Bircher Muesli
If you want to enjoy this muesli for a delicious and healthy breakfast, you have to start it the night before.
Ingredients
250 g organic oats
30 g red quiona, toasted in a frying pan with a little sunflower oil
50 g dried apricots, chopped
50 g dates, pitted and chopped
500 ml -1 liter milk
250 g natural yoghurt
1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon demarara sugar
1 large apple, grated
Method
Place the oats, quiona, chopped apricots, dates, cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. Add the milk and yoghurt and stir to combine.
Grate in the apple and mix it through immediately to prevent the apple from discolouring. Cover with cling wrap and place in the fridge overnight.
Before serving, give the muesli a good stir and add some extra milk to slacken it slightly. Serve in bowls with fresh berries, bananas, seeds or whatever else you like or have in the store cupboard.
We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours
Making the most of Artichokes
Artichokes are a thing of beauty. When everyone else is thinking of asparagus, we're thinking of artichokes. They both namely in season at the same time.
Classically served boiled or steamed with melted butter or a vinaigrette, this most luxurious of vegetables always evokes a sense of celebration.
We particularly like the baby violet artichokes. We trim the stalks and remove the hard outer leaves, cleaning it up to be left with the beautiful heart. Keep them in a bowl of lemon water to stop them discolouring. Then halve them, remove the choke (the hairy middle bit) and you're ready to go.
We take a clove or 2 of garlic, still in the skin. Place in a pan with a good glug of white wine and boil to reduce by half. Then add a good amount of olive oil, thyme, bay leaves, salt, pepper and top up with some water. Add the artichokes, cover with a piece of greaseproof paper and simmer gently until tender, around 15 minutes but this depends on the size of your artichokes. Allow them to cool in the liquid. Delicious served as a vegetable accompaniment or on crostini.
Mussel and Fennel Soup
A beautiful combination, this is somewhere between a soup and a 'stew' of mussels.
They say mussels should only be eaten in months with an 'r' in the name, but that's untrue. Mussels are available year round.
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 kg pack mussels
2 fennel bulbs
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch flat leaf parsley
1 large onion
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 sourdough roll
olive oil
splash of white wine
salt and pepper
Method
Thinly slice the fennel. Finely chop the garlic, parsley stalks and onion. Open the pack of mussels and place in a bowl of cold water. After a few minutes, check to see if there are any open mussels. If so, discard them.
Slice the sourdough roll and fry in a frying pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil until a light golden brown.
Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot and add all the chopped vegetables and sweat for 5-7 minutes. Add a splash of white wine and the tinned tomatoes and bring to the boil. Add the mussels to the pot and place on the lid. Cook for 5 minutes until the mussels have opened, shaking the pan after about 2 minutes.
Add salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons olive oil to the soup. Divide between 2 bowls. Scatter with finely chopped parsley and serve with the fried bread.
We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours
Klik hier voor het recept in Nederlands.
Lemon Cordial
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups lemon juice
zest from one lemon
cold or sparkling water
lemon slices, optional
mint leaves for garnish
Method
Measure the sugar and water into a saucepan. Stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar, bring the mixture to a boil for 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Let cool slightly.
Add fresh squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest to the sugar syrup. Cool completely. Pour the lemonade syrup into a jar or bottle. Cover tightly with the lid. The syrup can be kept in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 weeks.
When you’re ready to make into lemonade, put some ice cubes in the bottom of a glass. Pour ¼ cup of the lemon syrup over the ice cubes. Add ¾ cup cold water or sparkling water and stir. Float a thin slice of lemon and, if you like, a fresh mint leaf on top of each glass. The recipe makes enough syrup for 14 glasses of lemonade.
To make pink lemonade: add 1/2 cup grenadine syrup to the jar of lemonade syrup and stir. Strawberry lemonade: add 2 tablespoons of puree of fresh strawberries into each glass. Limeade: Replace lemon with lime juice and lime zest.
We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours
Sauerkraut with Sausages and Confit Duck
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 bratwurst or any of your favourite sausages
2 packs sauerkraut (zuurkool), about 800 gr
250 g lardons
2 onions
2 apples
olive oil
50 g butter
1 bottle beer
2 bay leaves
6 juniper berries
salt
pepper
boiled potatoes, to serve
4 confit duck legs, to serve
mustard, to serve
Method
Finely slice the onions. Peel the apples, discard the core and cut into 1 cm cubes. Place the sauerkraut in a sieve and rinse under cold running water. Dry the sauerkraut well. Heat a wok with 2 tablespoons olive oil and stir fry the sauerkraut until lightly caramelised. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Heat a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 50 g butter with the onion and lardons. Fry for 5 minutes. Add the stir fried sauerkraut, apple, the bottle of beer, juniper and bay leaves and cook gently over a low heat, covered with a lid, for about 40 minutes.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pan and fry the sausages for about 12 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
Season the sauerkraut with salt and pepper. Serve with the sausages and confit duck, boiled potatoes and a little mustard, if you wish.
We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours
Crostini
Crostini are one of the easiest canapés or small bites to make and are the perfect carrier for any topping.
This is how you make them:
If you have time to plan ahead, buy a French baguette the day before you need it. Day old bread is easier to slice thinly. So, once you've sliced it thinly, lay the slices on an oven tray and brush generously on both sides with olive oil. We generally use an extra virgin, but don't use an expensive one.
Preheat the oven to 180° C. Once the oven has reached temperature, bake the crostini for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Depending on your oven, you may have to turn the crostini over during the baking so that they're an even colour. Once baked, remove from the oven and allow them to cool. When cool, store them in an airtight container; they'll keep for weeks. Be sure to make a large batch each time as they are a great stand-by to have when time is short or you have unexpected guests.
Now the world is your oyster when it comes to toppings. Use whatever you like and let your creative juices flow. Assemble them at the last minute so that you don't run the risk of them going soggy. Think wild mushrooms cooked down with a little garlic and cream, topped with Taleggio cheese and flashed under the grill; Parmaham, rocket, homemade chutney and a curl of foie gras or fresh pea and mint puree topped with pecorino and pea cress. Now all you need is a glass if bubbly and the party can get started!
We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours
Pheasant with Brussel Sprouts, Chestnuts and Bacon
Serves 2
Ingredients
3 pheasant breasts (120g per piece)
200 g vacuum packed chestnuts
125 g smoked bacon lardons
300 g Brussel sprouts
125 ml cream
20 g butter
4 Tablespoons olive oil
75 ml red wine
75 ml Port
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Add the Brussel sprouts to the pot and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer the sprouts to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoon olive oil and fry the lardons until golden brown. Add the chestnuts and Brussel sprouts and fry for 1 minute. Add the cream, salt and pepper and simmer gently until the cream coats the ingredients.
Check the pheasant breasts for any shot (little pieces of bullet). Season with salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Lay the pheasant, skin-side down in the pan and fry for 2 minutes. Turn over and fry for a further 1 minute (the pheasant breasts should still be pink inside).
Remove the pheasant from the pan and set aside. Deglaze the pan with 75 ml red wine and 75 ml port and reduce until the sauce becomes thicker. Stir 20 g butter through. Slice the pheasant breasts diagonally. Spoon the creamy Brussel sprouts and chestnuts in the middle of 2 plates. Lay the pheasant on top and spoon over the sauce.
We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours
Klik hier voor het recept in Nederlands.
Sinterklaas Cupcakes
Sinterklaas is a holiday celebrated in The Netherlands on 5th December where children are given presents to celebrate the arrival of Sint Nicolaas. Candy and spiced cookies are traditionally eaten. We've taken the idea of the spiced cookies, called Pepernoten and created a cupcake with the same flavours. A great idea for young and old and something the kids can help with.
Ingredients
220 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
220 g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs, whisked
220 g flour
8 g baking powder
pinch of salt
1 heaped teaspoon Speculaas or mixed spice
Frosting
250 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
500g icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
handful pepernoten or spiced cookies, crushed
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 C.
Cream the butter and the sugar together in a until light and fluffy. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
Graudually add the whisked egg to the mixture. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and spiced together and fold in to the butter mixture. Spoon the mixture into a cupcake tin lined with paper cupcacke cases until two-thirds full.
Bake for about 20 -25 minutes until risen and bouncy to touch. Allow to cool.
For the frosting, beat the butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract to flavour. If the mixture is a bit tight, add a splash of milk to thin it down.
Spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes. Sprinkle with the crushed pepernoten or spiced cookies and serve.
We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours
Bean and Pumpkin Stew
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 tin white beans
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 sprigs thyme
1 leek
1 butternut squash (1 kg)
10g sage
50 g grated Parmesan
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
Method
Finely chop the onion, garlic and leek. Peel the pumpkin, remove the seeds and cut into 3 cm cubes.
Heat a pot over medium heat with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add the onion and pumpkin and fry gently for 5-10 minutes. Add the garlic, leek, thyme and sage leaves and fry for a further 3 minutes.
Add the beans with their liquid, salt and pepper to the pot and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer gently until the pumpkin is tender, about 10-15 minutes.
Season again with salt and pepper, if necessary. Divide the stew between 2 plates and sprinkle with the grated Parmesan.
We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours
Klik hier voor het recept in Nederlands.
Cumin Fried Fish with Chickpeas and Fennel
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 leek
1 lemon
2 cloves garlic
1 tin chickpeas
2 fennel bulbs
5 g ground cumin
1 red chilli
2 x 180 g cod fillets
small bunch coriander
5 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
Method
Slice the leek lengthways in half. Rinse under cold running water and cut into thin strips. Finely chop the garlic cloves and chilli, cut the fennel into strips and grate the zest from half the lemon. Drain the liquid from the chickpeas and rinse under cold water.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat with 3 tablespoons olive oil and fry the leek for about 3 minutes. Add the lemon zest, chilli to taste and garlic and fry for another 1 minute.
Add the chickpeas and fennel and fry for about 5 minutes. Heat another frying pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season the fish with salt, pepper and cumin powder.
Fry the fish for 2-3 minutes on each side. Finely chop the coriander and stir through the chickpea mixture, seasoning with salt and pepper. Divide the chickpeas and fennel between 2 plates. Lay the fish on top and serve with the remaining lemon cut into wedges.
We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours
Klik hier voor het recept in Nederlands.