These fennel ravioli are heavily inspired on these fennel ‘meatballs’ (polpette) that I discovered in Sicily at the great trattoria Tischi Toschi in Taormina. I prepare a lot of fennel, either in a salad, in pasta, or braised as a side. Usually I don’t use the tops/fronds, and save them in the freezer to make the … Continue reading
Spain is very proud of its jamón iberico, and rightly so. The cured ham is made from a special breed of pig (known simply as iberico in Spain, but abroad often called pata negra because of the black hooves) and the best quality is fed with acorns (bellota). Jamón iberico isn’t cheap, so when you … Continue reading
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 turns out that it is pretty simple and quick to smoke sardines at home, and … Continue reading
During our trip to Spain last fall we gorged ourselves on researched many different types of tapas. One very popular kind of tapas that you see everywhere is croquettes with various fillings. They are crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside and a great way to finish leftovers: simply mix with some béchamel … Continue reading
A frikandel is one of the most popular Dutch fast food items. They are usually produced from “mechanically separated meat”, which means any meat that can be obtained through mechanical means from a carcass after ‘regular’ butchering has finished. To make up for the lack of proper meat, a lot of spices are used as well … Continue reading
Slow roasting is my favorite way to prepare cauliflower, and this time of the year I prepare it often (using this recipe or something similar). Slow roasting means it will take longer (90 minutes to 2 hours), but the cauliflower will have much greater depth of flavor compared to roasting it quickly in a hotter … Continue reading
Guacamole is a dipping sauce that you are probably all familiar with. You get the best guacamole by making it at home from fresh ingredients rather than buying it in a store.As guacamole is an avocado-based sauce, it is the most important ingredient. Of course the avocado must be ripe. Luckily avocados are fruits that … Continue reading
When you have guests over for dinner, you want to please and possibly even impress them (in Italy this is called fare la bella figura). Over the years you have developed some dishes that you can always rely on in such an occasion, which in Italy is called your cavallo di battaglia, your ‘war horse’. My … Continue reading
Many people don’t make soup anymore. They just buy a can or a package of instant soup. Homemade soup is more flavorful, contains less salt, more actual chicken meat, and no chemical flavors and preservatives. The traditional way of making chicken soup is to boil a whole chicken in water with aromatic vegetables, and then … Continue reading
In Italy there are two kinds of pizza. Round and thin pizza, cooked for a couple of minutes in a very hot (wood-fired) oven, is available in pizzerias. That type of pizza is difficult to make at home with a domestic oven (but it is not impossible to get close, click here to find out … Continue reading
As there aren’t many Mexican restaurants around here and those that are there are probably not very authentic, I don’t eat a lot of Mexican (or Tex-Mex) food that I don’t prepare myself. And so I had never before seen or tasted tamales. Ever since I saw the recipe on Richard’s blog, I wanted to make … Continue reading
Stroopwafels are a Dutch treat that is very popular both inside and outside the Netherlands. They are thin round waffles, filled with syrup that has a hint of cinnamon. They are very addictive! When a Dutchman wants to charm a foreigner, the best gift to bring is a box of these syrup-filled waffles. They can … Continue reading
With as much cooking experience as I have, most new dishes I try turn out well the first time I make them. And so what you read on this blog is mostly successes. But to allow you to learn from my mistakes, I don’t shy away from sharing my failures as well. Above you see … Continue reading
I wish you all a happy and healthy 2017 with delicious food and wine. As my first contribution to this, I present to you homemade lychee ice cream. Lychees are a tropical fruit with a complex delicious aroma and flavor. When turned into ice cream, they become a very special treat. It is a bit of … Continue reading
Scallop and parsnip ravioli is a dish that I came up with five years ago and I already blogged about back then, but my photos were pretty terrible back then, I had hardly any followers, and besides I have made some improvements to the recipe. And so, just in time for Christmas, I am presenting it … Continue reading
Brioche is white bread enriched with eggs and butter, and thus perfect for the holidays. In this case I made one big loaf, but you can also make smaller loaves or buns. For the characteristic shiny top, braze the top with egg yolk after baking (when still hot). If you’re serious enough about baking to … Continue reading
Marzipan and almond paste are pretty similar, as both are made by grinding almonds and sugar together. The differences are that marzipan is sweeter than almond paste (almond paste is 50% of almonds by weight, whereas marzipan is 35-45% almonds), and that marzipan has a smoother texture. Marzipan is often colored using food coloring and … Continue reading
Before we had refrigerators, airplanes, and greenhouses, fresh vegetables were hard to come by in winter. And so our ancestors developed many ways to preserve vegetables for the winter. Even though it is not a necessity anymore, we keep preserving vegetables because we like the flavors. An important example in Dutch (and other northern European) … Continue reading
Fresh porcini mushrooms are hard to find, in part because they are so perishable. Luckily dried porcini mushrooms can be kept for a long time and they pack a lot of flavor. The secret to making the most delicious dried porcini ravioli you have ever tasted, is to use the soaking water in the filling. … Continue reading
Rosenmuskateller is a rare dessert wine from Alto Adige/Südtirol, the German speaking north-east of Italy. It is made from the rare grape of the same name, related to other muscat grapes but with the distinctive quality that it smells of roses! I thought it would be great to pair this with a dessert that includes … Continue reading
There is already a recipe for smoked salmon ravioli on this blog, but that one is for hot smoked salmon. Today’s post is about cold smoked salmon. The filling is as easy as it comes: simply blend smoked salmon with ricotta. As often with Italian food, easy is also delicious. In this case the deliciousness … Continue reading
Hummus, also spelled as houmous, is a middle eastern dip made from cooked chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans), tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and salt. Chickpeas are high in protein and hummus is great when used as a dip for raw vegetables such as bell peppers, carrots, or celery. Hummus is easy to make … Continue reading
Recently I posted a recipe for goat satay, saté kambing, prepared sous-vide. This had turned out to so well that I wanted to make it again soon, but this time with chicken. Unlike goat (or lamb) shoulder, chicken meat is tender and does not need to be cooked sous-vide to become tender. This changes the recipe … Continue reading
Strawberries with pastry cream on a sweet shortcrust pastry crust are a classic. You could make a large tart, but it looks much better and is easier to serve when you make individual tartlets. There are some special techniques used in this recipe: the strawberries are covered with a thin layer of apricot jam to … Continue reading
Panzerotti are deep-fried calzone, i.e. deep-fried filled pizza! They are delicious street food from Puglia in the deep south of Italy. In Campania they are called calzoni fritti. The funny thing is that I did not get to know these from a visit to Puglia (when I was there I didn’t even see them), but … Continue reading
Apart from anything sous-vide, homemade ravioli could be considered to be my signature dish. Besides Italian classics I have developed many variations over the years. So many that it is getting hard to come up with something new. White asparagus are in season and I realized I had not posted a recipe for white asparagus … Continue reading
As the dessert for our soul food dinner, Selena suggested we bake a sweet potato pie. This is like pumpkin pie, but made with sweet potato. Of course we made the pastry crust from scratch, using the new method that guarantees a flaky crust (but with the regular amount of butter). The flavor of the … Continue reading
I’ve never been to India and I’ve never even eaten at an Indian restaurant. But I was curious about the cuisine, and so it was a great pleasure that two natives, Vinod and Seema, were willing to cook for me and show me how Indians cook at home. Of course India is a large country … Continue reading
I’ve just had this for dinner and it was so good that I wanted to blog about it straight away! Satay is Indonesian for a grilled meat skewer. Saté babi is pork, saté ajam is chicken, and saté kambing is goat. The meat is first marinated, then grilled, and served with a peanut sauce. As … Continue reading
Mushroom lasagna is a classic I’ve been making for years, but I noticed I had never published it on the blog yet. It is a great dish to indulge, rich yet elegant. Its components are fresh homemade spinach pasta, funghi trifolati (mushrooms sautéed in olive oil with garlic and parsley), white sauce, and plenty of … Continue reading
