Category: Cooking

4. Dolci (dessert)23 Comments

Macarons

StefanGourmet

French macarons are almond and meringue-based airy cookies that are commonly filled with ganache or buttercream. The image of two macarons with filling in between has always reminded me of a hamburger, but perhaps that’s only me. I’ve had lots of macarons at the end of fancy dinners in restaurant, but until now I had never made them myself. A great post by the Cooking Chook inspired me to try making them for myself. Lo and behold: my first attempt was successful and they were outstanding stuffed with orange curd. My first attempt looked a bit rustic because I hadn’t piped the meringue very neatly, but that didn’t take away anything from the great flavor. The brittle crispiness of the shells combined very nicely with the creamy curd, and the sweetness of the almond shells went nicely with the tangy orange. Paired with a passito di pantelleria dessert wine, it was sublime. Continue reading “Macarons”

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)18 Comments

Orecchiette con le Cime di Rapa

StefanGourmet

The typical pasta dish from the South-Italian region of Puglia is orecchiette with cime di rapa. Cime di rapa is a vegetable that is also known as broccoletti or rapini. It is not the same as broccoli, although the green buds in the center certainly resemble small heads of broccoli. If you can’t find cime di rapa, you can make orecchietti with broccoli instead using the same recipe. It’s not the same dish, but good all the same. This time I used dry orecchiette, but this is even better if you use home-made orecchiette instead. Orecchiette with Cime di rapa is another example of a very simple but delicious regional Italian dish. Continue reading “Orecchiette con le Cime di Rapa”

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)25 Comments

Veal Scaloppine al Marsala

StefanGourmet

Some dishes are so simple you don’t really need a recipe to make them. But that doesn’t mean they’re not delicious. Italian cuisine is full of such recipes. This one takes less than five minutes to prepare and is a classic recipe that you can find in restaurants all over Italy (and in fact, in Italian restaurants all over the world). Continue reading “Veal Scaloppine al Marsala”

1. Antipasti (appetizers)16 Comments

Jambon Persillé (Ham Hock Terrine)

StefanGourmet

Burgundy (Bourgogne) is a region in France that is famous for its wine and its food. Three years ago we went there for a few days to discover the wine region and purchased some nice wines. When tasting white wines, often a appetizer called jambon persillé was served with it and I remember it was a good pairing. And so it was not hard to decide what kind of appetizer from Burgundy I was going to make for the Burgundian evenings I organised. Continue reading “Jambon Persillé (Ham Hock Terrine)”

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)14 Comments

Duck Leg a l’Orange Sous-Vide

StefanGourmet

Sous-vide confit of duck leg is great, but I thought it should also be possible to do a more juicy less flaky texture. Some experimenting with times and temperatures showed me right: 24 hours at 64.5C/148F yielded tender juicy duck legs. Duck with orange is a classic combination from French cuisine, known as Canard à l’Orange. And so a very simple but very stylish and tasty dish was born. Ingredients? Duck legs, an orange, salt and pepper, and a teaspoon of honey. That’s it! The duck is cooked in its own fat. Perfect simplicity or simple perfection? Continue reading “Duck Leg a l’Orange Sous-Vide”

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)16 Comments

Pressure-Cooked Boeuf Bourguignon

StefanGourmet

Although I purchased my pressure cooker for making stocks, I thought it would be nice to try making a pressure-cooked stew as well. Pressure cookers are known as “fast cookers” (or actually “fast cooking pan”, “snelkookpan”) in Dutch, and in this case it is true because stewing beef in a pressure cooker only takes 20 minutes instead of 3 hours. Stating it like that is cheating a bit, because after those 20 minutes you need to wait for about half an hour for the pressure to go down. But still, it still means that you only have to start cooking 75 minutes or so before you’re having boeuf bourguignon and that is kind of nice. Continue reading “Pressure-Cooked Boeuf Bourguignon”

Basics39 Comments

Brown Beef Stock

StefanGourmet

Home-made stock is an important success factor to many dishes and sauces. It is vastly superior to bouillon cubes and in most cases also better than anything else you can buy in a store. It’s not hard to make — it just takes a bit of time. After the success of pressure-cooked chicken stock I am a strong supporter of using a pressure cooker to make stock (with the most important reason more flavor, not the shorter cooking time), and so I also prepared this beef stock in my pressure cooker. You could however also prepare it in an ordinary pot and it will still turn out great. Continue reading “Brown Beef Stock”

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)14 Comments

Fusilli with Runner Beans (Fusilli ai Fagiolini al Corallo)

StefanGourmet

Snijbonen are a very common type of green beans in the Netherlands that are available year-round. I have not come across them abroad, but some googling has turned up that they are called “runner beans” in English and “fagiolino al corallo” in Italian. They have a nice fresh green flavor that is different from haricots verts and in the Netherlands they are usually served as a side to meat, cut up into narrow strips diagonally, with a bit of nutmeg. Served like that I don’t care much for them, but I’ve found that I like almost every vegetable if prepared in a nice way. Therefore I created this very simple but tasty pasta dish that is by no means authentically Italian. Continue reading “Fusilli with Runner Beans (Fusilli ai Fagiolini al Corallo)”

Secondi di Pesce (fish dishes)15 Comments

Burgundian Fish Stew (Pôchouse Bourguignonne)

StefanGourmet

Burgundy (Bourgogne) is a region in France that is famous for its wine and its food. Three years ago we went there for a few days to discover the wine region and purchased some nice wines. Most Burgundian wines are at their best between 5 and 10 years from the harvest, and since the wines we purchased were mostly from 2007 and 2008 it is time to start drinking them. And so it’s a good occasion to organize some Burgundian evenings to share the wines with our friends and enjoy them with some good Burgundian food.

White burgundy is often paired with lobster, but since Burgundy is far from the sea there are no traditional Burgundian dishes with lobster. To cook a nice dish to be paired with Burgundian whites, I had to come up with something using freshwater fish. Pôchouse is a traditional freshwater fish stew that is prepared with eel, bass, pike, and tench. The fish is poached in aligoté (white wine from Burgundy) and served with a cream sauce. Continue reading “Burgundian Fish Stew (Pôchouse Bourguignonne)”

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)12 Comments

Leg of Lamb Steak Sous-vide

StefanGourmet

Good food can be surprisingly easy to prepare, especially if you have sous-vide equipment at your disposal. You could also make this with a regular oven though, but you’ll have to pay more attention to getting the meat cooked just right. Lamb is one of my favorite meats, with rack of lamb one of my favorite cuts. Leg of lamb can be cooked whole, but you can also cook a slice of leg of lamb as a steak. Here I am serving it with a red wine demi-glace sauce. Assuming that you already have the lamb demi-glace, there isn’t a whole lot to it. Just cook the meat sous-vide, sear it, and deglaze the pan to make the sauce. Here’s what I did. Continue reading “Leg of Lamb Steak Sous-vide”

Secondi di Pesce (fish dishes)1 Comment

Halibut Sous-vide with a Creamy Sauce

StefanGourmet

Halibut is not a fish that is easily available around here, and therefore I had not tried to prepare it sous-vide yet. So when I saw some at the market in Amsterdam I picked up a nice slice to try and cook sous-vide. Halibut is a flat fish like flounder, sole, and turbot, but it is a hell of a lot bigger so in most cases you don’t buy the whole fish but just a slice. I decided to serve it with a sauce made from white wine, fish stock, and cream. Served with potatoes and roasted vegetables it was a simple but nice meal, and it was no surprise that the halibut sous-vide was cooked to perfection: very succulent and tender.

Continue reading “Halibut Sous-vide with a Creamy Sauce”

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)15 Comments

Pasta with Chard Stems (Penne alle Gambe di Coste)

StefanGourmet

Chard is not generally available anymore in this country, but recently a new ‘organic’ store opened up near to my house that carries it. I remember my grandmother serving chard (called “snijbiet” in Dutch), but I had never prepared it myself. Now that I can get it, I made Chard Risotto and Pizzoccheri with chard. For both of them I only used the leaves, and so I had a nice bunch of chard stems in the crisper of my fridge, waiting for a purpose. I remember Emmy had posted a recipe for Baked Chard Stems with Tomato, Garlic, and Parmesan, and that was the inspiration for this pasta dish. We love pasta and eat it almost every day. I decided to try making something like ragù from the chard stems, and it worked out great. Continue reading “Pasta with Chard Stems (Penne alle Gambe di Coste)”

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)23 Comments

Cauliflower Risotto (Risotto al Cavolfiore)

StefanGourmet

A few weeks ago I dined at my favorite Italian restaurant in Amsterdam: Bussia. The risotto I was served there was a cauliflower risotto and it was the inspiration for the risotto I created. This risotto is very creamy with most of the cauliflower used to make a cauliflower puree and the remainder roasted in the oven for some additional flavor and crunch. As a finishing touch I added some roasted almonds. I was happy with the result and will definitely make this again. If made with vegetable stock, this is an outstanding vegetarian dish. Continue reading “Cauliflower Risotto (Risotto al Cavolfiore)”

Contorni (side dishes)17 Comments

Eggplant Parmigiana ‘Light’ (Parmigiana di Melanzane)

StefanGourmet

Eggplant Parmigiana is a very tasty oven dish, consisting of eggplant, tomato sauce, and cheese. Using fresh tomatoes for the sauce (rather than from a can) takes it over the top. Eggplant, tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil go very well together. This is a classic Italian dish that is clear evidence of how good simple Italian food can be. The main drawback of the classic preparation is that the eggplant is pan-fried with lots of oil, as the eggplant slices are like sponges. I’ve found a way around that: I roast the eggplant in the oven after only lightly brushing it with oil. Salting the eggplant slices helps to cook them. In this case I forgot to buy the mozzarella that I usually put on top, and made an even ‘ligther’ version. The parmigiano does not melt as nicely, but it still makes for a nice dish. It’s your choice whether you want to put mozzarella on top or not. Continue reading “Eggplant Parmigiana ‘Light’ (Parmigiana di Melanzane)”

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)18 Comments

Homemade Pizzoccheri alla Valtellinese

StefanGourmet

Pizzoccheri are a short and flat type of pasta from the Valtellina region in Northern Italy, made from buckwheat and flour. I already posted about preparing store-bought dried pizzoccheri with savoy cabbage. This time I decided to make the pizzoccheri myself, and use chard rather than cabbage. I already liked pizzoccheri the previous time I made them, but the fresh pasta and the chard make it even better.

Did you know that buckwheat, despite its name, is not a wheat? It is also interesting that the word buckwheat has been derived from the Dutch word “boekweit”. In Italian it sounds more fancy though: grano saraceno. In any case, in homemade pizzoccheri you can taste the buckwheat better than in store-bought ones, and they are surprisingly easy to make as they do not need to be rolled out as thinly as for other types of fresh pasta. So even though I did use my pasta roller out of habit, you could easily and quickly make them with a rolling pin. The fresh pizzoccheri also have a nicer texture than the dried ones. Continue reading “Homemade Pizzoccheri alla Valtellinese”

Cooking26 Comments

Scallops: To Sous-Vide or Not To Sous-Vide, That’s the Question

StefanGourmet

Sea scallops are one of my favorite foods. When I first got my sous-vide appliance over two years ago, it was one of the first foods I tried. And I was underwhelmed. I didn’t do any side by side testing back then, but I was pretty sure that I couldn’t find anything special about the scallops that had been cooked sous-vide. After that I didn’t sous-vide scallops anymore. Since I was still relatively new to sous-vide back then, I decided to do a proper side by side experiment to find out once and for all whether those rave reviews I had seen elsewhere about the magnificent texture of sous-vide scallops were true after all. Continue reading “Scallops: To Sous-Vide or Not To Sous-Vide, That’s the Question”

Dutch cuisine11 Comments

Hot dog à la Stefan

StefanGourmet

Eating hot dogs is not something that really fits with my reputation. It is true that I do not generally eat hot dogs. In winter I do however like to make my own gourmet version and that goes like this: I bake my own wholewheat buns, I procure artisan prize-winning smoked pork sausage (rookworst) from the butcher I frequent, and I serve it with sauerkraut and home-made ketchup. Home-made mustard and home-made sauerkraut would also be nice, but those are bridges I haven’t crossed just yet. And who knows, perhaps I’ll even smoke my own pork sausage one day? In any case, my “hot dog” tastes a lot better than one from a street vendor. Continue reading “Hot dog à la Stefan”

1. Antipasti (appetizers)25 Comments

Foie Gras with Goat Cheese and Beetroot

StefanGourmet

After the wonderful dinner my new friends Teun and Auldo cooked for me, it was time to return the favor. I decided to serve to them a collection of my favorite classic Italian recipes and some of my own creations. After an aperitif of a Bernard Pertois champagne, the first appetizer I served was something I’d created a few years ago before I started blogging, inspired by a dish we had at Librije: foie gras with crottin de chavignol and beetroot. Continue reading “Foie Gras with Goat Cheese and Beetroot”

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)13 Comments

Beetroot Risotto (Risotto alle Barbabietole)

StefanGourmet

I saw a nice bunch of newly harvested beetroots with greens, and decided to turn them into a risotto. I thought it would be nice to use everything: leaves, stalks, and of course the beetroots themselves. Turned out I was right, a this turned out to be a very tasty risotto. I roasted the beetroots and the stalks, and especially the stalks became very nice and crispy. Continue reading “Beetroot Risotto (Risotto alle Barbabietole)”

Basics36 Comments

Is a Pressure Cooker better for making Stock?

StefanGourmet

You may not believe this, but until recently I did not own a pressure cooker. I didn’t know much about pressure cookers and I never really saw the need for one. I knew a pressure cooker cooks at a higher temperature in a shorter time, but since I’m mostly interested in cooking at a lower temperature at a longer time (such as sous-vide), that doesn’t seem very appealing to me. After some of my gourmet friends told me that it really worked better for making stock, I decided to buy one. Of course the first thing to try it with was homemade stock. Is a pressure cooker really better for making stock? Time for another side-by-side experiment! Continue reading “Is a Pressure Cooker better for making Stock?”

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)13 Comments

Chicken Breast with Tarragon Sous-Vide

StefanGourmet

Chicken and tarragon are a classic combination in French cuisine: Poulet à l’Estragon. In this recipe the chicken breast is seasoned with paprika and served with a sauce made from chicken stock, white wine, shallots, and tarragon. The tarragon sauce was nice, although I may have used a bit too much tarragon as it overpowered the chicken just a bit.

Continue reading “Chicken Breast with Tarragon Sous-Vide”

Contorni (side dishes)16 Comments

Leek Tarts (Sformatini di Porri)

StefanGourmet

After the success of the spinach tarts I tried a version with leeks and it turned out great! Leeks and shallots that are cooked slowly can obtain a wonderful sweet flavor and the texture of these tarts is very soft. The tarts are relatively easy to make and quite impressive. You could also serve them in ramekins as soufflés, as the tarts rise dramatically (and also fall dramatically). You could try to beat the egg whites separately and fold them in for even more of a ‘soufflé’ effect. Without further ado, here’s how to make these lovely vegetarian tarts, that could be served as a vegetarian dish by themselves or as a side to either fish or white meat.

Continue reading “Leek Tarts (Sformatini di Porri)”

Contorni (side dishes)25 Comments

Parsnip Sous-Vide Fondant

StefanGourmet

One of the ideas I got from my new ‘modernist’ friends is to prepare vegetable fondant sous-vide. I tried it with parsnips as a side for the lamb with our Easter dinner, and it turned out great. I had never heard of vegetable fondant, but it seems to be very popular in restaurants in the UK. Root vegetables or potatoes are browned in fat and subsequently cooked in stock. It is relatively simple to do, but quite tasty as both the stock and the browning will add some nice flavor to the vegetable. This technique can also be used for potatoes, celeriac, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc. Continue reading “Parsnip Sous-Vide Fondant”

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)11 Comments

Risotto with Chard (Risotto alle Bietole)

StefanGourmet

Risotto with Chard (snijbiet in Dutch) is a humble yet tasty risotto. I parcooked the chard in the stock that I subsequently used for the risotto to capture all of the flavor of the chard. For this risotto I used only the leaves of the chard. If you like, you could also use the stems if you parcook them longer. The two most important things for making a fine risotto are the stock and patience. The stock must be homemade, not from cubes. Patience is needed to stir it for 20 minutes or so, but all that work is rewarded with a very creamy and tasty risotto. Continue reading “Risotto with Chard (Risotto alle Bietole)”

4. Dolci (dessert)18 Comments

Torta Mimosa

StefanGourmet
Mimosa (source: Wikipedia)

This post is a bit overdue. On March 8, four weeks ago, Italian friends of mine came over for dinner. I had never heard of International Women’s Day (La Festa della Donna in Italy) before, but my Italian friends had enlightened me when we set that particular date for this cena. Mimosa has become the symbol of la Festa della Donna in Italy since the mimosa trees in Italy blossom in the first days of March, and so I decided to surprise my friends by baking a Torta Mimosa for dessert. As you can see, there is a clear resemblance between the cake and the mimosa blossoms. Continue reading “Torta Mimosa”