Thai Style Mussels
Serves 4
Ingredients
3 Tablespoons sunflower oil
4 kg mussels
5 cm piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finley chopped
1 stalk lemon grass, hard outer layer removed and finley sliced
3 Tablespoons Thai green curry paste
400 ml coconut milk
fish sauce to taste (optional)
1 small bunch basil
1 small bunch coriander
2 limes
2 red chillies, finely sliced
Method
Place the mussels in a bowl of cold water. Discard any open ones.
Heat a large pot over medium heat with 3 tablespoons sunflower oil. Add the garlic, ginger and lemon grass and fry for a about 2 minutes. Add the curry paste and fry for another 1 minute.
Drain the mussels and add them along with the coconut milk to the pot. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Cook the mussels for about 3 -5 minutes or until they are all open. Shake the pot gently every so often to ensure that the mussels cook evenly. Season with fish sauce, if you wish, according to your taste.
Pick the basil and coriander leaves. Squeeze the juice of 1 lime into the mussels and stir well. Scatter the basil, coriander and red chilli over the mussels and serve with the remaining lime cut into wedges.
Delicious served with crispy bread or rice to mop up the juices.
If you're looking for a dessert to follow the mussels, try the Pineapple with Minted Sugar.
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
Wine advice: Iphöfer Kronsberg Scheurebe - Kabinett Trocken
Pineapple with Minted Sugar
Serves 3-4
This is the simplest recipe ever. In fact, there is no recipe to it. It's more of an assembly job and relies on your own taste. It's inspired by a recipe Jamie Oliver did many years ago.
Ingredients
1 pineapple
about 50 g sugar
small bunch mint
1 lime (optional)
Method
Peel the pineapple, cut into quarters and remove the hard centre core. Slice each quarter lengthways into thin slices. Place on a serving platter.
Place the sugar and mint in a small food processor and blend until the mint has broken up and the sugar has turned green. This can also be done in a pestle and mortar.
Scatter the minted sugar over the pineapple and serve. If you wish, you can add a squeeze of lime juice over the pineapple.
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
The Mighty Spice Cookbook
Spice up your life with The Mighty Spice Cookbook.
In this book, John Gregory-Smith has travelled through Asia and North Africa to bring us delicious and easy-to-prepare recipes.
John Gregory-Smith loves spices so much that a few years ago decided to establish his own business, The Mighty Spice Company. His aim is to show everyone how easy it is to cook with spices and above all, how delicious they are.
The use of spices requires a delicate touch, as they can so often over-power a dish or shift it's balance. The recipes in this book contain no more than 5 different spices each.
The book is divided into chapters covering soups & salads, meat, fish, through to desserts. Heat and spice levels are also indicated. The recipes are clear and concise and we like the addition of side dishes from the book to combine with each recipe. At the back of the book there is also a detailed overview of all spices.
Publisher: Veltman Uitgevers
Author: John Gregory-Smith
Price: 19,99 euro
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......
Wedding Cupcakes for Bernadette's son
A few weeks ago, on a gorgeous Indian summer's day, Bernadette's son walked down the isle with his beautiful bride.
We were asked if we would make cupcakes to serve to guests after the ceremony. As their colour scheme included lime green, we decided on using with that as our base.
After working on flavours and designs with them, we finally decided to start with green cupcake cases. These were filled with a light and airy lemon sponge, filled with homemade raspberry jam and topped with vanilla meringue buttercream, a raspberry and fresh mint.
This was also the perfect opportunity to put our new Magimix Patissier to good use. This machine is ideal for making cake batters, pastry, bread dough and meringues.
With it's powerful and quiet motor, it was a breeze preparing the sponge. We were loved the results and can't wait see what else this mixer can do.
During the ceremony, Mischa finished off the cupcakes and presented them on a special stand in the church gardens. The cupcakes went down a treat, rounding off what was a special and glorious day.
If you would like to order cupcakes from the Amsterdam Flavours Chefs for a special occasion, please contact us here.
Sea Bream with Anchovy-Tarragon Dressing and Beetroot
Serves 4
Ingredients
750g cooked beetroot (try and get an organic brand if you can)
salt and black pepper
olive oil, for dressing
4 Sea Bream fillets (Dorade), about 150g each, skin on
2 packs mixed cresses (shiso purple, pea tendrils)
Anchovy Dressing
6 anchovy fillets, drained
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1-2 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
150 ml olive oil
1 Tablespoon chopped tarragon
Method
Cut the beetroot into cubes. It can be gently heated up in a pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper.
For the anchovy dressing, put the anchovies, garlic and white wine vinegar into a food processor and whiz to a rough puree. With the motor running, slowly trickle in the olive oil until amalgamated. Transfer the dressing to a bowl and stir in the chopped tarragon.
Remove the pin bones from the sea bream fillets. Heat a frying pan till hot and add a little olive oil. Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper and place them in the hot pan, skin side down. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the skin is crisp. Turn over in the pan, turn the gas off and allow to cook through in the residual heat, about 2 minutes. Alternatively, transfer to a greased baking sheet and finish off in a 180° C oven for a couple of minutes or until the fish is opaque.
To serve, spoon the beetroot around the plates. Place a fish fillet on top and scatter the mixed cresses around. Spoon over the anchovy dressing 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
Wine advice: Centanni - Il Borgo
Pumpkin Salad
This recipe is inspired by one of our favourite chefs of the moment, Yotam Ottolenghi.
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 medium butternut, halved, seeds removed and each half cut into thirds (peel the skin off if you like, but we tend not to)
3 red onions, cut into wedges
50 ml olive oil, plus extra to drizzle over the salad
4 Tablespoons white tahini (available from health food shops)
lemon juice, to taste
1 garlic cloves, crushed
50 g pine nuts
2 Tablespoons za'atar (a Middle Eastern spice mix of dried thyme, sumac and sesame seeds)
small bunch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
50 g rocket leaves
50 g baby spinach
Method
Preheat the oven to 220C.
Place the butternut and onion on an oven tray, add 40 ml olive oil, salt, pepper and the za'atar. Spread out evenly and roast for about 30-40 minutes until the vegetables have coloured and are cooked through. Keep an eye on the onions that they don't burn. Set aside to cool.
Make the dressing by mixing the tahini with lemon juice to taste, 2-3 tablespoons water, garlic and salt. Whisk until the sauce is the consistency of cream.
Heat a frying pan with the remaining 10 ml olive oil over medium heat and fry the pine nuts until golden. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
To serve, place the roasted pumpkin and onions on a serving dish. Drizzle over the tahini dressing and sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley. Top with the rocket and spinach leaves, drizzle with olive oil 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
The Kaaskamer
De Kaaskamer is a paradise for any cheese lover or visitor to Amsterdam. In this small and unique store situated in the 9 straatjes (9 streets), they are always searching for the best cheeses, from here in Holland and from the rest of Europe. Cheeses are selected based on flavour, craftsmanship and tradition.
The shop not only offers 300-400 different cheeses, but also home made salad dressings, salamis from around Europe and an array of different olives.
Cheeses are also available via their webshop, so you can order in the comfort of your own home. However, there is nothing like tasting the cheese for yourself. Visit their shop where they will be happy to vacuum pack cheese for you take take home and enjoy.
For more information please visit De Kaaskamer.
"Groente bijbel" - Vegetable Bible
Covering more than 65 types of vegetables with 850 recipes and an endless list of variations thereon with matching serving suggestions, Groente Bijbel has become the standard on vegetable cookbooks.
Mari Maris decided to hang up her chef's jacket after twenty years of cooking and started growing her own vegetables. Groente Bijbel is the culmination of that. It is not a vegetarian cookbook, but rather a book consisting of recipes without the use of fish and meat, including Mari's own experiences as a chef and vegetable grower.
Every vegetable is given its own chapter, describing in detail how they are best prepared and used including some interesting facts and their seasonality.
Publisher: Carrera Culinair
Author: Mari Maris
Price: 29,90 euro
Zuider Market
This past Saturday was the most gorgeous Fall morning. Crystal clear skies and a distinct chill in the air. We had a busy day ahead preparing for a catering but we couldn't resist taking a little detour on our way to work and popping by the Zuider Market.
Held every Saturday on the Jacob Obrechtstraat behind the Concertgebouw (Concert Hall) in Amsterdam South, this small market is bustling with locals and visitors alike. Besides offering a fantastic array of vegetables, meats, and ready prepared items like crepes and pies, there is a wonderful vibe around the area.
This certainly should be on your list to visit. It's the ideal place to buy local, seasonal produce and a great meeting place to catch up with friends over a cup of coffee and a bite to eat.
For more information please visit Zuidermarkt