Herby Lentils with Spinach and Smoked Mackerel
A dish which is light and incredibly healthy, full of omega 3 and protein and fibre.
Serves 2
Ingredients
100g puy lentils
1 lemon
a small bunch each of basil, mint and flat leaf parsley
2 spring onions
2 fennel bulbs
1 ripe avocado
125g baby spinach leaves
2 smoked mackerel fillets
1 teaspoon sumac
1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
Method
Place the lentils in a small pan, cover with water and add a little salt. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes. Drain the lentils off and transfer to a bowl. Finely chop the herbs and spring onions.
Make the dressing: place the Dijon mustard in a bowl and add lemon juice to taste, salt and pepper. Whisk 4 tablespoons through. Mix the herbs, spring onions and lentils through the dressing and set aside.
Finely slice the fennel bulbs and break the mackerel fillets into chunks.
Peel the avocado and slice thinly. Mix the spinach and fennel through the lentils. Divide the salad between 2 plates.
Divide the mackerel pieces and avocado slices over the salad. Sprinkle over the sumac and black sesame seeds and serve.
Nederlands
voor 2 personen
Ingrediënten
100gr puy linzen
1 citroen
1 klein bosje elk basilicum, munt en bladpeterselie
2 lente uien
2 venkel
1 rijpe avocado
125 gr baby spinazieblaadjes
2 gerookte makreelfilets
1 theelepel sumac
1 theelepel zwarte sesamzaadjes
4 eetlepels olijfolie
1 theelepel Dijon mosterd
zout en peper
Bereiding
Doe de linzen in een pannetje met water en zout en breng aan de kook. Kook ze zachtjes 15-20 minuten. Giet af en doe in kom. Snijd de kruiden en lente uien fijn.
Maak de dressing in een kom: meng 1 theelepel Dijon mosterd met citroensap naar smaak, zout en peper, klop er 4 eetlepels olijfolie doorheen. Schep de kruiden, lente uien en linzen door de dressing en zet opzij.
Snijd de venkel in dunne reepjes en breek de makreelfilets in grove stukken.
Snijd de avocado in dunne plakjes en meng samen met de spinazieblaadjes en venkel door de dressing. Verdeel de salade over 2 borden.
Verdeel de stukjes makreel er overheen, bestrooi met de sumac en zwarte sesamzaadjes en serveer.
Brussel Sprouts with Lentils and Hummus
There is no ingredient quite like Brussel sprouts. You either love or loathe them! Most of us have childhood nightmares of the life being boiled out of them. In truth, they're a fantastic ingredient - super versatile and full of flavour. In this recipe, we've married them with flavours of the Middle East. An outstanding vegetarian dish and great way to eat your sprouts!
Serves 2
Ingredients
500g Brussel sprouts
1 x 400g tin lentils
1x 400g tin chickpeas
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon tahini
1 tablespoon dukkah
2 tablespoons balsamic syrup
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
Method
Drain the liquid from the chickpeas and place them in a bowl. Finely chop the garlic clove and add to the chickpeas together with 1 tablespoon tahini and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Blend with a stick blender or food processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Clean the Brussel sprouts and cut into quarters. Heat a wok over medium heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil and fry the sprouts for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Drain the liquid from the lentils and heat gently in a pan.
Add the balsamic syrup to the spouts and mix well. Keep the sprouts warm.
Divide the hummus between 2 plates, spoon on the lentils and divide over the sprouts. Sprinkle over the dukkah and serve.
Nederlands
voor 2 personen
Ingrediënten
500gr spruitjes
1 x 400gr blikje linzen
1 x 400gr blikje kikkererwten
1 knoflookteentje
1 eetlepel tahini
1 eetlepel dukkah
2 eetlepels balsamicostroop
3 eetlepels olijfolie
zout en peper
Bereiding
Giet het water van de kikkererwten af en doe ze in een kom. Snijd knoflookteentje fijn, voeg toe aan kikkererwten samen met 1 eetlepel tahini en 1 eetlepel olijfolie. Maak met staafmixer of magimix fijn. Breng op smaak met zout en peper en zet opzij.
Maak spruitjes schoon en snijd ze in vieren. Verwarm een wok op medium vuur met 2 eetlepels olijfolie, wok de spruitjes voor 5 minuten. Breng op smaak met zout en peper.
Giet het vocht van de linzen af en warm ze zachtjes op in een pannetje.
Voeg de vincotto toe aan de spruitjes, meng goed door elkaar en houd warm.
Verdeel de humus over 2 borden, schep de linzen er bovenop en verdeel de spruitjes er overheen. Strooi de dukkah naar smaak over de spruitjes.
Sweet Potato and Lentil Curry
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes
2 teaspoons mild curry powder and 1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tin lentils
1 small bunch coriander
1 small tub Greek yoghurt
1 onion
1 clove garlic
1 red chilli
1 tin tomatoes
1 tin coconut milk
300g bag young spinach
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper
Method
Finely chop the onion, garlic and red chilli. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into chunks.
Heat a pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil and fry the onion for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chilli to taste and fry for a further 1 minute.
Add the sweet potato and spices to the pan and fry for 2 minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes and coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the sweet potato is soft.
Finely chop the coriander. Drain the lentils and rinse off under cold water. Add the lentils and spinach to the sweet potato and cook until the spinach has wilted.
Add extra salt and pepper if necessary and divide between 2 bowls. Sprinkle over the coriander and serve with the Greek yoghurt.
Lentil Salad with Avocado and Goats Cheese
A delicious salad which combines both the end of winter and beginning of spring.
Serves 2
Ingredients
200g puy lentils
1 shallot
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch carrots
2 sticks celery
1,5 teaspoons caraway seeds
3 sprigs thyme
2 avocado's
1oo g soft goats cheese
75 g purslane
7 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine- or sherry vinegar
Salt and pepper
Method
1
Preheat an oven to 230° C. Finely chop 1 carrot, the shallot, garlic cloves and celery sticks. Peel the remaining carrots and cut lengthways in half. Place on a roasting tray with 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper and the caraway seeds and roast for 15 minutes.
2
Heat a pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sweat the shallot, carrot and celery for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for a further 1 minute. Add the thyme and lentils and enough water until the lentils are covered. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 15 minutes until the lentils are al dente.
3
Drain off any excess liquid and return the lentils to the pan. Season with 2 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons red wine – or sherry vinegar, salt and pepper. Set aside to cool off slightly.
4
Peel the avocado's and slice thinly. Crumble the goat’s cheese and remove any hard stalks from the purslane.
5
Mix the purslane through the lentils and spoon on to a plate. Place the sliced avocado on the side and top with the roasted carrots. Sprinkle over the crumbled goats cheese and serve.
Lamb Cutlets with Lentils, Coriander & Mint dressing and Masala Yoghurt
A modern dish inspired by the flavours of India. Lightly spiced and complemented by coriander and mint, two of the best pairings with lamb.
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 lamb racks
salt
pepper
olive oil
200 g beluga or puy lentils
2 shallots
3 sprigs thyme
1 bunch coriander
1 bunch mint
250 ml natural yoghurt
1-2 tablespoons garam masala
coriander cress, to garnish
Method
Begin by making the coriander and mint dressing. Place the herbs in a blender. Add enough olive oil and blend to a dressing. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Finely chop the shallots. Heat a pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sweat the shallots for 5 minutes. Add the lentils and thyme and fry for a further minute. Add water to cover, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes until the lentils are cooked but still have a bite. Drain off the water, season with salt and pepper and about 2-3 tablespoons olive oil. Set aside.
Season the lamb cutlets with salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil and fry the lamb, fat side down until the fat has rendered down as much as possible and is golden brown. Turn over on to the meat side and fry for a further 1-2 minutes. Transfer to an oven tray and roast in a 200 oven for 15-17 minutes. Remove the lamb from the oven and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes lightly covered with a piece of aluminium foil.
Mix the natural yoghurt with garam masala to taste. Season with salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Slice the lamb racks into cutlets. Divide the lentils between 4 plates. Lay 3-4 cutlets on each plate. Spoon over the coriander & mint dressing, masala yoghurt and top with the coriander cress.
Guest Chef Competition Bilder & De Clercq
Over the past few weeks Bilder & de Clercq has been running a Guest Chef competition. Via social media, advertisements in Het Parool newspaper and via their website, they were calling on the citizens of Amsterdam to send in their best recipes.
We, together with Rogier, one of the founders of Bilder & de Clercq, were appointed as judges for the competition.
After being inundated with entries, we set to work creating a shortlist of our top recipes. We did so with certain criteria in mind:
- would we as Bilder & de Clercq customers buy the dish
- does the dish have a minimal number of ingredients
- would it come in on budget in line with all our Bilder & de Clercq dishes
- do we think it could be a delicious dish
After bringing the list down to 5 potential dishes, we selected 3 who would battle it out to be champion.
Fidan Tekinerdogan: Via her blog Fidalicious, Fidan creates exciting healthy vegan dishes. We chose her dish as it had a interesting way of utilising an ingredient which is very much in fashion at the moment and one that we have also used in a few of the recipes we have created for B&DC.
Kevin Corcoran: Kevin has recently entered the food world by being one of the creators of Nieuw Mosterd (available at Bilder & de Clercq stores). Together with his friends they are making mustard sexy again, with brilliant flavours and hip packaging. Kevin brought us an Asian-inspired dish which was easy, satisfying and full of flavour.
Doree den Hollander: Doree is passionate about all things food and that certainly comes across when talking to her. Through her blog Cato Cheftt, she cooks, creates recipes as writes food stories. Her dish used ingredients that we know work and that are also popular with B&DC customers. Doree is looking to make a career out of food and we're sure that it will happen soon.
This past Sunday, the finalists arrived, ingredients in hand, at the store on the Ceintuurbaan to battle it out and recreate their dishes for us. We say battle, but in fact it was a relaxed and really fun evening. What was interesting to see was how all 3 finalists differed in their approach to cooking. Fidan brought glamour and charm to the kitchen - we're still impressed how she created her dish in such high heels!
Doree was focused and meticulous, taking care that all her mise-en-place (preparation) was done before she started cooking. Kevin was relaxed and chilled, with all his prep done in the blink of an eye and being ever the gentleman, allowing the ladies to cook first.
Once all the dishes were completed, we sat down to do our tasting. We were so impressed with the standard of cooking and the flavours, knowing then that we had made the right selection. For that reason, it was decided that all 3 dishes will feature in the stores along with a photo of their creator.
However, as with every competition, we had to pick one overall winner. And that was Doree. We found that all the elements to her dish were cooked well and the flavours and seasoning were spot on.
You may have realised that we haven't mentioned what the contestants cooked. That's because we want that to be a surprise. All will be revealed in the coming weeks when we recreate their dishes for the recipes cards and posters. Stay tuned......