Croissant Bread Pudding
Serves 4
Ingredients
100 g golden raisins
sweet sherry, vin santo or marsala, for soaking the raisins
6 croissants
4 eggs
500 ml cream
100g sugar, plus extra for sprinkling over the pudding
1 vanilla pod
20 g butter
250 ml milk
pinch of salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 180° C. Place the raisins in a pot and add enough of your chosen alcohol to just cover the raisins. Bring to just below boiling point and set aside to allow the raisins to swell up. Slice the croissants and grease a roasting dish with the butter.
Scatter half the raisins over the roasting dish with some of some of the alcohol.
Place the croissants in the roasting dish and scatter over the remaining raisins. Place the eggs, 400 ml cream, the milk, sugar, the seeds from the vanilla pod and a pinch of salt in a bowl and whisk the ingredients well together. Pour the mixture over the croissants, sprinkle generously with more sugar and allow to stand for 10 minutes.
Bake the bread pudding in the oven for about 25-30 minutes or until the egg mixture has set. Remove the dish from the oven and serve with the remaining cream.
Tip: Also delicious served with vanilla ice cream. If there is any pudding left over, it can still be enjoyed the following day either served cold or reheated for 30 seconds in the microwave.
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
Confit Duck with White Beans
A delicious, comforting and easy recipe for cold winter days.
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 confit duck leg
1 medium carrot
1 medium onion
3 sprigs thyme
150 g piece pancetta
2 tins white beans
1 vegetable stock cube
1 small bunch flat leaf parsley
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1
Preheat an oven to 200˚ C. Peel the carrot and chop finely along with the onion. Cut the pancetta into small cubes. Dissolve the stock cube in 600 ml hot water. Drain the liquid from the beans.
2
Heat a frying pan over medium heat with 3 tablespoons olive oil and fry the confit duck legs, skin-side down, until golden. Remove from the pan and place in a roasting dish.
3
Add the onion, carrot, pancetta and thyme to the pan and fry gently for 12 minutes. Add the stock and boil until the liquid has reduced by half. Place the duck in the oven for 10 minutes.
4
Add the white beans to the pan and warm up. If necessary, season with salt and pepper. Pick the parsley leaves and finely chop.
5
Mix the parsley through the beans and spoon on to a plates. Lay the duck on top and serve.
Chicken Tikka Masala
Chicken Tikka Masala
Serves 4
Ingredients
sunflower oil
2 large onions, peeled and sliced
1 red or green chili pepper
5 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 small can of tomato puree
2 tins of peeled tomatoes
1 kg chicken thighs, cut into cubes
10 curry leaves (optional)
4-6 tablespoons yogurt
Bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped
Steamed rice, Naan bread and poppadums, to serve
Method
Slice the onion. Heat 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil in a pan. Add the onions and fry on a medium heat for a good 15-20 minutes until they are soft and caramelized. In the meantime finely chop the chilli ginger and garlic. Add to the onion and fry for 2 more minutes.
Add the chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala and sugar to the onions and fry 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and fry for another 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. Place the sauce in a bowl and blend with a stick blender until smooth.
Add 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil to the same pan and fry the pieces of chicken until they are lightly coloured, about 5 minutes. Pour the sauce and curry leaves, if you using them and some salt and cook gently, cover for about 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked and tender.
Stir the yogurt and half the chopped coriander through the tikka masala. Garnish with the remaining coriander and serve with steamed rice, Naan bread and / or poppadums.
Comforting Thai broccoli soup
Serves 2
Vegetarian
Ready in about 30 minutes
Equipment
- Chopping board
- Chefs knife
- Pan
- Stick blender
Pantry
- Sunflower oil (1 tablespoon)
- Salt
- Pepper
Ingredients
30g Thai green curry paste
250ml coconut milk
broccoli (600g)
150g bag young spinach leaves
30g coriander
2 spring onions
30g container crispy onions
Method
1 Cut the broccoli into florets and finely slice the spring onions. Pick the coriander leaves.
2 Add 1 tablespoon sunflower oil to a pan set over medium heat. Add 1 of the finely sliced spring onions and curry paste (to taste) and fry for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk, broccoli, 750 ml water, salt and pepper to the pan and bring to the boil.
3 Simmer for about 10 minutes until the broccoli is tender. Turn off the heat, add the spinach (keeping a few leaves back to garnish) and half the coriander leaves and blend the soup with a stick blender until smooth.
4 Gently reheat the soup and season with salt and pepper.
5 Divide the soup between 2 bowls and scatter over the reserved spinach leaves, coriander, spring onion and crispy onions.
Bilder & de Clercq's New Recipes week 35 - 2017
As the chefs of Bilder & de Clercq, we develop new recipes for them every week. We'll keep you updated with the week's newest recipes. This weeks recipes are:
Bar Fisk
Situated in a small street in Amsterdam's Pijp district, you'll find Bar Fisk. From the outside an unassuming place. Until you step inside and are transported to a busy, vibrant Tel Aviv restaurant.
That vibrancy can be found back in the delicious food served. It's packed with gutsy flavours. The idea is to order dishes to share. We had tiger shrimp with spicy aubergine and mango sauce, slow cooked and smoked beef brisket and lastly artichoke ravioli with creamy celeriac purée.
Desserts too were a treat - semolina cake drenched in a spiced syrup and a rich and dense chocolate and salted caramel cake served with frozen olive oil. Instead of drinking wine off their well-chosen list, we opted for a gin and tonic. Besides different g&t combinations they also serve a variety of cocktails and other drinks to cater for all tastes.
This restaurant is a great find and we will most definitely be regular visitors.
Daalder in the Jordaan
At Daalder, situated on the Lindengracht in Amsterdam's vibrant Jordan district, you can expect fine, Michelin-quality cuisine in a down to earth environment. They serve either a 5-or 7- course menu, made with beautiful fresh ingredients, all hand picked by their head chef and co-owner from Paris, Dennis Huwaë.
His dishes are like works of art and with their many flavours and textures, his creations are a delight to the palate. They do things a little differently at Daalder. Their superb dishes are served with a smile in a joyful, unpretentious atmosphere.
The wine menu is created by Maitre Sommelier Tim Grashuis, who is also responsible for the widely acclaimed great service at Daalder.
Rio de Janeiro 2016
With the weather warming up, we're dreaming back to our time in Rio de Janeiro last year. We travelled there during the Olympic Games to cook in a 'Dutch' hostel for 2 weeks during the games.
We were based in the old neighbourhood of Santa Theresa, with it's old stately houses, graffiti and street art. A truly bohemian part of the city, bubbling with creativity.
Although there was a lot of hard work involved, we had time to explore the city and take in the sights, sounds and flavours, while enjoying the warm winter sunshine.
We quenched our thirst with iced coconut water on the Copacabana, enjoyed the famous acai berries and revelled in the seafood and incredible beef.
The city is beautiful, it's people friendly and proud. Without doubt a place to return to and explore in more depth.
De Eetbare Stad
'De Eetbare Stad' or Edible City is a book packed with gems what can be foraged in and around Amsterdam.
Filled with interesting and unusual ingredients, this book, divided into the seasons, supplies background information on the ingredients and includes a recipe with each. The perfect hand guide to the secret treasures hiding around the city of Amsterdam.
On a side note, the photos in this book have been taken by photographer Hay Hermans, who also produces beautiful food and ingredient photos which we stock in our store.
Summer Drinks
With the weather heating up, we're getting more interested in light and refreshing drinks.
What we like is to start with a cordial or syrup. This is an intense flavoured base from which to begin building your drinks. Think different seasonal fruits that bring colour and flavour; rhubarb, lemons and plums for example.
Once you have a cordial base, this should keep well in the refrigerator for a few weeks. Now get creative. Mix the cordial with water (still or sparkling), ice cubes and then an array of fruit and herbs to garnish. Think of a garnish the complements the main ingredient. Let your imagination run wild.