Sometimes I get the inspiration for a new dish from something I’ve enjoyed in a restaurant. Very seldomly I try to copy a dish exactly, but I do use the combinations of ingredients or preparations. At two Michelin star restaurant … Continue reading Grouper Sous Vide with Vanilla and Lemon Zest
A classic and delicious dish from Venice is pesce in saôr, which does not mean ‘sour’ fish but ‘flavored’ fish (saôr comes from ‘sapore’). The recipe was invented in Venice as a way to preserve fish, and even though we have … Continue reading Mackerel ‘in Saor’ (Sgombro in Saor)
Monkfish wrapped with prosciutto is a classic combination. By dry brining the fish first and then cooking it sous vide, the fish will be tender and juicy. It is important to remove the membrane of the monkfish, as it contracts … Continue reading Monkfish With Prosciutto Sous Vide
In Italy at Villa Rosa di Nonna Rosa, I enjoyed sea bream with a squash velouté. I really liked this combination, so I decided to make this at home. Sea bream (orata) is a type of fish that dries out … Continue reading Sea Bream with Squash Velouté (Orata con Vellutata di Zucca)
Zander is a freshwater fish with a very elegant flavor that is caught locally in the Netherlands. It is also called pikeperch or pike perch. The combination with tart apple syrup and bacon has been made famous by Jonnie Boer, … Continue reading Zander with Apple Syrup and Bacon
Cappon Magro is a delicious and special dish from Liguria with fish and vegetables. It is on the menu in Liguria for special occasions such as the holidays. The name means “lean capon”, which indicates that it was an alternative … Continue reading Cappon Magro Sous Vide (Stack of Fish and Vegetables with Green Sauce from Liguria)
In Italian pasta svuotafrigo means to make a pasta dish “to empty your fridge”, i.e. to dress pasta with what needs to be used up. I had some leftover kingfish in my fridge from making sushi and sashimi that needed … Continue reading Fresh Pappardelle with Kingfish, Scamorza, and Green Asparagus
Thai food is so much better if you make your own fresh curry paste from scratch. Fresh curry paste is not just spicy hot, but also very fragrant and complex. The secret to juicy tender fish in your curry rather … Continue reading Thai Red Fish Curry with Squash
My friend Melvin is great with Asian food. The other day he prepared this mackerel in Thai red curry sauce for us, and it was so good that I wanted to make it myself as soon as possible. Melvin got … Continue reading Mackerel in Thai Red Curry Sauce (Choo Chee)
Years ago I performed an experiment to find out whether I liked dry curing or wet curing pork tenderloin before cooking it sous vide. The conclusion was that for meat I preferred to just season with salt right before cooking … Continue reading Briefly Curing Fish Before Cooking
This is what I had for dinner tonight. Quick and simple, but very tasty. There are a couple of tricks that I used: Instead of dicing the fish and then browning it, I browned it first and then diced it. … Continue reading Paccheri al Ragù di Rana Pescatrice (Pasta with Monkfish)
We are sailing in the Maddalena archipelago on the north side of Sardinia in the Mediterranean. The galley on board is very limited, but last night we anchored in a bay away from any village with restaurants. The view on … Continue reading Cooking on board: Oven-baked Sarago with Eggplant and Zucchini
Another recipe with Mexican salsa verde: fish poached in salsa verde, and then served with the salsa and Mexican crema. This is quick and easy if you have already made the salsa verde. It is important not to overcook the … Continue reading Fish in Salsa Verde (Pescado en salsa verde)
Skrei is cod that is caught between December and April in the Northeast Atlantic when it migrates from the Barents Sea area to the Northwest of Norway to spawn. The name was derived from the Old-Norse word skrida, which means … Continue reading Winter Cod (Skrei)
Usually when we go on vacation, I come back with a lot of ideas for new dishes to try. In fact, I still haven’t finished cooking and blogging all the ideas I had after our trip to the South of … Continue reading Peruvian Ceviche
I like ‘refrigerator cooking’ and I like blogging what I’ve just prepared and eaten. This post hits the spot both ways, as I had some leftover sweet potato, lettuce, cilantro, lime, and jalapeño, and decided to pick up some fish … Continue reading Sweet Potato Fish Cakes with Lime, Cilantro, and Jalapeño
Smoked salmon bonbons are a popular appetizer in the Netherlands, but I had never made them. It was the perfect way to serve some homemade cold smoked salmon as a good looking appetizer. The smoked salmon is stuffed with a … Continue reading Smoked Salmon and Shrimp Bonbon
As mentioned before, my favorite type of food blogging is cooking, eating, and blogging all during the same evening. I just finished eating this nice pasta dish, and wanted to share it with you as it was nice. It took … Continue reading Pasta with Salmon and Fennel (Penne al Salmone Fresco e Finocchi)
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)
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
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
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
The inspiration for this dish came from my recent dinner at 212 in Amsterdam. I really liked the cod with red wine sauce, and thought it would be nice to prepare something similar. If only because everyone seems to think … Continue reading Turbot Sous-Vide with Red Wine Sauce
This is how sea bream (daurade) was served to us in Corsica: cooked in the oven with some colorful vegetables. When ordering fish on Corsica, be careful about the price. On the menu this daurade was listed as 12 euros … Continue reading Oven-Baked Sea Bream (Daurade au Four)
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)
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)
You can’t see it very well in the photo, but inside that rolled up eggplant under the melted mozzarella, basil and tomato sauce is a juicy piece of monkfish. Parmigiana di Melanzana is one of my favorite dishes: eggplant baked with … Continue reading Monkfish alla Parmigiana (Coda di Rospo alla Parmigiana)
Frozen pollock or pollack (Dutch: koolvis, French: colin) is amazingly cheap. It comes in unnatural-looking rectangular blocks. At a local supermarket it is 1.75 euros for 400 grams (that is $2.37/lb). It is “frozen at sea”, which means it is … Continue reading Pasta with Cheap Fish Ragù
This is an elegant dish for a dinner party that is easy to prepare. Flatfish with mint sauce is a combination I saw in one of Biba Caggiano’s cookbooks. In this case I used sole. If turbot is the king … Continue reading Sole with Mint, Peas, and Fennel
In Spain we visited the city of Logroño, which is in the Rioja wine region but also famous for its tapas scene. One of my favorite tapas I tried there was smoked sardines (served on toast with roasted bell pepper). It … Continue reading Smoked Sardines (Sardinas Ahumadas)
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