Our main course for Christmas dinner was this hare stew. The recipe I followed was very similar to that for lepre alla cacciatora, but adapted for sous-vide. An important aspect of any stew is concentrating the flavors by allowing water … Continue reading Hare Stew Sous-Vide
If you are looking for something delicious and elegant yet vegan for your Christmas dinner, look no further. The holidays are often about eating a lot of meat, but this vegan dish has all the flavor and all the protein … Continue reading Delicious Vegan Pumpkin Ravioli
As every year, we celebrate the anniversary of our first date with a meal at Librije. It is easily the best restaurant in the Netherlands and has three Michelin stars. There are tasting menus of 5, 6, or 7 courses … Continue reading Dining in the Netherlands: Librije*** (2018)
One of the questions that I get asked often is whether I always cook complex dishes, and what I cook when I get home from work. This is a typical example of something I whipped up when I came home … Continue reading Pasta with Runner Beans (Penne ai Piattoni)
Sarde a Beccafico is a famous traditional dish from Sicily. The sardines are stuffed with breadcrumbs, raisins, pine nuts, and baked in the oven with orange juice. At Cala del Citro the chef made a dish with red mullet that … Continue reading Stuffed Red Mullet with Pistachios and Orange (Triglie ripiene)
Bea has Sicilian roots and that clearly shows in the recipe for Vermicelli alle Alici con pangrattato dorato that she posted recently. Since fresh anchovies are not so easy to find around here and it is a lot of work to clean … Continue reading Spaghetti with Mackerel and Breadcrumbs (Spaghetti allo Sgombro con pangrattato dorato)
To compensate for the fanciness of the previous post featuring white truffle, this post is back to basics: how to pan fry salmon. Or salmon fillet, to be more precise. There are two common problems with cooking salmon fillet, caused … Continue reading How to Pan Fry Salmon
If you like having a great red wine with the Christmas dinner main course, but you would also like to have fish, this is the perfect solution for you! I used yellowtail, which is a great tasting fish that is … Continue reading Yellowtail with Truffle, Mushrooms, and Red Wine Sauce
We’ve been back home for more than two months, but I am still enjoying the inspiration from our three weeks in Southern Italy. At Cala del Citro we had a wonderful dinner, that ended with almond ice cream. I loved … Continue reading Almond Ice Cream
Eggplant is a prominent ingredient in Italian cooking, and it is prepared in many ways. These eggplant balls are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a lot of flavor, and are a great vegetarian appetizer or … Continue reading Eggplant ‘Meatballs’ (Polpette di Melanzane)
This dish was inspired by another dish we had at Don Alfonso. It could be made with any kind of white fish and any kind of green peppers, as mild or as hot as you like. The Italian green peppers … Continue reading Cod with Green Peppers and Yogurt-Lemon Sauce
On the beautiful Golfo di Policastro in Basilicata, Southern Italy, we had a wonderful dinner by the sea at Cala del Citro in Maratea. One of the dishes was black tagliolini with raw squid, and this recipe was inspired by … Continue reading Squid Tagliolini with Yellow Cherry Tomatoes
One of my favorite inventive dishes from our trip to Italy was the eel ice cream at Don Alfonso. There it was served with rose-flavored pasta, but I thought it would also work very well with beets. Eel is most … Continue reading Eel Ice Cream with Beets
Red onions are the specialty of the town of Tropea in Calabria in the deep South of Italy. Red onions are even known as “cipolle di Tropea” throughout Italy. In and around Tropea you see red onions everywhere. The local … Continue reading Fresh Pasta with Red Onion, White Beans, and Pecorino (Fileja con cipolla di Tropea, Poverello bianco e pecorino del Poro)
Turbot is one of my favorite kinds of fish. It has a great texture and delicate flavor. In this simple preparation it is served with a mint sauce, inspired by Biba Caggiano. I made the fish stock for the sauce … Continue reading Pan Fried Turbot with Mint Sauce
Every region in Italy has its own pasta shapes. Sometimes shapes that look very similar have a completely different name. There are so many different pasta shapes, that I keep discovering new ones even in regions that I’ve visited before. … Continue reading Scialatielli ai Frutti di Mare (Fresh Pasta with Mussels and Clams)
The most famous Italian meat sauce for pasta is of course the one from Bologna: ragù alla bolognese. And with reason: if made properly it can be divine. Outside of Italy (or inside of Italy in tourist traps) it is … Continue reading Ragù alla Bolognese Sous-Vide
At the organic market I discovered a great ingredient, which is partially defatted pumpkin seed flour. Pumpkin seed kernels have 49% fat, 8% carbohydrates, and 30% protein, and so they are quite fat. Pumpkin seeds are pressed to get out … Continue reading Pumpkin Seed Flour Pappardelle with Roasted Pumpkin
Cilento is an area in the south of Campania, and when I was there I enjoyed a dish called Ciambotta alla Cilentana. There are many versions of ciambotta, but here it is potatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, and tomatoes. It reminded … Continue reading Ciambotta alla Cilentana (Campania’s Ratatouille)
In Vienna most fine dining options seem a bit overpriced. Although the entourage at MAST Weinbistro is indeed that of a (modern) bistro, the elegant and refined dishes and wines are certainly worthy of the label “fine dining”, but at … Continue reading Dining in Vienna, Austria: MAST Weinbistro
This delicious pasta dish is the result of serendipity. I had cooked and smoked too many eggplants to serve as antipasto with mozzarella and tomato confit, and I was in the process of experimenting with lamb ragù in the sous-vide. … Continue reading Orecchiette with Lamb Ragù and Cream of Smoked Eggplant (Orecchiette al Ragù di Agnello e Crema di Melanzana Affumicata)
Eggplant with tomato and basil are a classic combination. At La Tavernetta the eggplant was cooked in charcoal, which gave it a nice smoky twist, and the tomato was cooked slowly to intensify its flavor. As I didn’t feel like … Continue reading Smoked Eggplant with Buffalo Mozzarella and Tomato Confit
Pumpkin season has arrived. We did not have this pie during our recent trip to Italy, but the inspiration for it did come from Italy. Paola recently blogged about a pumpkin, gorgonzola, and pear tart. I have combined gorgonzola and … Continue reading Pumpkin, Pear, and Blue Cheese Pie (Crostata con zucca, gorgonzola e pere)
This dish was inspired by similar ravioli I had at Angiolina in Campania. It was listed as red mullet ravioli with fennel on the menu, but it was actually served with carrot and cherry tomatoes. Here I opted to use … Continue reading Black Ravioli with Red Mullet and Fennel (Ravioli con triglie e finocchi)
One of the best dishes from our trip was right on our first night at Taverna Estia, ricciola with zucchini ‘scales’ and a smoked cheese sauce. And although my plating skills (and especially patience) are not of Michelin star quality, … Continue reading Amberjack with Zucchini and Smoked Cheese Sauce (Ricciola con Zucchine e Salsa di Scamorza)
We are back home from our trip to the coast of Southern Italy, and I have compiled a list of over 40 dishes that we tried during our trip and that I would like to recreate at home. This first … Continue reading Troccoli al Tonno Fresco (Fresh Pasta with Fresh Tuna, Tomatoes, and Mint)
This is our 4th dinner at Torre del Saracino in Vico Equense with view on Mt Vesuvio and the Gulf of Naples. The previous time in 2011 we took a flight just to eat here. And so we had high … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Torre del Saracino** (2018)
Don Alfonso 1890 is situated in the town of Sant’Agata sui due Golfi, on the Sorrentino peninsula in the hinterland of the Amalfi Coast. It has three forks from Gambero Rosso and two Michelin stars. On the photo you see … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Don Alfonso 1890**
The last trattoria with tre gamberi (see yesterday’s post) is Al Convento in the fisherman’s town Cetara on the Amalfi Coast. The most important local product here is alici, anchovies. Al Convento has nice outside seating (in the town center, … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Al Convento
A trattoria is an Italian restaurant that is less formal than a ristorante, with lower prices and often larger portions. There is no official definition of the distinction and many trattorie call themselves ristorante, to make it more confusing. The … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Angiolina
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