use the kneading hooks to mix. When done, remove from the bowl and wrap in foil. Store in the refrigerator for at least two hours. The dough freezes well, so it’s a great idea to make a bit extra.

What You Need (Almond Paste)

  • 250 grams of Almond Flour
  • 225 grams of Sugar
  • 1 beaten Egg
  • (optional) Lemon Zest

What You Do

You could also use 250 grams of White Almonds. Grind these and continue as if Almond Flour.
Combine the flour and the sugar. Add the beaten egg and lemon zest. Mix until you have a paste. Keeps well in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for months.

What You Need (Classic Dutch Apple Pie)

  • 300 grams of Shortcrust Dough
  • 60 grams of Almond Paste
  • 700 grams of Jonagold
  • 30 grams of Sugar
  • Cinnamon
  • 30 grams of Raisins
  • 30 grams of Currents
  • Butter
  • 1 beaten Egg

What You Do

Start by soaking the raisins and currents for 10 minutes in hot water. Drain and squeeze gently. This way the raisins will be tasty and moist. Preheat your oven to 200 °C or 390 °F. Peel the apples, remove the core and chop coarsely. Combine with the raisins, currents, sugar and cinnamon. Roll out the dough, it should be 4-5 mm (0,15-0,20 inch). Coat your pie tin with butter (we used a 15 cm, 6 inch tin). Line the tin with the dough. Don’t worry if the dough breaks; it’s easy to repair. Remove the excess dough. Roll out the almond paste and cover the bottom of the pie with it. Now add the apple mixture, make sure it’s a bit compact. Make strips from the remaining dough and use them to make a criss cross pattern (lattice) on top of the pie.

Transfer to the oven for in total 40-50 minutes. After 20 minutes reduce the heat to 160 °C or 320 °F and brush the strips with beaten egg. Allow to cool and then remove from the tin.

Apple Pie ©cadwu
Apple Pie sliced ©cadwu
Jonagold

Vegetable Stock

13 July 2023

It’s all too familiar, you’re reading a recipe, you like what you read until it says, “Use 250 ml home-made broth or dissolve a bouillon cube in 250 ml water”. Hm. The cube is not an option because it’s salty and salty only. Perhaps open a jar of (organic) fond made by Jürgen Langbein? Or make your own?

You only need four ingredients to make a very tasty vegetable stock: onion, leek, carrot and celery. The result is full of flavours, with a touch of sweetness, saltiness and length.

The combination of onion, carrot and celery is known as mirepoix in the French cuisine and as soffritto in the Italian kitchen. A classic when making a stew, a ragu or the aromatic base of a sauce. Adding leek to the combination makes it more complex and tastier.

The celery could be a bit confusing: should it be celeriac, the root (knob) or celery, the fibrous stalks? Some suggest using the root in winter and the stalks in summer. We suggest using the stalks in all cases. They are very aromatic and they bring saltiness to the stock, different from the root.

The stock freezes very well. We have two versions in our freezer, as ice cubes for sauces and small 250 ml containers for risotto, soup, a stew etcetera.
Problem solved!

What You Need
  • 1 Large Onion
  • 3 Celery Stalks
  • 1 Carrot
  • 1 Leek
  • 1 Bouquet Garni (Parsley, Bay Leaf, Chives)
  • Black Pepper Corn
What You Do
  1. Clean and chop the celery, the carrot and the onion
  2. Add all ingredients, some crushed pepper corns and the bouquet garni (if using) to a pan with cold water
  3. Allow to simmer for one hour
  4. Pass through a sieve, taste and decide if you want to reduce the liquid
  5. Use immediately or transfer to your freezer
PS

Three stalks of celery, you think, but what to do with the remaining ones? The answer is simple, chop the stalks, add to boiling water for 1 or 2 minutes, cool in ice water and freeze. They will be perfect for months. Ready to use as accompaniment with fish, with pork or as an ingredient of your mirepoix or soffritto. Or your vegetable stock, of course.

Vegetarian Stock ©cadwu
Onion, Carrot, Leek and Celery ©cadwu

Tataki

6 July 2023

Over the years tataki has become increasingly popular: beef, tuna, salmon, trout and even veal and deer tataki. But what is tataki actually? And what is tataki sauce?

Tataki originates from the Kōchi prefecture in Japan. The original dish is called katsuo-no-tataki. Katsuo (also known as Oceanic Bonito or Skipjack Tuna) is an important ingredient in the Japanese kitchen, for instance raw as sashimi and dried as katsuobushi (the flakes you need when making dashi).

The fish is seared very briefly in a huge rice straw fire. This way the fish becomes nicely coloured, the centre remains raw, and the flavour will be enhanced with smokiness. It is then sliced and served with a garlic, lemon (ponzu), soy and onion sauce, making Katsuo-no-tataki very different from other sashimi.

Unfortunately, most of us don’t have a straw fire at home, so you need a very hot pan to sear the fish. Bonito is not widely available where we live, but tuna is a great alternative. Beef is a good idea, salmon is a possibility, veal and trout are definitely not good alternatives.

What You Need

  • Bonito (or Tuna or Beef Tenderloin)
  • Light Soy Sauce (Tsuyu)
  • Mirin
  • Rice Vinegar
  • Lemon
  • ½ Garlic Clove
  • Sesame Seeds
  • Spring Onion
  • Olive Oil

What You Do

We added lightly roasted sesame seeds to the dish. There are not included in the original katsuo-no-tataki so feel free to leave them out.
Combine light soy sauce, mirin and rice vinegar (ratio 3:1:1), add some lemon juice and the grated garlic. The garlic must be grated; it should nearly dissolve in the sauce. Quickly sear the bonito (tuna, beef) in a hot non-stick pan with just a touch of oil. When ready transfer to an ice bath. Wait for a minute or so. Remove from the water and use kitchen paper to dry the fish. Slice, serve on a plate, drizzle with the dressing, then add thinly sliced white spring onion, then sesame seeds (if using) and finish with some dressing.

PS

And the answers are: tataki is a method to sear katsuo (or in general fish or beef) in a straw fire (or over a grill or in a hot pan). Tataki Sauce doesn’t actually exist; it may refer to the sauce that is served with katsuo-no-tataki.

Tataki (Tuna) ©cadwu
Tataki (Tuna) ©cadwu

 

 

 

Pasta with Tomato Balls

3 July 2023

Recently we reviewed Oh She Glows for Dinner by Angela Liddon as part of the great cookbook review project by Bernadette. Angela Liddons aim is to create tasty, colourful, nutritious, vegan, simple, healthy, easy to make food that you can prepare in just a few minutes. Unfortunately, her book shows that this is nearly impossible. Nevertheless, we liked her idea for a burger with tomato-based patties. We changed the recipe and turned the dish into Pasta with Tomato Balls. It’s certainly a tasty, healthy and colourful dish, but not one you can make in a few minutes.

Wine Pairing

Tomatoes come with acidity, an aspect to keep in mind when choosing your wine. Cooking the tomatoes reduces the acidity and enhances the sweetness and depth of the tomatoes. In this case you could go for a non-oaky white wine (Pinot Grigio, Soave Classico) or for a red wine with soft tannins (Chianti, Sangiovese). A glass of crisp rosé will also be fine, so the choice is yours, as long it’s not an oaky chardonnay or a tannic red wine.

What You Need

  • Tomato Balls
    • 30 grams Brown Lentils
    • Vegetarian Stock
    • Bouquet Garni (Thyme, Parsley, Bay Leaf, Chives)
    • 1 small Red Onion
    • 1 Garlic Clove
    • 40 grams of roasted Cashews
    • 40 grams of roasted Hazelnuts
    • 5 grams (or more) of dried Oregano
    • 25 grams Sun Dried Tomatoes
    • Teaspoon Tomato Paste 
    • Teaspoon Lemon Juice
    • Red Pepper Flakes (to taste)
    • Salt
    • Black Pepper
    • Breadcrumbs
    • Olive Oil
  • Tomato Sauce
  • Orecchiette or Farfalle
  • Parmesan Cheese
  • Basil Leaves

What You Do

Start by washing the lentils. Cook in vegetarian stock with a bouquet garni. Set aside and let cool. Prepare the dried tomatoes: if they are salted, then wash them thoroughly. If they are oil-packed, drain them. Chop the red onion, the garlic clove and the dried tomatoes coarsely. Glaze the onion and the garlic in olive oil. Use a food processor to make a coarse mixture of the cashews, hazelnuts and oregano. Add the chopped tomatoes, the onion, the garlic, the tomato paste, the lentils, the lemon juice and the red pepper flakes (if using). Pulse a few times. Taste and decide if you want to add salt, pepper or lemon juice. Now it’s time to check the consistency. Is it possible to turn the mixture into balls? A bit soggy probably? Add breadcrumbs. Leave the mixture for 15 minutes. Divide the mixture in smaller portions and make balls, using your hands. Bake for a few minutes in a non-stick pan with some olive oil.
In parallel cook the orecchiette or farfalle according to the instruction on the package. Warm a tomato sauce. When all components are ready, add the pasta straight from the pan to the sauce. Add the balls and mix gently.  Finish by adding some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and basil.

Pasta with Tomato Balls ©cadwu
Pasta with Tomato Balls ©cadwu