Tag: recipes

1. Antipasti (appetizers)12 Comments

Sous-vide Artichoke Salad

StefanGourmet

An artichoke salad is a simple antipasto, perfect for the summer and best to prepare sous-vide for maximum flavor and tender artichokes with some bite to them as well. Most of the work goes into cleaning them, but fresh artichokes are so much better than from a jar or can. As is usual with antipasti, you just need some good olive oil and a bit of parsley to turn some artichokes into a great antipasto. Ingredients artichokes good extra virgin olive oil salt lemon fresh flatleaf parsley Preparation This cleaning method is for large tough artichokes. For small tender ones, … Continue reading Sous-vide Artichoke Salad

Asian cuisine7 Comments

Home-made Sushi

StefanGourmet

Today calls for a special post, since I am very proud that the 100th follower has just joined this blog! As it happens we made sushi last night, and blogging about that will certainly be special as this will be the longest post yet with over 40 pictures! Making sushi together is a lot of fun, and although the sushi will probably not be as good as sushi at a specialized sushi restaurant, home-made sushi will taste much better than ready-made refrigerated sushi. It is not a coincidence that I like Japanese food besides Italian, as both rely to a … Continue reading Home-made Sushi

Cooking7 Comments

Seafood Paella (Paella de Marisco)

StefanGourmet

Paella is probably the most famous Spanish dish. There are different versions of paella, many of them containing meat such as chicken, rabbit and chorizo, as well as seafood. My version is seafood-only. Paella is traditionally made in a special paella pan, but I like to serve it on individual plates. Like many stock-based dishes, the taste of the paella depends on the quality of the stock. So it definitely pays off to make your own stock! Ingredients For 2 servings as a full meal 2/3 cups rice suitable for paella (risotto rice works fine) 1 1/2 cups shrimp stock … Continue reading Seafood Paella (Paella de Marisco)

Bread5 Comments

Focaccia alla Genovese

StefanGourmet

Focaccia is mostly known as Italian flat bread topped with herbs, salt, and olive oil. One of the original types of focaccia is the one from Liguria, known as focaccia alla genovese after the capital city of Liguria (Genova). This is plain focaccia, preferably eaten still warm, and not only eaten with dinner but also used for sandwiches as well as for breakfast! Focaccia alla Genovese is salty, oily and slightly crispy on the outside and soft and airy on the inside. You could also bake it topped this with olives, rosemary, or sage, but it is really good just … Continue reading Focaccia alla Genovese

4. Dolci (dessert)19 Comments

Raspberry Soufflé

StefanGourmet

  Soufflés have a reputation of being difficult, but they are not that hard and extremely festive. Just remember that they will fall no matter what you do as soon as they cool, so serve them as quickly as possible. We got a raspberry soufflé for breakfast at Librije’s Hotel a few weeks ago, and I liked it so much that I decided to create my own. I don’t have their recipe, this is something I created myself by mixing and matching various recipes for other soufflés that I found in various sources. I also used Harold McGee‘s advise for … Continue reading Raspberry Soufflé

1. Antipasti (appetizers)5 Comments

Swordfish Carpaccio (Carpaccio di pesce spada)

StefanGourmet

Welcome to Stefan’s Gourmet Blog!   If you like what you see here, you can sign up on the sidebar to receive an email whenever I post a new recipe. In Italy I always like swordfish carpaccio as antipasto, but unfortunately fresh swordfish is not available in the Netherlands. I decided to try making it with frozen swordfish, and it was certainly good enough to make it again! I am usually not a big fan of frozen fish since it makes the fish dry, but for this preparation it is OK. As with many antipasti, you just need good olive … Continue reading Swordfish Carpaccio (Carpaccio di pesce spada)

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)5 Comments

Radishes Risotto with Monkfish and Pancetta

StefanGourmet

I liked pasta with radishes, so I thought I’d try risotto with radishes as well. The pasta with radishes seemed to need a little pancetta, and since pancetta is also good with monkfish I decided to combine the three of them. And it worked! I cooked the monkfish sous-vide, but if you don’t have sous-vide equipment you could just pan-fry the monkfish, being careful not to overcook it. Ingredients For 2 servings 225 grams (1/2 pound) monkfish fillet 80 grams (3 oz) pancetta, thinly sliced 1 bunch radishes with nice-looking leaves 2/3 cup risotto rice such as Arborio 2 cups … Continue reading Radishes Risotto with Monkfish and Pancetta

Secondi di Pesce (fish dishes)4 Comments

Sea bream with vegetables (Orata al forno)

StefanGourmet

This is another dish we had at the Ligurian coast that I recreated at home: sea bream roasted in the oven with vegetables. It is quite easy to do: you only have to find the freshest sea bream you can find and learn how to take the fish off the bone once it’s cooked. Use an instant-read digital thermometer with a probe to always cook the fish just right: tender and very juicy. Especially if it was very fresh (and not frozen). Fish should never be overcooked as it will be dry, but nobody likes undercooked fish either. Taggiasca olives … Continue reading Sea bream with vegetables (Orata al forno)

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)17 Comments

Lamb Shoulder sous-vide with Goat Cheese

StefanGourmet

Lamb shoulder is really good if it’s slow cooked, so sous-vide is the obvious way to cook this cut of lamb. The meat will be amazingly tender and juicy. When slow-cooking lamb, make sure it’s from an ewe (female lamb). Rams (male lambs) have a strong smell that will be accentuated by long cooking. At Librije I discovered how good lamb and goat cheese are together. If you don’t have sous-vide equipment, roast a leg of lamb in the oven and serve it with some pieces of good French raw-milk goat cheese at room temperature (don’t let it melt) and a … Continue reading Lamb Shoulder sous-vide with Goat Cheese

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)5 Comments

BBQ’ed Lamb skewers with Balsamic (served on a Pink Piano)

StefanGourmet

I like to BBQ under two conditions: (1) using charcoal instead of gas and (2) marinating the meat yourself (or by a reputable butcher). Using charcoal makes for a much hotter grill that enables you to cook food with a crispy outside and a juicy inside and a real smoky BBQ flavor. Pre-marinated meat is usually low-quality meat with a marinade that overpowers the taste of the meat. Pre-cooking the meat sous-vide is not a requirement but certainly a good idea, as it makes for more tender meat, easier BBQ’ing (it is always cooked perfectly as soon as the outside … Continue reading BBQ’ed Lamb skewers with Balsamic (served on a Pink Piano)

Cooking9 Comments

‘Greek’ Pasta Salad

StefanGourmet

Pasta salad is great to bring to a BBQ or other ‘bring your own food’ event, since you can load it with veggies, it’s easy to keep (even outside of the fridge for a bit) and most people like it. I’m calling this ‘Greek’ since I’m not claiming this is in any way authentically Greek, but it has been inspired by using typical Greek ingredients such as oregano, olives, bell peppers and feta cheese. I brought this to a BBQ the other day and it vanished within a few minutes. With the general instructions for pasta salad given below, you … Continue reading ‘Greek’ Pasta Salad

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)10 Comments

Stuffed fillet of Venison (Involtini di Capriolo)

StefanGourmet

I picked up some more roe deer venison, which is still in season in the Netherlands, and created this ‘Italian style’ dish that is not an existing dish that I know of. You could also use regular venison or even veal or beef for this, but venison makes it just that bit more special. You can cook the involtini sous-vide or in the oven. Ingredients For 2 generous or 3 normal servings 400 grams (0.9 lbs) fillet of roe deer venison or regular venison 50 grams (2 oz) pancetta, chopped 25 grams (1 oz) dried porcini mushrooms 2 cloves garlic, … Continue reading Stuffed fillet of Venison (Involtini di Capriolo)

4. Dolci (dessert)12 Comments

Strawberry Cake

StefanGourmet

We have a group of young friends that we like to have over for dinner because they know how to enjoy good food and wine and like to learn about it. Recently 8 of them came over for a do-it-yourself dinner party, where everyone was helping with the shopping, cooking, etc. and we had a great time. You can imagine it was a bit chaotic, so I don’t have photos of everything. We started with home-made sushi and sashimi, of which I don’t have enough photos to blog about. So we’ll leave that for another time. Then we made home-made … Continue reading Strawberry Cake

1. Antipasti (appetizers)13 Comments

Insalata Caprese, how to improve the taste of Mozzarella

StefanGourmet

Insalata Caprese is almost too simple to blog about, but I do have some interesting tips to provide. At the risk of writing the same thing over and over, this dish is a classic example of Italian cuisine that relies completely on the quality of the ingredients. Use the best flavorful ripe tomatoes you can find, fresh fragrant basil, the best extra virgin olive oil you can afford, and last but not least the best mozzarella you can afford (and find!), preferably buffalo mozzarella. Real fresh buffalo mozzarella is very hard to find outside of Campania, the region around Naples … Continue reading Insalata Caprese, how to improve the taste of Mozzarella

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)8 Comments

Linguine with Scampi, Scallops, Zucchini and fresh Tomatoes

StefanGourmet

This is an elegant seafood pasta that I like to prepare. As always, the quality of the ingredients means a great deal. I used fresh scampi, but you could also substitute with jumbo shrimp as long as they are ‘wild caught’ and have the heads and shells to make some wonderful shrimp stock. Frozen scampi or shrimp are also fine, but the scallops must be fresh (since frozen scallops release too much water when you try to sauté them). The delicate flavors of scallops and scampi or shrimp go well with fresh tomatoes, zucchini and basil and just a tiny … Continue reading Linguine with Scampi, Scallops, Zucchini and fresh Tomatoes

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)14 Comments

Classic Ossobuco alla Milanese sous-vide

StefanGourmet

Ossobuco is a classic Italian dish from Milan that most people know as veal shanks braised in tomato sauce. Originally, the veal shanks were actually braised in veal stock with just a hint of tomato. I like this classic version, because it gives a meatier flavor. With sous-vide cooking, you could braise the veal shanks at a lower temperature to obtain a different texture. This time, I’ve used Modernist Cuisine’s recommendation for veal shanks, which is 72 hours at 62C/144F. The meat comes out with a classic flaky structure and is very flavorful but just a bit dryish, and that’s … Continue reading Classic Ossobuco alla Milanese sous-vide

Cooking48 Comments

Real Pizza in a domestic oven using an Aluminum plate

StefanGourmet

I’ve blogged before about Modernist Cuisine, the amazing set of books by Nathan Myhrvold et al. On pages 2-26 and 2-27 they explain how to “make your electric broiler perform like a wood-fired oven” to make pizza. I was intrigued by this, as I’ve been trying to bake proper pizza in my domestic oven for years and have had only moderate success. The problem is that, even though my oven can be heated to a pretty high temperature of 300C/575F, the pizza takes 10 minutes or more to bake and the crust will then be chewy rather than crispy on … Continue reading Real Pizza in a domestic oven using an Aluminum plate

General6 Comments

10,000 views and a second chance for early posts

StefanGourmet

According to WordPress statistics, as of today this blog has been viewed 10,000 times since it started almost 7 months ago. It’s great to see that the average number of daily views has gone up from 12 in December to 99 so far in June. I looked at the stats and noticed that some of my earlier posts still have a very low number of views and no likes, even though some of my best recipes are among them. To celebrate 10,000 views, I’m giving the best of my earlier posts a second chance. All these posts have no likes … Continue reading 10,000 views and a second chance for early posts

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)5 Comments

Linguine ai gamberoni alla Fra Diavolo (Linguine with flambeed shrimp, garlic and chile pepper)

StefanGourmet

I was intrigued by this recipe by Pasta Princess since it involves flambéing the shrimp, and decided to make my own version with some alterations. As far as I’ve been able to find out by googling, Fra Diavolo is a recipe that is typical of the Italian kitchen in the United States. Nevertheless I tried to make this recipe like I believe it might be made in Italy. I like Pasta Princess’ suggestion to serve this over home-made pesto fettucine, but since I made this after work and didn’t have time to make fresh pasta, I used linguine as this type is … Continue reading Linguine ai gamberoni alla Fra Diavolo (Linguine with flambeed shrimp, garlic and chile pepper)

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)17 Comments

Smoked Celeriac Risotto with Scallops

StefanGourmet

The inspiration for this risotto came from our wonderful dinner at De Librije, where the sea scallops with veal marrow, black garlic and a smoky jus of roasted celeriac was one of our favorite dishes. This is by no means my version of the same dish, I mainly used the idea of pairing scallops with smoky celeriac. At De Librije the dish was paired with a white burgundy from Cotes-de-Nuits, and I also happened to have one bottle of a white Cotes-de-Nuits 2006 left so we drank that with it (and I also used one glass for the risotto). Ingredients … Continue reading Smoked Celeriac Risotto with Scallops

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)11 Comments

Penne with Asparagus and Goat cheese

StefanGourmet

Emmy Cooks blogged recently about “an automatic bond among people who spend the day in serious contemplation of what to eat next”. When I read that, I realised that I am such a person, too. I also realised that I also feel this bond with my fellow food bloggers out there, even without ever having met them yet. I don’t think about food all day, but I do care a lot about what I eat and make an effort to eat well as often as is pratical. I think this is only logical as I believe that food is something to enjoy … Continue reading Penne with Asparagus and Goat cheese

Secondi di Pesce (fish dishes)8 Comments

Sea bream in salt (Orata al sale)

StefanGourmet

Sea bream cooked in a salt crust is a great way to prepare this lovely fish that is used all around the Mediterranean, including Spain, France and Italy. I had tried to make this once many years ago, but it got too salty. A few weeks ago I was telling my Italian friend about this experience while the waiter at the restaurant in Luguria where we were having dinner was filleting the orata al sale. He had overheard our conversation and said that I should try it again because it is very easy if you leave the scales on, dry the fish carefully, … Continue reading Sea bream in salt (Orata al sale)

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)12 Comments

Pork Belly sous-vide

StefanGourmet

Next to beef short ribs, pork belly is a meat that is often mentioned on eGullet as a favorite for sous-vide. I usually don’t eat pork belly, but I thought I’d give it a try and was not disappointed! Modernist Cuisine gives 60C/140F and 65C/149F, both for 72 hours, as ‘best bets’ for pork belly sous-vide. I tried both, and liked 60C/140F much better because it is as tender as 65C/149F, but much more juicy (the 65C/149F was really dry). Please note that at this temperature the fat doesn’t render, so you end up with layers of tender meat and … Continue reading Pork Belly sous-vide

Asian cuisine6 Comments

Chicken Ramen sous-vide

StefanGourmet

Since it’s K.’s birthday today, I thought it would be appropriate to blog about a recipe from her blog $35 a week that I tried. Thanks for the recipe and happy birthday! The recipe she used asks for a slowcooker, so I couldn’t resist to use sous-vide instead. I had never made ramen myself before. The chicken came out very juicy and tender and I was happy with the overall result. I do wonder whether you actually need a slowcooker (or sous-vide setup) to make something just as good, so that’s something to try next time. I’ll just sauté the chicken … Continue reading Chicken Ramen sous-vide

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)6 Comments

Pasta with Radishes (Orecchiette ai Ravanelli)

StefanGourmet

I was at the supermarket deliberating what I was going to make for dinner and noticed a bunch of radishes. I don’t eat many radishes and when I do, I usually eat them raw. But I remembered reading somewhere on a blog (don’t remember which one, might have been Emmy’s) that you can also eat the leaves and so I decided to make pasta with radishes. I turned out quite nice and was definitely something different. Cooking takes the edge off the radishes sharp taste. I might add pancetta next time or something else to complete the taste profile, but … Continue reading Pasta with Radishes (Orecchiette ai Ravanelli)

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)9 Comments

Boeuf Bourguignon à la Conor

StefanGourmet

I had not made Boeuf Bourguignon in a long time, but was inspired by Conor’s post to make it again. As Conor rightly points out, there is no such thing as an official recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon. The only mandatory ingredients are beef (boeuf is indeed French for beef…) and red Burgundy wine. Conor’s recipe looked OK and since he seems to know what he’s writing about I decided to follow his recipe, including using pancetta even though that’s not very French (but I like pancetta better than bacon). I was not disappointed because it turned out delicious and my husband … Continue reading Boeuf Bourguignon à la Conor

4. Dolci (dessert)6 Comments

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

StefanGourmet

I decided to make Emmy Cooks’ strawberry frozen yogurt when my parents came over for dinner, as I remember my mom loved frozen yogurt when we visited the US together back in 1991. I substituted the kirsch with 12-year-old balsamic vinegar and some of the sugar with honey. Thanks Emmy for the idea! This dessert was part of the following dinner: Antipasto: Octopus carpaccio; wine pairing: Villa Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Riserva 2006 Primo: Jerusalem Artichoke risotto; same wine Secondo: Roe deer venison with roe deer jus and roasted green asparagus; wine pairing Elio Grasso Barolo Vigna Chiniera 1998 Dolce: … Continue reading Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)35 Comments

Roe Deer Venison sous-vide with Roe Deer Jus

StefanGourmet

One of the tastiest and most prized types of game is venison from roe deer. A roe deer (Dutch: ree, French:  chevreuil, German: Reh, Italian: capriolo) is a small species of deer that is very picky about its food. If you cannot find roe deer, you can substitute with regular venison. I recently bought a nice back of roe deer venison, part of which I turned into carpaccio and the rest I served like this. The nice thing about buying the whole back was that I also had bones to make a great jus. By cooking the venison sous-vide, you can serve … Continue reading Roe Deer Venison sous-vide with Roe Deer Jus

1. Antipasti (appetizers)12 Comments

Carpaccio of Sous-vide Octopus (Carpaccio di Polpo)

StefanGourmet

Octopus can be very tough and bland, but when you cook it sous-vide it will be tender and flavorful. I wrote about sous-vide octopus (Insalata di Polpo) before, but since octopus sous-vide is so good and I saw a nice idea on GialloZafferano that enables you to slice the octopus more thinly, I decided to write about it some more. The photos on GZ suggest that you can actually get slices of octopus ‘sausage’, but since there is no ‘glue’ to hold them together that doesn’t happen and the slices fall apart. It still looks great, and the thin slices make the … Continue reading Carpaccio of Sous-vide Octopus (Carpaccio di Polpo)