seared scallops – Cook and Drink

Your Favourites in 2025

8 January 2026

In 2025 the most popular recipe was Scallops with Roe. We were inspired by the great quality of the scallops on the market in Nice and we were not disappointed. The combination of scallops, roe and mashed potatoes is simple and delicious.

This year’s runner up is an all time favorite: Kimizu. This classic, golden sauce from Japan, is made with egg yolks, rice vinegar, water and mirin. We also made a version with tarragon, let’s say the Béarnaise version of Kimizu. Although it is a classic sauce, we use a microwave to prepare Kimizu and Kimizu with Tarragon. An easy and very effective way of controlling temperature and consistency.

Number three was another classic sauce: Ravigote. We served it with Pâté de Tête Persillé and crusted bread. The recipe we posted goes back to the more or less original version. The Ravigote is light, uplifting and flavorful.

You’ve probably noticed we love mushrooms. Cultivated ones, like shiitake and oyster mushrooms and seasonal ones, such as morels and Caesar’s mushroom. This year we introduced a page with mushroom recipes in Dutch. It turned our to be a great success!

A few years ago we started exploring forgotten vegetables such as mashua and oca. We’re very pleased to see the popularity of this page. Clearly you’re as interested in these vegetables and their flavours as we are!

This year we will continue our series of sauces and of mushroom recipes, we will prepare dishes from illustrious Parisien restaurants and discuss wine pairing. We also plan to review cookbooks, with the help of our much loved tasting panel. In the meantime we look forward to your feedback, suggestions, likes and comments.

Let’s start cooking!

Your Favourites in 2024

2 January 2025

Happy New Year!
Let’s begin the new year with the 2024 highlights. For the past two years your favorite post was No-Knead Bread, This year’s most popular post was an all time favorite: Kimizu. This classic, golden sauce from Japan, is made with Egg Yolks, Rice Vinegar, Water and Mirin. We also have a version with Tarragon, let’s say the Béarnaise version of Kimizu. Although it is a classic sauce, we use a microwave to prepare Kimizu and Kimizu with Tarragon. An easy and very effective way of controlling temperature and consistency.

This year’s runner up is Scallops with Roe, a recipe we published in January 2023. We were inspired by the great quality of the scallops on the market in Nice and we were not disappointed. The combination of scallops, roe and mashed potatoes is simple and delicious.

On August 19th 2024 Michel Guérard passed away. He was a French chef, author, one of the founders of the Nouvelle Cuisine and the inventor of La Cuisine Minceur. We wrote about his version of sauce vierge and combined it with sea bass and with skate. Very happy to see so many people interested in this post.

You’ve probably noticed we love mushrooms. Cultivated ones, like Shiitake, Oyster Mushrooms, Enoki and Champignons de Paris and seasonal ones, such as Morels, St. George’s mushroom and Caesar’s Mushroom. One of the most popular posts is Cèpes à la Bordelaise. Also very tasty when prepared with button mushrooms. Always a pleasure to serve, for instance with eggs, with meat, with more present fish. Last year we created a special page with an overview of our mushroom recipes.

We were very impressed by the exhibition Food For Thought by Kadir van Loohuizen in the Maritime Museum in Amsterdam. Let’s summarize it by quoting Ralph Dahlhaus, Chef of the National Maritime Museum: “Your choice of food does not need to be perfect, but it must be responsible.”

We continued our series of Sauces. One of your favorites is another classic sauce: Ravigote. We served the sauce with Pâté de Tête Persillé and crusted bread. The recipe we posted goes back to the more or less original version: the Ravigote is light, uplifting and flavorful.

This year we are looking forward to the Amsterdam Symposium on the History of Food on June 5^th and 6^th. This year’s topic is Food and the City. The symposium takes place in the 750th anniversary year of the city of Amsterdam. The symposium will be organized during an exhibition on the history of food culture in Amsterdam, from April 11^th until September 7^th 2025 in the Allard Pierson.

Let’s start cooking!

Rib Eye with Kimizu and Tarragon © cadwu

Season’s Greetings

19 December 2021

Perhaps you’re looking for some extra inspiration menu-wise for the Holiday Season? Let us help you with a few suggestions.

Apéretif

It’s of course great to serve a glass of Champagne, but why not start with a glass of Crémant de Bourgogne or Alsace? Or a Spanish Cava? The fun is that you can buy a slightly more expensive Crémant or Cava and enjoy a refined sparkling wine. Serve with Terrine de Foie Gras on toast or with a small prawn cocktail, served in a peeled tomato.

Starter

Scallops with fluffy cauliflower purée is a wonderful combination of flavours. The practical advantage is that you can prepare the purée a day ahead and grilling the pancetta is also something you can do in advance. Serve with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Dry, some acidity, touch of fruit.

Main Course

Canard à l’Orange, served with steamed Brussels sprouts and potatoes fried in butter: a dish that supports the festive character of your evening: sweetness, a touch of bitterness and crispy, rich potatoes. Enjoy with a beautiful Bordeaux. In general you’re looking for a powerful red wine, with aromas of berries and a touch of oak. The flavour must be round and long with subtle tannins.

Cheese

We tend to go for the classic combination of Stilton and Port. Spend some money and buy a Late Bottled Vintage Port.

Dessert

Continue the British tradition and enjoy a slice of Christmas Pudding with a coffee and a glass of Cognac or Calvados. No need to serve the pudding with brandy butter.

Scallops with Cauliflower Purée

2 December 2020

Three very different ingredients make for an excellent starter. The combination of seared scallops with soft, fluffy cauliflower purée and crispy grilled pancetta offers lots of flavours. For instance a touch of sweetness thanks to the caramelised scallops and the cauliflower plus lovely saltiness thanks to the scallops and the pancetta.

The combination of these three is not new and many recipes have been published. Various ingredients are added, for instance basil, lemon, capers, an infused oil (with for instance curcuma and fennel), a vinaigrette, apple beignets et cetera. But why would you add something if the combination is already close to perfection? And not difficult to make!

Wine Pairing

Best to combine with a wine with long, fruity aromas. Given the complexity of the combination the wine should be fresh and light. A Chardonnay with just a touch of oak could also be interesting because it will combine very well the grilled pancetta and seared scallop.
We enjoyed our scallops with a glass of Chateau Mourgues Du Gres Rosé. A wine with an intense pink colour, aromas that made us think of strawberries and lemon and with a fruity, long taste with a hint of pepper.

What You Need

For the Seared Scallops
- 6 fresh Scallops (best if in their shell)
- Olive Oil
- White Pepper
For the Cauliflower Purée
- One Cauliflower
- Excellent Olive Oil
- Crème Fraîche
- White Pepper
For the Crispy Pancetta
- 6 slices of Pancettta

What You Do

Clean and steam (or cook) the cauliflower until nearly done. Using a blender combine the cauliflower and some olive oil. When smooth pass through a sieve. Add some crème fraîche and fresh white pepper. If you’re happy with the purée, keep it warm and ready. You could prepare the purée a day in advance. Clean the scallops. In parallel set your oven to grill. Transfer the pancetta to the grill. 4 minutes? Heat a non stick pan and fry the scallops quickly. Add a last drop of excellent olive oil to the purée, mix with a spoon and plate up. Perhaps some white pepper on the scallops.