Slow Braised Lamb Shanks
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 lamb shanks
4 celery sticks, roughly chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled, roughly sliced
2 red onions, unpeeled, roughly chopped
1 garlic bulb, unpeeled and halved
1 tin tomato paste
1 fresh bay leaf
5 sprigs thyme leaves
2 sprigs
300ml red wine
200ml port
500ml veal or chicken stock, or enough to cover the lamb shanks
Method
Preheat the oven to 150° C.
Heat the olive oil in a casserole and fry the lamb shanks for a few minutes, turning regularly, until browned all over. Remove from the casserole and set aside.
Add the vegetables and herbs to the casserole and fry for 5- 10 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and fry for a couple minutes to cook it out. Add the wine and port to the pot, bring to the boil and allow to reduce dor 5 minutes. Add the stock and return the lamb shanks to the casserole.
Cover the casserole with a lid and cook in the oven for 2½-3 hours, or until the lamb shanks are very tender.
To serve, remove the lamb shanks from the casserole and place onto serving plates. If the sauce is too thin, place it back on the heat and reduce until it has cooked down, intensified in flavour and has thickened slightly. Serve the lamb shanks with the sauce and vegetables poured over.
Delicious served with creamy mashed potato or soft polenta with loads of 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
Brandt & Levie sausages
Jiri, Geert and Samuel are the young master sausage makers that make up Brandt & Levie.
The three friends, with a passion for good food, travelled to Italy to learn how to make sausages. They brought their expertise back and are now sharing their knowledge and their delicious sausages with others here in Holland.
They create incredible fresh and dried sausages, available in many good stores and restaurants across Amsterdam.
Their dried sausages and ham make the perfect charcuterie platters to serve with drinks or at the beginning of a meal.
We have to warn you though - their sausages, both fresh and dried and coppa are dangerously delicious and should be supplied with an addiction warning. They are that good! But I'm sure many of you know that already.
For more information please visit Brandt & Levie
Brandt & Levie sausages are also available at Bilder & De Clercq
Bilder & de Clercq's new recipes week 35
As you may know by now, we are the chefs behind Amsterdam hotspot, Bilder & de Clercq. Every week we develop 3 new recipes for the stores and we'll be keeping you updated with the week's newest recipes. This weeks new recipes are:
Parsley Soup
Ingredients
olive oil
30 g butter
2 leeks
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 large floury potato
1 large bunch flat leaf parsley
about 1 liter vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
splash of cream
Method
Finely slice the leeks and onion and finely chop the garlic. Peel the potato and cut into 1 cm dice.
Heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil and the butter in a pot over medium heat. Add the leeks, onion, garlic and half the parsley and sweat gently for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, bring a small pot of water to the boil. Remove the stalks from the remaining parsley and blanche the leaves for 20 seconds in the boiling water. Remove and plunge immediately into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process.
Add the potatoes, stock, salt and pepper to the vegetables and bring to the boil. Cook for about 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
Roughly chop the blanched parsley and add to the soup. Blend until smooth. Adjust the seasoning if needed and should it be too thick, thin down with a little extra stock.
Reheat the soup gently. Divide between 4 bowls and serve with a swirl of cream.
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
Pizza Bianca
Ingredients
1 1/2 mugs self raising flour
about 1/2 mug luke warm water
8 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic
3 sprigs rosemary
75 g grated Parmesan
75 g grated Provolone
2 medium roseval potato
50 g rocket
6 anchovy fillets
salt and pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 220 °C. Place the flour, water, a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a food processor and plus to a smooth dough. This can also be done by hand if you don't have a machine. Leave to rest for 10 minutes. Roll the dough out on a work surface, sprinkling with a little extra flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan. Roll the dough over a rolling pin and lay it carefully into the pan. Place the pan over medium heat and cook until the dough is cooked through, turning once during the cooking.
Strip the leaves from the rosemary stalks. Rinse the roseval potato and slice as thinly as possible. Peel and finely chop the garlic clove and place in a bowl with 2 tablespoons olive oil, about a third of the rosemary and a pinch of salt. Brush the pizza base with half the garlic oil.
If the frying pan you're using doesn't fit in the oven, transfer the pizza base to an oven tray. Spinkle over the Parmesan, Provolone and remaining rosemary, leaving a 1 cm border.
Divide the finely sliced potato evenly over the pizza and drizzle with the remaining garlic oil. Season with a touch of salt. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the pizza id golden brown and the potatoes are cooked through.
Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle over the anchovies.
Dress the rocket with olive oil. Top the pizza with the salad, drizzle all with a little extra 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
Flavours of the Neighbourfood Market - August 2014
The great thing about having a free Sunday is having the time to do things you love.
A free day, coupled with good weather calls for a trip to The Sunday Market at the Westergasfabriek.
There were so many wonderful things to taste that day. These were our favourites:
Coconut Macaroons
These coconut macarons are deliciously nutty and light, naturally flavoured or with chilli and lime or chocolate. We bet these will be the next big thing!
Coffee Jam
Two of our favourite breakfast ingredients combined into one. Your morning toast will never be the same again.
Tomato Truffle Ketchup
This is the most posh ketchup we've ever tasted. No more Tommy K on the side of your plate, this sauce rouge ave truffe is the new accompaniment.
Gkazas Olive Oil
This fantastic Greek olive oil is perfect for dressing or just on it's own. A welcome addition to our store cupboard.
Pulled Pork Sandwich
Shredded pork, cooked for hours until meltingly tender served on a roll. Sublime Sunday tucker.
Wooden boards
Beautiful boards, all artisan made and 100% recycled wood. Because of the diverse woods and the natural forms every board is unique and can be used for every opportunity. Broodplankenzo have a lot of boards to offer, for private use or a great present.
The Neighbourfood market is held on the first Sunday of every month, so get down there.
For more information please visit Neighbourfood Market.
Di Zabbia Limoncello and Orangecello
Brandon Zabbia, one of the co-owners of Cook'inn Catering, became interested in developing a limoncello after discovering an old family recipe of the Italian lemon liquor. After experimenting with different ingredients, Di Zabbia limoncello was born; a 100% organic limoncello; tangy and refreshing with a perfect balance of flavours between sweetness and acidity.
Traditionally it served as an after dinner drink (if served cold), as it is said to be an excellent digestive and soothes the stomach. But the liquor can also be served at other moments of the day, particularly as a cocktail. In addition to that, the liquor is a wonderful ingredient in cooking and baking. The chefs of Amsterdam Flavours will use Di Zabbia products to create exciting recipes.
Di Zabbia comes in two flavours; the more traditional limoncello with the lemon as key ingredient and Orangecello; where blood orange rind is used.
Curious to taste this delicious Di Zabbia? Like & share the Amsterdam Flavours facebookpage and maybe you will be the lucky winner of two bottles of Di Zabbia. THE WINNER IS: Irene de Jager. Congrats and enjoy!
For more information about the product please visit Di Zabbia
Di Zabbia Limoncello and Orangecello are also available at Bilder & de Clercq.
Red onion soup
Ingredients
15 g butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
6 large red onions
1,2 litres vegetable stock
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 slices French baguette
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
50 g grated Gruyere cheese
4 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
Method
Halve the onions and slice thinly. Heat the olive oil and butter in a pan and add the onions. Sweat them gently until soft, about 30 minutes.
Add the balsamic vinegar, thyme and bay leaf to the pan.
Add the stock to the pan and increase the heat. When the soup boils, turn down to a simmer and cook gently for a further 10 minutes.
Preheat the grill. Spread the mustard on the slices bread and top with the grated cheese. Transfer to an oven tray.
Place the tray under the grill for 2 minutes until the cheese is melted. Season the soup with salt and pepper.
Divide the soup between 2 bowls and place the grilled cheesy bread on top.
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
Restaurant Het Bosch
It's a tough job eating so many delicious courses one after the other but, somebody's got to do it!
Restaurant Het Bosch is perched on the banks of ‘De Nieuwe Meer’ in Amsterdam. The gorgeous location is the perfect setting for this modern, glass-encased restaurant. The light interior overlooks the water through large windows and if you manage to tear yourself away from the view, the immaculate, modern open kitchen is also exciting to watch as the chefs orchestrate a symphony of food.
Het Bosch was opened over 30 years ago by Ferry van Houten and remains in the family to this day. Ferry’s son, Danny, is now Maitre Sommelier, and it’s quite clear that he spent much of his youth working in the restaurant. His warm welcome, knowledge of wine and service were impeccable.
The extensive wine list is an exciting read in itself. What stood out is the number of wines available by the glass. More places should take note of this, in our opinion. We also liked the exclusive Château Mouton Rothschild wine list. The restaurant has invested in a range of their wines in limited quantity. If you have the budget, why not splash out.
We were treated to a 6-course menu, which has to be said, was a gastronomic journey from beginning to end. Our highlights from the menu were the tartar of Limousin beef, which was part of a trio of starters. It was served with an inspired sorbet made from cornichon pickling vinegar. When Bernadette scrapes her plate clean, you know you’re on to a winner!
The melt-in-the-mouth cod with Israeli couscous paella, octopus and olive jus danced on the palate with an array of sweet and salty flavours and textures. The veal sirloin as main was perfectly pink and tender as can be.
Dessert was an amarena cherry chocolate brownie, almond ice cream, refreshing red fruit soup and yoghurt sorbet.
Danny matched each course to perfection with an accompanying wine. That’s not an easy task. What we witnessed was a harmonious balance between kitchen and front of house, working together to complement each other and creating a perfect experience.
This is the place to bring someone you love or the most discerning diner – it’s that good! Our only tip; make sure you wear loose clothing because you won’t be leaving anything on your plates.
For more information please visit Het Bosch.
Mozzarella with Anchovies
Ingredients
2 balls buffalo mozzarella
100 g rocket leaves
about 7 anchovies per person
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Method
Toss the rocket leaves lightly in a bowl with about 2 tablespoons olive oil and lightly season with salt and pepper.
Divide the rocket salad between 2 plates. Drain the liquid from the mozzarella balls and set them on top of the rocket.
Grind a little black pepper over each mozzarella and lay the anchovies on top. Finish with drizzle of olive oil and serve with some crispy 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