2. Primi (pasta, risotto)2 Comments

Orecchiette with Endive and Pancetta (Orecchiette Indivia e Pancetta)

StefanGourmet

This is my most successful attempt at Dutch-Italian fusion and I make it quite often as it is as quick and easy to prepare as it is delicious! The flavors of the bitter endive, the sweet pancetta, the freshness of the white wine and the heartiness (umami) of the parmigiano blend really well. Just like most Italian dishes, the result will depend on the quality of the ingredients. This dish will taste best if you use actual pancetta, fresh endive (rather than already cut when you buy it), freshly grated nutmeg, freshly grated parmigiano and artisan orechiette. The classic Dutch … Continue reading Orecchiette with Endive and Pancetta (Orecchiette Indivia e Pancetta)

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)1 Comment

35aweek’s Beef & parsnip ragù (Ragù di manzo e pastinaca)

StefanGourmet

I saw the recipe for Wine-braised beef & parsnip ragù on 35aweek‘s blog and thought it could be good, even though I had never tasted or heard of this combination. So I decided to give it a try, sticking mostly to her recipe. Cooking beef and vegetables in the same stew is always a challenge since the temperature needed to cook the vegetables is too high to cook meat without drying it out, but this recipe works around that by shredding the beef. The good thing about drying out the beef is that the flavor doesn’t just disappear but ends … Continue reading 35aweek’s Beef & parsnip ragù (Ragù di manzo e pastinaca)

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)1 Comment

Beetroot gnocchi: not as beetrooty as I wanted

StefanGourmet

I wanted to try making beetroot gnocchi. Most recipes I found on the internet seemed to be more about the color than the taste of beetroot, since only small quantities of beetroot were used. So I tried to make it with as much beetroot as possible and they turned out fine, but did not have a strong taste of beetroot. Perhaps it was the quality of the beetroots I used or perhaps I should try to use even more beetroot, but that will be pushing it in terms of making sure that the gnocchi will not disintegrate during cooking. So … Continue reading Beetroot gnocchi: not as beetrooty as I wanted

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)7 Comments

Fusilli ai Peperoni (Pasta with roasted peppers)

StefanGourmet

A simple and healthy dish with a delicious flavor: pasta with roasted peppers. The other flavors (basil, anchovies, garlic, chilli pepper) are only used to support and enhance the flavor of roasted peppers. Ingredients For 2 servings 150-200 grams (1/3-1/2 pound) of fusilli or other short pasta such as rigatoni 2 red peppers 500 grams (1 pound) plum tomatoes 3 anchovy fillets, minced (optional) 1 clove garlic, minced dried chilli pepper olive oil salt 6 leaves basil Preparation Preheat the oven to 250C/480F. Brush the red peppers lightly with olive oil. This helps to cook the skin at a higher … Continue reading Fusilli ai Peperoni (Pasta with roasted peppers)

Secondi di Pesce (fish dishes)12 Comments

Prosciutto-wrapped Monkfish sous-vide

StefanGourmet

Simple but delicious: monkfish wrapped in prosciutto di parma. Slightly crispy prosciutto on the outside, tender juicy fish on the inside. If you don’t have a sous-vide water bath, you can get a similar result (still great but not as juicy) with an oven and an instant-read meat thermometer. Ingredients For each serving 120 grams (4 oz) monkfish fillet (Dutch: zeeduivel; French: lotte; Italian: rana pescatrice, coda di rospo) 2 thin slices of prosciutto di parma salt Preparation Ask your fishmonger to remove the slimy skin. Rinse the monkfish under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into … Continue reading Prosciutto-wrapped Monkfish sous-vide

Wine14 Comments

Pairing Wine and Cheese

StefanGourmet

Wine and cheese are a great match. But not just any wine with any cheese. Restaurants still offer a mix of very different cheeses with a glass of port. However in cases that different styles of cheeses are served together, they should be paired with different styles of wine as well. Last night we tasted 12 different wines with 12 different cheeses with a group of friends. We combined 7 types of cheese with 7 types of wine and tasted which combinations worked best. We had the cheese and wine for dinner, augmented with home-baked Italian bread and vegetable antipasti (sautéed mushrooms, roasted peppers, … Continue reading Pairing Wine and Cheese

Dutch cuisine4 Comments

Hotchpotch with sous-vide braised beef (Hutspot met draadjesvlees)

StefanGourmet

One of my favorite traditional Dutch dishes is “hutspot met draadjesvlees”: mashed potatoes, carrots and onions with braised beef and gravy. According to legend the recipe originates from the Siege of Leiden in 1574, but that cannot be accurate because potatoes were not eaten in Holland yet at that time (so it was probably parsnip back then). The traditional preparation means that you boil the potatoes, carrots and onions in ample water, but to amplify the flavor I sauté the onions in butter and use as little water as possible. I’ve braised the beef sous-vide for additional juicyness and tenderness. … Continue reading Hotchpotch with sous-vide braised beef (Hutspot met draadjesvlees)

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)5 Comments

Pork shoulder sous-vide

StefanGourmet

I’ve made pork shoulder sous-vide before, and that was pretty good in a tender medium-rare style (cooked at 55C/131F for 48 hours). This time I wanted a “braised” texture, and so tried 36 hours at 65C/149F as advised in Modernist Cuisine. It came out very nice: juicy and so tender you could eat it with a fork. Here’s what I did. I used a piece of boneless pork shoulder with some nice marbling. The meat will turn out dry if you use very lean meat in this preparation. First I made a rub of some fresh sage leaves, salt and … Continue reading Pork shoulder sous-vide

Secondi di Pesce (fish dishes)10 Comments

Experiment with the Girardet method for broiling fish

StefanGourmet

When I started this blog, I wrote that I would “strive to share every single interesting experience with respect to food and wine”. This means sharing both the successes and the failures. Although the result of this experiment was certainly edible and not bad, it was not the “magical” result that I was hoping for. I’m going through “Modernist Cuisine”, the amazing set of books by Nathan Myhrvold et al. On pages 2-24 and 2-25 the “Girardet Method” for broiling fish is described. Fish is simultaneously broiled and poached in white wine. It didn’t look too hard to do and … Continue reading Experiment with the Girardet method for broiling fish

Cooking5 Comments

Mackerel & Sauerkraut Quiche

StefanGourmet

Mackerel is healthy to eat because of the omega-3 fatty acids it contains. After discovering by accident that sauerkraut and smoked mackerel go really well together, I decided to try making a mackerel & sauerkraut quiche. And guess what? It was really good, so I’ve been making it more often since. Apart from the baking time it doesn’t take much time to make it at all, as little as 5 minutes if you use a store-bought pie crust for the quiche. I’ve found that it’s not easy to make a better pie crust yourself than what you can buy in the … Continue reading Mackerel & Sauerkraut Quiche

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)11 Comments

Pasta with chicken, pesto, haricots verts, and sundried tomatoes

StefanGourmet

This is the first Italian-style dish that I created myself and I’m still making it on a regular basis because it’s so good. It’s not authentic and the odds are against me that an Italian would ever make a similar dish, but who cares as long as it’s good 😉 This is simple home cooking and not haute cuisine. I created this dish in the late nineties because I thought that since pesto goes well with chicken, pesto goes well with haricots verts and pesto goes well with sundried tomatoes, the combination of all of them should be nice. And … Continue reading Pasta with chicken, pesto, haricots verts, and sundried tomatoes

Basics8 Comments

How to make your own Pesto alla Genovese

StefanGourmet

Pesto is one of those things that is so much better when you make it yourself rather than buy it in a store! I’m talking about the most common and famous type of pesto here: Pesto alla Genovese. This sauce is made from basil, pine nuts, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, parmigiano reggiano, aged pecorino, and some salt. If you buy a jar of pesto in a store, chances are that it will contain parsley, sunflower oil, cashew nuts, or even potato. Not to mention preservatives. But the worst problem is that store-bought pesto in most cases has a strong … Continue reading How to make your own Pesto alla Genovese

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)17 Comments

Saltimbocca alla Romana (Veal scaloppine with prosciutto and sage)

StefanGourmet

Saltimbocca literally means “jump in the mouth” because it’s so delicious. Fortunately, it’s just as easy to make them as they are delicious. There are many variations of saltimbocca, some even substitute veal for chicken or pork, but the constant factor is the mouth-watering combination of tender veal scaloppine with prosciutto di Parma and fresh sage. Some use butter, some use olive oil. Some use flour to dust before cooking, others don’t. Some cook the prosciutto side first, some the veal side. Some put the sage on the outside, others on the inside. Some use veal or chicken stock for … Continue reading Saltimbocca alla Romana (Veal scaloppine with prosciutto and sage)

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)9 Comments

Pappardelle ai funghi (Pappardelle with mushrooms)

StefanGourmet

A long-time favorite of Kees is home-made pappardelle with mushrooms. So when I asked him what he’d like to eat, it wasn’t a surprise that he asked for this dish. If fresh porcini mushrooms are available, you could of course use those. But since they are hardly ever available at a good quality around here, I usually make this with dried porcini mushrooms. This has the added advantage that you can use the soaking liquid for the sauce. You could also make this pasta with store-bought pappardelle, but it’s better with home-made because of the more interesting texture. Ingredients For … Continue reading Pappardelle ai funghi (Pappardelle with mushrooms)

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)9 Comments

Lemon-Basil Chicken breast sous-vide

StefanGourmet

Believe it or not, but after experimenting with sous-vide cooking for over a year now, I’ve just tried chicken breast sous-vide for the frist time! This is because I usually stick to chicken thighs, which have more flavor and are juicier and when properly cooked are just as tender as chicken breast. But after some raves about chicken breast sous-vide I thought I’d give it a try. The verdict: I still prefer chicken thighs, but the chicken breast sous-vide wasn’t bad at all! Whenever you eat chicken, make sure to invest in at least some quality. You don’t want chicken … Continue reading Lemon-Basil Chicken breast sous-vide

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)12 Comments

Risotto ai gamberoni (Risotto with jumbo shrimp)

StefanGourmet

When you are cooking with jumbo shrimp, always try to buy them with heads and shells on and peel them yourself. It is a little bit of work, but you can make a delicious stock from the heads and shells that is excellent to make a risotto or paella or to use for pasta sauce. If you are not using the heads and shells straight away, just throw them in the freezer until you do. Next time you will be able to make this very tasty risotto, for which you will need more heads and shells than than you will … Continue reading Risotto ai gamberoni (Risotto with jumbo shrimp)

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)64 Comments

Sous-vide to the next level: tenderizing beef by ‘warm ageing’

StefanGourmet

Wow! I was reading the amazing set of books “Modernist Cuisine” by Nathan Myhrvold et al. and came across the suggestion (on page 3-78) to tenderize beef by boosting the activity of calpain and cathepsin enzymes in the meat through bringing the meat to temperatures of 39C/103F for calpains and 49C/120F for cathepsins. These are the same enzymes that are at work when meat is aged at refrigerator temperatures (both for dry ageing and for ageing in vacuum), but much faster and (compared to dry ageing) without drying the meat. Although it is described as a strategy to improve tenderness, … Continue reading Sous-vide to the next level: tenderizing beef by ‘warm ageing’

Cooking8 Comments

Pizza with roasted vegetables

StefanGourmet

Kees felt like having pizza and I had picked up lots of vegetables and so decided to go for a veggie pizza for a change. It turned out great! Ingredients For 2 thin pizza crusts 250 grams flour (preferably Italian 00) 150 ml lukewarm water 1.5 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar 10 grams fresh yeast 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil For the toppings 1 eggplant (aubergine) 1 zucchini (courgette) 1 bunch of green asparagus (450 grams/1 pound) 2 red peppers 175 ml (2/3 cup) passata (sieved tomatoes) 250 grams (1/2 pound) mozzarella 1-2 tsp dried oregano salt and freshly … Continue reading Pizza with roasted vegetables

Asian cuisine1 Comment

Turbot sous-vide Asian style

StefanGourmet

The inspiration for this preparation came from having steamed turbot at a Chinese restaurant. The fish was steamed with fresh ginger, spring onions and chilli pepper and I liked it a lot. I tried to make something similar sous-vide and it came out even better! The texture of sous-vide turbot is amazing, and the Asian seasonings paired well with the fish without overpowering it. Ingredients For two servings Fillets of 1 turbot, skin on (around 900 grams or 2 pounds) 2-3 cm (1 inch) of fresh ginger root green of 2 spring onions 1/2 fresh chilli pepper salt soy sauce … Continue reading Turbot sous-vide Asian style

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)7 Comments

Pasta with mussels and broccoli (Orecchiette alle cozze e broccoli)

StefanGourmet

This is a simple but healthy and delicious pasta dish that we eat regularly. The combination of mussels and broccoli works very well, and the ‘juice’ that is left from cooking the mussels makes a very tasty sauce. Ingredients For 2 servings as a full meal or 4 servings in a larger menu 1 kg (2.2 lbs) mussels 500 grams (1 pound) broccoli 150-200 grams (1/3-1/2 pound) of flat short pasta such as orecchiette or farfalle 1 onion 125 ml (1/2 cup) dry white wine 3 anchovy fillets 1 glove garlic dried chilli pepper extra virgin olive oil salt some … Continue reading Pasta with mussels and broccoli (Orecchiette alle cozze e broccoli)

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)8 Comments

Jerusalem artichoke risotto (Risotto al topinambur)

StefanGourmet

I just made this risotto with Jerusalem artichokes (also called sunchoke, French: topinambour, Dutch: aardpeer or topinamboer) and it was so good that I wanted to blog about it straight away. Ingredients For 2 servings I used: 400 grams (0.9 lb) Jerusalem artichokes 120 grams risotto rice (arborio) 4 tbsp freshly grated parmigiano reggiano 1 tbsp butter 2 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley salt and freshly ground black pepper 500 grams (1 pound) mixed aromatic vegetables for the stock: leeks, onions, carrots, celery stalks 1 bay leaf 1 shallot 1 glass (100 ml) of dry white wine olive oil optional: bit … Continue reading Jerusalem artichoke risotto (Risotto al topinambur)

Wine3 Comments

Good Lambrusco exists

StefanGourmet

Lambrusco is a light bubbly red wine from Emilia-Romagna and Lombardia in Italy that does not have a good reputation at all. It is usually cheap plonk that is frowned upon by many connoisseurs. However just like almost any other wine, it is possible to make good quality Lambrusco. Over the last few years, Italy’s famous wine guide Gambero Rosso has awarded it’s tre bicchieri (3 glasses) award to dry Lambrusco. When I ordered some wine and saw the same webshop also sold this Lambrusco for less than 8 euros per bottle, I decided to try a bottle. The 2010 Lambrusco … Continue reading Good Lambrusco exists

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)1 Comment

Pasta with clams and green cauliflower (Orechiette alle Vongole e Romanesco)

StefanGourmet

One of my favorite pasta dishes is the combination of clams and green cauliflower (romanesco). It is both healthy and delicious and a more delicate version of the equally delicious but more strongly flavored combination of broccoli and mussels (about which I will write shortly). Ingredients For 2 servings as a full meal or 4 servings in a larger menu 1 kg (2.2 lbs) clams such as cockels or vongole 400 grams (14 oz) florets of romanesco (green cauliflower, substitute with broccoli but that pairs better with mussels) 150-200 grams (1/3 – 1/2 pound) dry flat short pasta such as … Continue reading Pasta with clams and green cauliflower (Orechiette alle Vongole e Romanesco)

Wine5 Comments

Hyperdecanting wine à la “Modernist Cuisine”

StefanGourmet

There are two reasons for decanting wine: separating the sediment from the wine (only needed for all wines that have sediment in the bottle, usually older wines) and letting the wine ‘breathe’ (oxygenation and outgassing; this may improve most wines but especially young red wines of which the tannins haven’t yet softened). Dutch wine connoisseurs use two different words to differentiate between these two purposes: decanting (decanteren) for separating the sediment and ‘carafing’ (karafferen) for letting the wine breathe. The amazing book (well, actually set of books) “Modernist Cuisine” by Nathan Myhrvold et al. claims that using a blender to … Continue reading Hyperdecanting wine à la “Modernist Cuisine”

Eating2 Comments

Dining on Costa Adeje, Tenerife

StefanGourmet

We’ve just spent a week on Tenerife on the Costa Adeje. Most of the restaurants there are cheap and offer mediocre quality at best. Reviews on the internet are not of much use because most people going here seem to like this mediocre food and appear to award five stars (out of five) only if the service is friendly. Although we have not sampled restaurants exhaustively, here’s my take from a week’s stay with links to the full reviews I posted on TripAdvisor. 1. Rosso sul Mare in La Caleta: our favorite. Authentic Italian, great seafood, nice decor, good view, … Continue reading Dining on Costa Adeje, Tenerife