Pea/ mint puree

Fresh peas are in season now!

Pea/ mint puree

Ingrediënten:

250 gram fresh or frozen peas

some fresh mint

1-2 small garlic gloves, grated

Zest of a 1/2 a lemon

salt and pepper

Preparation

Put all the ingredients in a magimix to make puree. Season withe the zest of lemon and salt and pepper.


Slow-roasted cherry tomatoes

Beautiful sweet roasted tomatoes! You can use them on crostini's with ricotta or in a salade with burrata and basil

Ingredients:

500 gram sweet small cherry tomatoes

1 tbsp olijfolie

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 150 C

Put a baking sheet on an oven rack and place the tomatoes on top.

Brush the tomatoes with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place the tomatoes in the oven until their skines are shriveled, but the tomatoes are still plump, about  75 min.

 


Light summer salad

As a light lunch for 3 or for 4 as starter

Ingredients
500g cooked organic beetroot
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
50g curly kale leaves
70ml creme fraiche
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1 fennel bulb
100g sliced smoked halibut
1 lemon
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Method

Cut the beetroot into thin segments and place in a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper and leave to marinate.

Shave the fennel thinly on a mandolin or with a sharp knife and place in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice to taste, salt and pepper. Leave this too to marinate.

Mix the creme fraiche with the horseradish, salt and pepper and set aside.

To serve, spoon some of the horseradish creme fraiche on the base of each plate. Top with the shaved fennel, followed by the beetroot.

Drape pieces of the smoked halibut around and top with the curly kale leaves. Drizzle over the dressing left from marinating the beetroot and serve.

 


White Gazpacho

An unusual version of the traditional Gazpacho made using bread, garlic, almonds and grapes. It has an amazing creaminess and sweet and sour flavour. Serve as a small shot before lunch or dinner.

Serves 8 in shot glasses

Ingredients
2 cups cubed stale white bread from a baguette or sliced bread (crusts removed)
375ml cold water, divided
1/3 cup whole, blanched almonds
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons chopped shallot
2 cups diced, peeled English cucumber (about 1 large cucumber)
3/4 cups green grapes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 1/2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
Chives for garnish (optional)

Method

Place the bread cubes in a bowl and pour 1/2 cup water on top to soften them.

 Place the almonds and garlic in a blender and purée until finely ground. Add the shallot, cucumber, grapes, oil, vinegar, salt, and softened bread to the blender along with the remaining 1 cup water. Purée until smooth. Taste and adjust salt as needed. Add more water to the soup as needed to achieve desired consistency. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Serve in bowls or glasses and garnish with sliced grapes, almonds, and chives, if desired.


Sate with homemade peanut sauce

A twist on the classic chicken satay with the best homemade peanut sauce.

Ingredients
1 kg of beef bavette
chilli pepper, to taste
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
salt and pepper

 SAUCE
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
chilli pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons ketjap manis
250ml coconut milk
1 tablespoon sugar
100g peanut butter

 Method
1
Cut the bavette into long strips. Mix in a bowl with the chilli, garlic, soy sauce, some salt and pepper. Set aside.

2
Make the sauce. Heat a frying pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons sunflower oil and sweat the shallots for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for another 1 minute. Add the ketjap manis and reduce lightly. Add the coconut milk and sugar and bring to a boil.

3
Turn off the heat and add the peanut butter, mixing well. If the sauce is too thick, add a little water to thin the sauce.

4
Thread bavette the pieces on skewers and grill them in a grill pan for several minutes. They must remain pink inside.

5
Heat the peanut sauce. Serve spooned over with beef satay and micro herbs and crispy onions.


Hummus

Hummus is an amazing dish. It's cheap to make, full of protein, healthy, vegan and can be taken in all directions with the addition of different spices and herbs.

Here is the definitive basic recipe for hummus.

Serves 6

Ingredients
250g dried chickpeas
10g baking soda
2 cloves garlic, crushed
275g raw tahini
the juice of 1-1,5 lemons
1 teaspoon salt
1 sprig flat leaf parsley
selection of toasted seeds -we used equal quantities pine nuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds
olive oil

Method
Soak the chickpeas for a minimum of 12 hours in water with 5g of the baking soda. Drain off the water and bring the chickpeas to a boil with fresh water and the remaining 5g baking soda. Ensure that the chickpeas are covered with at least a 3cm layer of water. Once boiling, cover with a lid and simmer over a low heat. The chickpeas are ready when they start to fall apart, about 45 minutes but don't be alarmed if it takes double the amount of time.

Drain the chickpeas but make sure you save all the cooking water. Allow to cool slightly and blend the chickpeas in a food processor. Add the garlic, raw tahini, and the juice of 1 lemon. Blend for at least 10 minutes in the food processor. Add small amounts of the reserved cooking liquid to thin the hummus. Make sure to leave it a little thicker than the creamy puree it will eventually become.

Season with about 1 teaspoon salt and a little extra lemon if necessary. Only when the hummus is perfectly seasoned, then you can thin it down for the last time with some of the reserved cooking liquid.

If you're not going to eat the hummus immediately, store covered in the refrigerator. Taste the hummus before your serve it. It will most likely need a little extra salt and lemon juice and a touch of the cooking liquid to get the right consistency.

Smear the hummus with the rounded part of a spoon neatly on to a plate. Make crator in the middle. The trick is to hold the spoon still while your turn the plate. Garnish the hummus with parsley leaves, the toasted seeds and olive oil.

You can also garnish with cooked chickpeas, parsley and paprika powder, slow cooked pulled beef or hard cooked eggs.


"Homemade" marinated olives

To make a great quick to go with wine or drinks, take some good quality olives and mix them together with extra virgin olive oil, a split chilli pepper, a sprig each of fresh thyme and rosemary, a smashed garlic clove, lemon and orange rind a bay leaf.

Leave to marinade in the fridge overnight and serve in a bowl.

These keep well in the fridge for a couple of weeks, but make sure that the olives and flavourings are all covered in olive oil.


Okinomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is a Japanse snack of egg-rich pancakes filled with savoury ingredients such as shrimp, cabbage and spring onions. The pancakes are paired with a super-easy and delicious dipping sauce made with Japanse mayonnaise, soy sauce and hot sauce.

Serves 2

Ingredients
4 eggs
2 teaspoons container sesame oil
1-2 teaspoons chilli sauce
300g shredded cabbage
3 spring onions
150g pink shrimp
10g container sesame seeds
3 tablespoons sunflower oil (3 tablespoons)
1/2 cup Japanese or regular mayonnaise (½ cup)
soy sauce (2 teaspoons for the sauce and about 2 tablespoons for the batter)
20g flour (20 g)
salt
pepper

Method
1
Preheat an oven to 200° C. Coarsley chop the shrimp and finely slice the spring onions.
2
Mix ½ cup mayonnaise with 2 teaspoons soy sauce and chilli sauce to taste. This is the dipping sauce.
3
Whisk the eggs in a bowl with 20 g flour and add the shredded cabbage, prawns, spring onion, sesame oil and soy sauce to taste. Mix all the ingredients together well.
4
Heat a frying pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons sunflower oil. Add spoonfuls of the batter to the pan just as you would for American pancakes. Fry for about 3 minutes on each side. Lay them on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Heat them up in a preheated oven fora bout 3 minutes.
5
Divide the pancakes between 2 plates, sprinkle over the sesame seeds and serve with the dipping sauce.


Roasted Pumpkin and Harissa Hummus

Ingredients
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes
5 garlic cloves, unpeeled
4 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
5-6 tbsp tahini paste
1-2 tbsp harissa (we buy ours fresh from the Noordermarkt)
2 x 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
olive oil and smoked paprika, to finish
crisp breads, crackers and fresh vegetables, to serve

Method
Preheat oven to 200C. Place the butternut and garlic cloves on an oven tray. Season well with salt and pepper and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss the ingredients well together and roast for about 45 minutes or until the butternut is really tender. Leave to cool.

Place the butternut into a Magimix (food processor) with any juices from the tin. Add the garlic cloves, squeezed out of their skins. Add the remaining ingredients, season with salt and blend to a paste. Add a little extra olive oil if needed.

Scrape the hummus into a bowl. Drizzle with extra olive oil and sprinkle with smoked paprika. Serve with crostini, crisp breads, crackers and an assortiment of crudités (raw vegetables).

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


Tempura Green Beans

If you're looking for an easy and delicious snack to serve with drinks, look no further. There isn't really and hard and fast recipe, so here's what you need to do:

Get some Japanese tempura flour from your local Asian grocer or supermarket. Whisk it up with cold sparkling water until it's the consistency of cream. Dip trimmed green beans into the batter and deep fry them in hot sunflower or vegetable oil.

In the meantime make a simple jalapeño ponzu dipping sauce. Take some soy sauce and season it to your liking with fresh or pickled chopped jalapeño, some yuzu juice (from a Japanese citrus fruit) or some lime juice if you can't find yuzu juice and some sesame oil.

Drain the tempura green beans on kitchen paper and serve the hot and crunchy with the dipping sauce on the side.