Pasta e ceci is typical Italian comfort food. Ceci are chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans. As with all Italian home cooking, many variations exist. Some are with tomatoes, some without (in bianco). Some are more like a soup, with … Continue reading Pasta with Chickpeas and Pancetta (Pasta e Ceci con Pancetta)
During our vacation in Taiwan I discovered that I really liked the cuisine: high quality fresh ingredients, prepared simply but skillfully to allow the flavor of the ingredients to shine. Vegetables were often prepared very simply: stir fried with a … Continue reading Gai Lan
When choosing a restaurant in Taiwan, do not let the (lack of) decor fool you, as it does not say anything about the quality of the food. Besides, most restaurants look like this so you would probably starve if you … Continue reading Taiwanese Stir Fried Shrimp With Black Beans
In Taiwan we had a lot of fried rice. Every restaurant makes it in a slightly different way. Constant factors seemed to be green onions (scallions) and eggs. Often tiny dried salted shrimp were added. Sometimes diced ham or slivers … Continue reading Fried Rice
This is the first of a series of dishes that we really enjoyed in Taiwan and I wanted to recreate at home: dumplings that have soup in them, that will burst open in your mouth as you eat them. They … Continue reading Steamed Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao)
In 2010 we had dinner at La Coccinella in Piemonte, and ordered a bottle 0f 1996 Barolo San Giovanni by Gianfranco Alessandria. I liked the wine so much that I was embarrassing Kees with the noises of appreciation that I … Continue reading Roe Deer Venison with a Red Wine Sauce
Bonifacio is the most beautiful town in Corsica, and that is where I had brandade de rouget et fenoil at the nice restaurant l’Archivolto. Brandade is usually an emulsion of salted cod and olive oil, but there are also versions … Continue reading Brandade of Red Mullet and Fennel (Brandade de Rouget et Fenouil)
Lamb neck fillet is one of the tastiest cuts of lamb, because it is well marbled and has a lot of connective tissue. As the neck has the job of holding the lamb’s neck up, you can imagine it is … Continue reading Lamb Neck Fillet Sous-Vide
I’m still cooking dishes from our trip to Sardinia and Corsica in September of last year. Today’s was a simple but very nice appetizer we had at C’era una volta in Palau on Sardinia: grilled squid with avocado. The soft … Continue reading Squid with Avocado
Paola is one of my Italian blogging friends and she always has tasty simple recipes. Her motto is use leftovers as much as possible. Although in this case she did not present this as a way to use up leftovers, … Continue reading Pasta with Pumpkin and Pancetta
One of my favorite dishes is veal saltimbocca, veal cutlets with prosciutto and sage. The combination works so well, that I thought it would be nice to make a variation using veal breast. This cut of meat is more flavorful … Continue reading Veal Roulade with Prosciutto and Sage (Punta di Vitello con Prosciutto e Salvia)
Bitterballen are popular party food in the Netherlands. They are breaded and deep fried, and usually filled with a meat ragoût. I have already blogged about those here. When they are larger and have a cylindrical shape, they are called … Continue reading Shrimp Croquettes (Garnalenbitterballen)
This was our main course for Christmas: a roulade of venison backstrap with prosciutto, rosemary, garlic, and parmigiano, with a side of roasted celeriac puree and some deep fried kale. Made with beef this roulade is called Rosa di Parma, … Continue reading Venison Rosa di Parma
Yet another dish from our trip to Sardinia. We had brodo di cipolle e ravioli di percorino at S’apposentu, and this is my rendition of it. The dish is very tasty and elegant, yet only uses a few simple ingredients. … Continue reading Onion Broth with Pecorino Ravioli (Brodo di cipolle e ravioli di pecorino)
This is the appetizer I prepared for Christmas dinner. You could also serve it as a main course if you use a whole partridge per person. Partridge is similar to pheasant, but smaller and the meat is more juicy (pheasant … Continue reading Partridge Sous-Vide with Its Own Jus, Deep Fried Salsify, and Parsley Root Puree
In part of Italy it is a tradition to have dinner on Christmas Eve (the 24th) rather than on Christmas Day (the 25th). The cena della vigilia often features fish, and after yesterday’s recipe from Veneto it is fitting to have … Continue reading Cod alla Vicentina Sous-Vide (Merluzzo alla Vicentina)
Kale is called cavolo riccio (curly cabbage) in Italy, but it is not widely used. The closest type of cabbage that is common in Italy is the Tuscan cavolo nero.In the Netherlands kale is very common and called boerenkool (farmer’s … Continue reading Pasta with Kale “in Saor” (Pasta con Cavolo Riccio “in Saor”)
When we had dinner at Michelin-starred restaurant S’Apposentu in Sardinia (read about our experience there in my review), one of the dishes that I decided right away I wanted to try at home was an unbaked lasagna with a mutton … Continue reading Unbaked Lamb Lasagna
Food blogging has provided me with so much inspiration to try new dishes. This tasty risotto was posted almost a year ago by CampariGirl, a long-time blogging friend. This time of the year it seems that the only local fresh … Continue reading Risotto with Savoy Cabbage and Sausage (Risotto Verza e Salsiccia)
This way of preparing sous-vide braised venison was inspired by a recipe from Piemonte in Italy to braise beef in red wine (or more specifically, in Barolo): Brasato al Barolo. The traditional recipe tells you to marinate the meat in … Continue reading Neck of Venison Sous-Vide with Red Wine (Brasato di Cervo)
I enjoyed the combination of scallops, shallots and almonds so much that I decided to serve it as a sauce on homemade fresh pasta. First the scallops are sautéed in olive oil. Then the shallots are slowly cooked in that … Continue reading Tagliolini with Scallops and Almonds (Tagliolini alle Capesante e Mandorle)
Celeriac, also known as celery root, is a winter vegetable that is easily available here and so it ticks the boxes of seasonal and local. A great way to serve it is as a puree. Now you can make this … Continue reading Roasted Celeriac Puree
Dorgali is a town in the mountains on the east coast of Sardinia. We were staying at the seaside resort of Cala Gonone, but drove up to Restaurant Ispinigoli in the mountains to try the local cuisine. (If you ever … Continue reading Ravioli alla Dorgalese (Pecorino and Mint Ravioli with Meat Ragù)
Beef short ribs are a very popular cut to prepare sous-vide, because they are so flavorful. How do you like beef short ribs? Braised and unctuous like in the photo above? Then cook them sous-vide for 24 hours at 74C/165F. … Continue reading Beef Short Ribs Sous-Vide: Like Steak Or Braised
A charlotte is usually a dessert, where a mold is lined with bread, cake, or biscuits, and then filled with custard or fruit. In this savory version, inspired by an appetizer I had at restaurant l’Ardoise in Bastia (Corsica), it … Continue reading Eggplant Charlottes (Charlottes d’Aubergines)
Pasta is sometimes cooked in the way of risotto in Italian cooking, which means that it is cooked (or finished to be cooked) in stock. The pasta will take on the flavor of the stock, so this will give your … Continue reading ‘Risottoed’ Tagliatelle with Mushrooms (Tagliatelle Risottate ai Funghi)
Pulled pork is fantastic when prepared sous-vide. It is not only delicious, but also so easy and foolproof. But what to do when you guests coming over that do not eat pork? Make pulled lamb instead! The procedure is very … Continue reading Pulled Lamb Sous-Vide
Guess what’s in the photo? Celery? Look again, but more closely. It’s cardoon (“kardoen” in Dutch, “cardo” in Italian and Spanish, or “cardon” in French). It is closely related to artichokes, and that is also what it tastes like. It is … Continue reading Cardoon Gratin (Cardi Gratinati)
Coda alla Vaccinara is a classic dish from Rome: oxtail stewed in tomato sauce. It is usually served as a secondo, but you can also eat the sauce over pasta as a primo before that. Another less common variation is … Continue reading Conchiglie alla Vaccinara (Pasta with Oxtail Ragù Sous-Vide)
The nice thing about cooking vacation memories is that even after having returned two months ago, it still keeps the memories fresh. When I saw Spaghetti alla Carbonara di Mare on the menu of La Perla in Calasetta on Sardinia, … Continue reading Spaghetti alla Carbonara di Mare
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