Dutch cuisine does not have a great reputation like Italian or French cuisine, but the comfort food Hutspot met Klapstuk can be taken to the next level by preparing it sous vide. Hutspot, literally hotch-potch, is carrot, onion, and potatoes, … Continue reading Braised Beef Short Ribs Sous Vide with Carrot, Onion, and Potato Mash (Hutspot met Klapstuk)
The combination of mussels and potatoes is a classic one. For instance in Belgium as moules et frites (mussels with fries). In the Bistrot in Maddalena, Sardegna, Italy, we enjoyed a potato velouté with mussels. My version was inspired by … Continue reading Potato Velouté With Mussels (Vellutata di Patate con Cozze)
Tuna is locally caught along the Algarve in Southern Portugal, and so the local cuisine also includes recipes for tuna. Cebolada de atum is one of the most common dishes. The name “cebolada” refers to the onions in the dish and … Continue reading Cebolada de Atum (Tuna with Onions and Bell Peppers)
On Malta I really enjoyed the potatoes cooked liked a risotto with shrimp under the name of nosotto at Noni. And so back home I decided to create something similar. It is basically diced potatoes cooked in a fish and … Continue reading Nosotto (Potato-Risotto with Shrimp)
Another recipe with green beans. I haven’t posted a Biba Caggiano recipe in a while; she’s my favorite Italian cookbook author from the time before I could read Italian cookbooks myself. This is perfect for the summer and excellent to … Continue reading Green Beans, Potato, and Pancetta Salad (Insalata di fagiolini, patate e pancetta)
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)
When I posted the recipe for Sauerbraten recently, I promised I would also share the recipe to prepare the accompanying large potato dumplings called Klöße (singular Kloß). Kartoffel is German for potato. There are many variations of the recipe. The ones I … Continue reading Kartoffelklöße (German Potato Dumplings)
When I think of artichokes, I think of salads and appetizers. And so a recipe by Paola really caught my eye, because she blogged about a stew of veal with artichokes, a dish from Genova called Spezzatino con i carciofi. … Continue reading Veal and Artichoke Stew Sous-Vide (Spezzatino con i carciofi)
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)
If it’s too hot right now to turn on the oven where you are, save this recipe for later, because it is easy and delicious. Cod, potatoes, and tomatoes are all cooked together in the oven with garlic and herbs … Continue reading Baked Cod, Potatoes, and Tomatoes (Merluzzo, Patate e Pomodori al Forno)
“Bravo” is a Spanish word that can mean brave (as in courageous), but also wild, rough, or spirited, as in the name of the rough coastline near Barcelona (Costa Brava). And so Patatas Bravas could literally be translated as potatoes with spirit. … Continue reading Patatas Bravas
Next to paella, tortilla española or tortilla de patatas is one of the most famous national dishes of Spain. It can be found on restaurant menus, but it is also served as tapas. Patatas means potatoes, and that about sums it … Continue reading Tortilla de Patatas o Tortilla Española (Spanish Potato Omelette)
Dutch cuisine is not known for its finesse, but more for hearty dishes like stamppot, potatoes and vegetables mashed together. One of the classic winter dishes is zuurkoolstamppot met rookworst, sauerkraut mashed with potatoes and served with smoked pork sausage. … Continue reading Sauerkraut and Potato Mash with Smoked Pork Sausage (Zuurkoolstamppot met rookworst)
Often simple preparations are the best. In this case a trout is wrapped in aluminum foil and baked in the oven, while potatoes are roasted in the same oven and with the same flavors (rosemary and garlic). The only tricky … Continue reading Trout and Potatoes from the Oven
Stéphane of MyFrenchHeaven.com wrote so enthusiastically about Vichyssoise, which is a cold potato and leek soup, that I wanted to give it a try. I prepared it according to his recipe, and the result was a very elegant refreshing soup. … Continue reading Vichyssoise (Cold Potato & Leek Soup)
My old-fashioned butcher (which is not a bad quality at all in a butcher) is slowly catching up to new trends, and is now dry aging beef. I picked up a dry aged strip steak (called entrecote in the Netherlands) … Continue reading Strip Steak with Parsnip, Zucchini and Potatoes
Bouillabaisse is a classic fish soup from Marseille in France. The name comes from boiling (bouilla) over low (baisse) heat. Originally it was made from fish that fishermen had left over. Now there are so many versions that a group … Continue reading Bouillabaisse
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 … Continue reading Panzerotti
There are different ways of cooking the potatoes to make gnocchi. You can cook the potatoes sous-vide, or roast the potatoes in the oven. In this post I show that you can also simply boil the potatoes. I should probably do a … Continue reading Potato Gnocchi with Venison and Chanterelles (Gnocchi di Patate al Ragù di Cervo e Finferli)
Anatoli wrote an interesting article about clam chowder on his great wine blog Talk-A-Vino. He explains that chowder is “a rich soup typically containing fish, clams, or corn with potatoes and onions” and that there are four types of clam … Continue reading New England Clam Chowder
Frico is a typical dish from the Italian region of Friuli in the North-East. It is made from potatoes and Montasio cheese. Sometimes also onions are included. I tried it the first time when Marina from Le Ricette di Baccos … Continue reading Frico
After the fava bean pods there were more leftovers to use up: the meat still attached to the bones from making chicken stock from what was left of the chicken whose legs we had with the fava beans. Although most … Continue reading Zucchini Stuffed with Leftover Chicken
Happy St. Patrick’s day! It’s an Irish-American tradition to eat corned beef with cabbage on St. Patrick’s day. I usually don’t celebrate St. Patrick’s day (most people in the Netherlands haven’t even heard of it), but when I came across … Continue reading Corned Beef for St. Patrick’s Day
After eating at three-star restaurants and trying complicated recipes, it’s easy to forget that simple food can be great, too. Fortunately I only need to browse one of Biba Caggiano’s cookbooks to be reminded of that, and that is where … Continue reading Gnocchi with Fish Sauce (Gnocchi con Sugo di Pesce)
Last week I was in Vienna for the first time, on a business trip for a day. We went to a rather tacky restaurant that played Austrian waltz music but served decent food. I decided to order the most Austrian … Continue reading Wiener Erdäpfelsalat (Viennese Potato Salad)
Mimi’s post about gnocchi in a walnut cream sauce inspired me to try my own version. Instead of a sauce with cream, I made the classic Ligurian walnut sauce with milk, day-old bread, garlic, marjoram, and olive oil. The sauce has a nice full walnut flavor that works very well with the sweetness of the potato gnocchi. Thanks for the idea, Mimi! Continue reading “Gnocchi with Walnut Sauce (Gnocchi in Salsa di Noci)”
Home made potato gnocchi made from scratch are the best! They are so much better than chewy store-bought ones. I’ve only posted about potato gnocchi once before: gnocchi with gorgonzola was the first recipe I ever posted on this blog. The city of Sorrento is near the island of Capri, the island that gave its name to the famous Insalata Caprese with tomato, mozzarella, and basil. You can think fo Gnocchi alla Sorrentina as the gnocchi version of this salad, because the gnocchi are dressed with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil, and parmigiano reggiano. This combination is always a winner, and it is even more so with feathery light homemade potato gnocchi.
Continue reading “Gnocchi alla Sorrentina”
The following I dish I prepared for the Sicilian dinner was very loosely based upon one of the appetizers at La Madia, the best restaurant in Sicily with two Michelin stars.
This is what I wrote about this dish in my review of our dinner at La Madia: “We were thoroughly fooled by this pizza, because we were wondering how we were going to survive 8 courses if they were all going to be this big. It turned out to be very light actually. What looks like melted mozzarella is actually potato mousse. The crust was only a very crispy very thin round of dough, and underneath the ‘cheese’ there was lovely cod smoked on pine wood and some semi-dried tomato. Great flavors and wonderful presentation. 10/10”
The dish I prepared is by no means an attempt at recreating chef Pino Cuttaia’s dish, but it has been heavily inspired by it. My ‘pizza’ was made with hot-smoked halibut, potato mousse, and semi-dried tomatoes. It was more substantial than at La Madia and I served it as a main course. Continue reading “Smoked Halibut ‘Pizza’”
Each region of Italy has its own pasta dishes. The most famous foodstuff from Liguria is pesto, and the two typical pasta dishes from Liguria with pesto are Lasagne alla Genovese and Trenette alla Genovese. Both are best with pesto made from scratch using pestle and mortar. Trenette alla Genovese are trenette cooked with haricots verts and potatoes, and served with pesto alla genovese. Continue reading “Trenette alla Genovese”
We eat pasta and rice much more often than potatoes, but when we do eat potatoes we most often eat them roasted. This preparation brings out the taste of the potatoes themselves and gives them a nice crispy crust without using a lot of oil. There are many variables you can change when making roasted potatoes: oven temperature, salting before or after, waxy or floury potatoes, etc. I decided to do a series of experiments to find the optimal recipe. This first installment is about salt: is it better to salt the potatoes before or after roasting? Instinctively I have … Continue reading Roasted Potato Experiment #1: Salting Before or After?
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