Cold Roasted Beetroot and Fennel Soup

A refreshing summer soup made with ingredients usually associated with the colder months.

Serves 2

Ingredients
500 g pre-cooked beetroot
1 fennel
3 celery stalks
1 onion
2 vegetable stock cubes
1 bay leaf
1 small cucumber
1 small red onion
1 bunch radishes
1 orange
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
dark country bread to serve

Method
1
Preheat the oven to 200 ° C. Cut the beetroot into chunks. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and roast for 15 minutes. Cut the fennel in half, remove the hard core. Keep the green twigs separate. Cut the fennel and celery into small pieces. Peel and chop the onion.
2
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add the fennel, celery, onion and bay leaf and sweat for 5 minutes over medium heat. Dissolve the bouillon cubes in 1 liter of hot water.
3
Pour the warm stock into the pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the beets to the pan, remove the bay leaf. Blend the soup with a stick blender until smooth. Add a little extra water if the soup us too thick.
4
Cut the cucumber, red onion and radishes into small cubes. Chop the green fennel fronds and stir through the cubed vegetables. Grate the zest from orange and mix it through the finely chopped vegetables.
5
Season the soup with salt and pepper.
6
Divide the soup between 2 bowls and sprinkle the cucumber mixture. Drizzle with a little olive oil and serve with dark farmhouse bread.


Red Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup

Keep the cold at bay with this warm and comforting soup which is also happens to be incredibly healthy.

Serves 2

Ingredients
200 g red split lentils
1 vegetable stock cube
1 red onion
200 g swiss chard
1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 garlic cloves
1 lemon
1 bag coriander
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Method
Finely chop the onion and garlic. Dissolve the stock cube in 1 litre hot water.

Heat a pot over medium heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Sweat the red onion for 2 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and fry for a further 1 minute.

Add the spices, lentils and stock to the pot. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes. If necessary, remove the froth with a soup ladle.

Slice the stalks away from the leaves of the swiss chard. Wash the chard and drain in a colander. Finely slice the leaves and slice the stalks on the diagonal into 1 cm pieces. Heat a frying pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil and fry the chard stalks for 4 minutes, add the leaves and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Blend the cooked lentils with a stick blender to a coarse soup. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the fried chard to the lentil soup and add lemon juice to taste. Pick the coriander leaves. Divide the soup between 2 bowls and garnish with the coriander.


Asparagus Vichyssoise

On a hot spring or summer day, there is nothing as refreshing as a chilled soup. The classic Vichyssoise is a chilled leek and potato soup. To this recipe, we have added one of our favourite ingredients of the season, namely green asparagus. Try this recipe out for your next lunch or dinner.

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 bunches green asparagus
40 gr butter
1 large onion
1 large leek
2 floury potatoes
1 vegetable stock cube
250ml tub cream
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Method 
1
Cut the asparagus tips into 4 cm pieces. Finely chop the remaining asparagus. Finely slice the onion and cut the leek in lengthways in half. Wash under a tap of cold water and finely slice. Peel the potato and cut into cubes.
2
Heat a pan with the butter and olive oil. Add the onion, leek, potato and sliced asparagus (keep the asparagus tips aside). Mix well through the warm butter, cover the pan and sweat for 10 minutes over a low heat.
3
Dissolve the stock cube in 1 litre boiling water. Add the stock to the pan. Bring to boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
4
Add 200 ml cream and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Blend with a stick blender (or regular blender). Thin with a little water if necessary. Cool off, place in a bowl and chill in the refrigerator until cold.
5
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add asparagus tips. Boil for 2-3 minutes. Drain off the water and cool under cold water. Drain on kitchen paper.
6
Spoon the soup into 4 bowls. Sprinkle some of the remaining cream over it and top with the asparagus tips.

This soup is also served delicious hot.


Sausages with Lentils

 Fennel and Pepperoncini Sausages with Lentils and Onion Chutney

Serves 2

Ingredients
4 Brandt & Levie fennel and pepperoncini sausages
200g Puy lentils
1 carrot
1 stick celery
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
3 sprigs thyme
80g balsamic-onion chutney (homemade or store bought)
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 heaped teaspoons Dijon mustard
salt
pepper

Method
1
Peel the carrot and finely chop along with the onion, celery and garlic cloves. Heat a pot over medium heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil and fry the chopped vegetables for about 5 minutes.
2
Add the lentils and thyme to the pot and enough water to just cover the lentils. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 20-30 minutes.
3
Heat a frying pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Fry the sausages until golden brown and cooked through, about 12 minutes.
4
If the lentils are still too wet when cooked, pour off the excess water. Season with salt and pepper and a heaped teaspoon Dijon mustard. Stir through 2 tablespoons olive oil. Divide the lentils between 2 plates, slices the sausages, lay on top and serve with the onion chutney.


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.


Pumpkin and Chorizo Soup

This soup can easily made vegetarian by omitting the chorizo and replacing it with a little smoked paprika when adding the butternut squash.

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 – 2 butternut squash weighing 1,5 kg
250 g chorizo
2shallots
3 cloves garlic
2 tins tomato cubes
1 tin black beans
2 vegetable stock cubes

Method
Peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds and cut into cubes. Finely chop the shallots and garlic cloves. Remove the skin from the chorizo and cut into ½ cm cubes. Dissolve the stock cubes in 2 liters of boiling water.

Heat a pan with 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat and fry the chorizo for 2 minutes. Scoop out of the pan and drain on a piece of kitchen paper. Add the garlic to the chorizo oil and fry for 1 minute.

Sweat the shallots in the chorizo oil. Add the butternut and fry for 2 minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil and simmer gently until the squash is tender.

Blend the soup with a stick blender until smooth and season with salt and pepper. Drain the beans and add to the soup to warm through. Spoon the soup into bowls, sprinkle over the chorizo and and drizzle with a little olive oil.

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


Blend it to the Max - The Magimix Blender

A kitchen appliance we cannot live without. Our Magmix blender makes blending easier than ever before.

It's automatic pre-set functions for soups, smoothies, frozen desserts and crushed ice ensure you don’t have to muddle through confusing settings: simply press a button and you’re on your way to delicious, healthy snacks and meals. There is also a pulse setting for extra control.

This powerful and quiet machine uses the exclusive BlenderMix system for a finer blend. The heat-resistant glass jug has a watertight lid and pouring lip for complete ease of use.

A large 1.8L capacity provides plenty of space, and thanks to a 1200W output it won’t be long until you, just like us, enjoy the fruits of your culinary labour! The handy spatula helps you get every last drop out of this blender, and you can creatively experiment using the included recipe book or from our recipes on the side.

Come and visit us from June at the Westergasfabriek and test the blender and other Magimix appliances out for yourself. As one of our prestigious partners, we'll be using Magimix appliances in our brand new kitchen.

Here are a few of our recipes using the Magimix blender:
Kale smoothie
Green Smoothie
Blackberry Smoothie
Pea and Mint Soup
Roasted Pumpkin and Dukkah Soup


Pea and Mint Soup

Make the most of seasonal fresh peas in this bright and vibrant soup. If you can't find fresh peas. frozen work just as well.

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped
olive oil
850ml vegetable or chicken stock
400 g fresh or frozen podded peas
4 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
salt and pepper
50 g fresh ricotta, thinned with a little milk, to garnish
pea shoots, to garnish

Method
Heat a pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil an fry the onion for about 5 minutes. Pour in the stock and add half the mint and bring to the boil. Add the peas and bring to the boil again.

Stir in the remaining mint and season with salt and pepper. Blend the soup in a liquidiser until smooth as you like. Taste and check the seasoning, adjusting with salt and pepper if necessary. Return to the pan and reheat.

Serve the soup in bowls, garnished with the ricotta and pea shoots.

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


Celeriac Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients
100 g walnuts
3 tablespoons butter
3 leeks, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves
6 medium eating apples peeled, cored and roughly chopped
120 g cashew nuts
4 stalks of celery, sliced, use the leaves as a garnish
2 litres chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 small celeriac - about 250g peeled and roughly chopped
1 small bunch freshly chopped parsley

Method
Toast the walnuts in a large saucepan and then set aside.

Heat the butter in the pan on a medium heat then add the leeks and celery and let sweat for 8 minutes until soft on a medium heat.

Add garlic, thyme and apples and sweat for a further 5 minutes. Add the chopped celeriac and the hot stock, bring to the boil and then simmer on medium heat for 12 – 15 minutes until the celeriac is tender. Take off the heat.

Add the cashew nuts, most of the parsley and the sea salt and pepper. Blend the soup, in batches, then return to the pan on a low simmer. Season with salt and pepper and serve with the toasted walnuts, chopped fresh parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

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


Root Vegetable Soup

A deliciously healthy soup to keep you warm during these cold days. This soup also suitable as part of a detox diet.

Serves 2

Ingredients
50 g red lentils
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, bruised
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch chilli powder
salt and pepper
750ml - 1 litre chicken or vegetables stock
5 cm piece ginger, peeled and grated
4 tablespoons olive oil
freshly chopped parsley and 2 tablespoons coconut milk to garnish*

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the sweet potato, carrots, parsnip, onion, garlic, chilli to taste, turmeric and cumin on an oven tray. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil.

Roast for 30-40 minutes in the oven or until the vegetables are soft. In the meantime, heat a pot with 1 tablespoon olive oil and gently fry the ginger off for about 1-2 minutes. Add the stock and lentils and simmer gently until the lentils are cooked, about 15-20 minutes.

Once the vegetables are cooked, add them to the stock and mix well. Blend until smooth using a stick blender or in a blender. Return to the pot, reheat and adjust the seasoning if necessary. If the soup is too thick, add a little extra water or stock to thin it down.

Serve in bowls garnished with chopped parsley and coconut milk.

*To increase the health factor, sprinkle the soup with a few chopped peanuts and chia seeds before serving.

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