Mushroom Carbonara
A vegetarian version of one of our favourite pasta dishes.
Serves 2
Ingredients
500 g mixed mushrooms
200 g tagliatelle
3 sprigs thyme
2 cloves garlic
4 eggs
250 ml cream
75 g grated Parmesan
Olive oil (3 tablespoons)
Salt
Pepper
Method
1
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil for the pasta. Finely chop the garlic. Wipe the mushrooms clean with a piece of kitchen paper and remove the hard stalks. Cut the mushrooms in half, if necessary.
2
Heat a frying pan with 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Strip the thyme leaves off the stalks. Fry the mushrooms for about 4 minutes until golden brown. Add the garlic and thyme leaves to the pan for the final minute of cooking.
3
Place the tagliatelle in the pot of boiling water and cook for about 4-6 minutes or until al dente. Drain the pasta off and return to the pot. Separate the eggs; place the yolks in a small bowl and whisk together with 200 ml of the cream, salt and pepper.
4
Mix the tagliatelle with the egg and cream mixture, the fried mushrooms and half the Parmesan, until the egg yolks warm through and begin to thicken and coat the pasta (you might need to do this over a very low heat). Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the pasta into a bowl and scatter with the remaining Parmesan.
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.
Double-baked goat cheese Souffle
This is one of our go-to recipes for a light lunch of vegetarian main course. The beauty is that it can be made ahead of time and the last baking done just before serving. It's light and full of flavour.
For 4-6 ramekin moulds
Ingredients
40g butter
40g flour
250ml warmed milk (1 cup)
250g soft goat cheese, crumbled
3 eggs, separated
250ml cream (1 cup)
6 Tbsp grated firm goat cheese
Method
Melt the butter, then stir in the flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in the warmed milk. Bring to the boil, still whisking. Remove from the heat and beat in the soft goat cheese. Beat in the egg yolks and seasoning to taste, then fold in the beaten egg whites.
Spoon into 4-6 well-buttered soufflé dishes and place in a baking pan of hot water. Bake at 220°C for 15-20 minutes, or until puffed and set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in their moulds. To bake a second time, lift the cooled soufflés out of their dishes into a buttered baking dish. Pour over the cream and generously sprinkle with the grated goats cheese. Bake at 230°C for 10 minutes or until puffed and golden.
We like to serve our souffles with a roasted beetroot. Here's the recipe:
Roasted beetroot salad
Ingredients
2kg mixed beetroot, washed
olive oil
garlic cloves, skin on
sprigs of rosemary and thyme
coarse sea salt and black pepper
Method
Line a roasting tray with a double layer of aluminium foil, making show the there is an overhang on the sides. Lay the beetroot in. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with the olive oil. Scatter over the garlic cloves and herbs.
Gather the ends of the foil together making a parcel to enclose the beetroot. Ensure that it’s not too tight as the beetroot won’t cook.
Place in a 220°C oven for at least and hour, depending on the size of the beetroot, until tender. Allow to cool slightly. Peel the beetroot and slice into a bowl. Season with some more salt and pepper, a good quality olive oil and an aged balsamic vinegar. Add some chopped parsley or tarragon to finish. Serve with the goats cheese soufflé.
Baby Beetroot
Autumn is the season for root vegetables and one of our favourites is beetroot. If you are able to find them, spend that little extra and treat yourself to a bunch or two. They are a bit of a pain to clean. Be sure to rinse them well to remove all the sand. Trim off the leaves, leaving a little bit of the stalk. If the leaves are fresh and in good condition, you can use them too. Just walk briefly until wilted and they make a great side dish.
Place the beetroot on an oven tray lined with foil. Lay the beetroot on top, add some fresh thyme, whole unpeeled garlic cloves, a good drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of coarse sea salt. Wrap the ends of the foil tightly together and place in a 210 C oven for about 1-1,5 hours until tender. Allow to cool slightly and then peel of the skin with the help of a small knife. Serve as is or with a balsamic and olive oil dressing. The uses for beetroot are seemingly endless.
Vegetarian Lunch
With more people choosing to eat consciously an opting more for vegetarian, it's always a good idea to a few recipes handy.
Here are two of our favourites for lunch.
Beetroot Hummus and feta sandwich:
Ingredients for the beetroot hummus
500 g cooked beetroot, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tin chickpeas, drained
pinch of ground cumin
pinch of cayenne pepper
1-2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil
lemon juice, to taste
salt and pepper
Method
Place the beetroot, garlic, chickpeas, cumin, cayenne and tahini in a food processor and blend all the ingredients are broken down. Add the olive oil (enough to make a smooth hummus), lemon juice to taste and season with salt and pepper.
To assemble the sandwiches, use a good bread of your choice. We like a sourdough spelt variety. Spread each slice liberally with the beetroot hummus. Top with some rocket leaves and generous scattering of a good feta.
Sweet Potato and Courgette Salad with Pear
Ingredients
1 head garlic
1 kg sweet potatoes
2 comice pears
1 red chilli
2 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
3 courgettes
100 g hazelnuts
100 g baby spinach leaves
Method
Preheat an oven to 200 C. Separate the garlic cloves from the head of garlic, leaving the skins on. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into wedges. Finely chop the chilli, leaving in the seeds if you like it spicy and finely chop the rosemary.
Place the garlic cloves, sweet potato chilli and rosemary in a roasting pan and toss with the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes.
In the meantime, halve the pears, remove the core and cut each half into 6 slices. Cut the courgettes into quarters and then each quarter in half, so that you end you up with 8 pieces. Roughly chop the hazelnuts.
Add the pears, courgettes, hazelnuts, toss again and return to the oven for about another 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, add the remaining tablespoon of sesame oil, check the seasoning if it requires any more salt and pepper and mix through the baby spinach leaves.
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.
Spinach and Chickpea Curry
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 onion
1 garlic clove
5 cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1-2 Tablespoons mild curry paste
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin chickpeas
300 g fresh spinach
1 bunch coriander
2 naan breads
1 small tub Greek yoghurt
2 Tablespoons Olive or sunflower oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Finely chop the onion garlic and ginger.
Heat the oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion, garlic and ginger to the pan and fry for 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Add the curry paste and fry for another 2 minutes.
Drain the liquid from the chickpeas. Add the tomatoes, 125 ml cold water and the chickpeas to the pan. Bring to the boil.
Simmer for 10 minutes over a low heat until the liquid has reduced slightly. Mix the spinach through until wilted. Season with salt and pepper.
Finely chop the coriander and mix through.
Serve the curry with the naan bread and yoghurt.
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.
Porcini Risotto
Serves 2
Ingredients
200 g risotto rice
20 g dried porcini
400 g oyster mushrooms or mixed wild mushrooms
1 vegetable stock cube
1 shallot
1 clove garlic
1 small bunch flat leaf parsley
50 g grated Parmesan
30 g butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
100 ml white wine
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Finely chop the shallot and garlic. Dissolve the stock cube in 750 ml hot water and keep warm in a pan set over a low heat. Soak the dried porcini for about 10 minutes in warm water and save the soaking liquid. Finely chop the parsley.
Heat a heavy-based pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the shallot and sweat for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for a further 1 minute. Add the risotto rice and fry until it begins to turn opaque. Add 100 ml white wine and cook gently until it has been absorbed by the rice.
Roughly chop the porcini and add to the rice. Add a little stock together with the porcini liquid. Allow the rice to absorb all the liquid before you add the next ladle of stock. Stir gently and often so that the rice doesn’t stick
Tear the oyster mushrooms or clean and roughly chop the mixed wild mushrooms if using. Heat a grill pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil and grill for about 5 minutes until golden. Season with salt and pepper.
The risotto is cooked when it’s tender but with a bite. Remove from the heat and stand for 2 minutes. Add 30 g butter and ¾ of the Parmesan, salt, pepper and parsley.
Spoon the risotto into serving bowls, laying the grilled mushrooms on top. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan 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
Klik hier voor het recept in Nederlands.
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