Pure Wagyu
Farmer Chris Boomsma rears Japanese Wagyu cattle, which are known for the tender, exclusive and flavourful meat. ' Wa ' means Japan and ' Gyu ' means beef. Until the 19th century, the Wagyu in Japan where only be used as draft animals in forestry and agriculture. Through the centuries of selection on muscular strength and endurance, the modern, high-quality and very tender meat came to be.
A portion of Chris's livestock were the first Wagyu's to ever be maintained and graze the dunes of Schoorl. The animals have a good life and help take care of the natural landscape.
Wagyu beef is a tasty delicacy known for its typical fat distribution and characteristic marbling. This marbling, with his polyunsaturated fat, ensures an unprecedented taste sensation. The more marbling in the meat, the higher the quality.
A few interesting points about Pure Wagyu Beef:
• the cattle 100% pure-bred Wagyu's are
• the cattle come from North Holland
• the calves remain for at least 8 months at their own mother
• the cattle are kept in a sustainable and humane way
• the meat contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids
• the meat is free of antibiotics or growth hormones
• a Wagyu Sirloin steak contains less cholesterol than a lean chicken breast
One common myth is that the tenderness of the Wagyu meat is obtained by the cattle being massaged, listening to classical music and being fed beer.
To taste and purchase Pure Wagyu for yourself, visit their stall at The Sunday Market on 1st March at the Westergasfabriek.
Bilder & de Clercq's New Recipes Week 9 - 2015
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:
Prawns with Sumac and Grilled Fennel - Persiana
Persiana has taken the culinary world by storm. Sabrina Ghayour grew up in an Iranian family and was brought up on Persian food. Through hosting supper clubs, at which she served her style of Middle Eastern cuisine, her first cookbook was born.
We absolutely adore this type of food. It's about bringing people together over large plates, helping themselves and interacting with others. The recipes make use of easily available ingredients but combining them in amway to achieve authentic flavours.
We cooked her recipe for Prawns with Sumac, Coriander, Lemon and Garlic. An absolute winner of a dish. We made a couple of adjustments - you'll find our feedback under the original recipe.
Prawns with Sumac, Coriander, Lemon and Garlic
Serves 4
Ingredients
6 tablespoons olive oil
grated rind of 2 lemons and juice of 1/2
2 tablespoons sumac
5 large garlic cloves, bashed, peeled and thinly sliced
1 x 20 g packet coriander, stalks and leaves finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
800 g large raw peeled tiger prawns
Method
Select a wide, shallow vessel in which to make your marinade. Put in the olive oil, then add the lemon rind, sumac, garlic and coriander. Season well with a generous amount of sea salt and black pepper, add lemon juice and mix the ingredients together well.
Place the prawns in the marinade and mix well to ensure they are evenly coated, then cover the dish with clingfilm and marinate for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator if you can. Of course you can cook the prawns immediately, but a little marinating time will allow the flavours to permeate the prawns. As the marinade contains acid (lemon juice), I would not recommend marinating the prawns for longer than a few hours, as it may partially cook them (although they will be perfectly safe to eat).
Preheat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once it is hot, shake off the excess marinade from each prawn and place it straight into the frying pan. Cook the prawns for 2-3 minutes on each side until they turn pink and serve immediately.
Chefs notes: we adjusted the recipe a little to suit our tastes. We used 3 instead of 5 cloves of garlic, chopping them finely. We brought the amount of sumac back to a heaped teaspoon instead of 2 tablespoons and we served our prawns with grilled fennel, so that we had a vegetables accompaniment.
Publisher: Good Cook Publishing
Author: Sabrina Ghayour
Price: 24,95 euro
Gebroeders de Wolf
How do you turn a problem into a solution? Ask Gebroeders de Wolf.
There is an overflow of wild geese in Holland, especially around Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. Their size and numbers pose a threat to departing and arriving aircraft. Once way to deal with the problem is a mass cull, but we all need solutions that have benefits as well.
Martijn van de Reep en Tom Zinger began their charcuterie company in 2014. They hunt wild geese and turn this delicious and very underrated meat into true delicacies.
We came across their stall at the Indie Brands market in The Foodhallen. Their range consists of dried and smoked sausages, smoked goose breast, terrine, pate and the one that we love best, the rillettes, in which goose meat is slowly cooked in goose fat, picked and potted - so delicious and indulgent. Flavourwise, it's comparable to duck with a slight gamey flavour.
For more information or to see when they'll next be at a market near you, visit their Facebook page.
Sous Vide Cooking
Grant Sous Vide machines recently joined us as a prestigious partner. Founded in 1952 and based near Cambridge, UK, Grant Sous Vide water baths and modular cookers are used all over the globe by some of the world’s most prestigious catering establishments and venues. Their machines are used by some of the worlds most well known chefs including Marcus Wareing, Ashley Palmer-Watts and Angela Hartnett, MBE.
As we are in the process of creating our new catering and dinner menus for Spring, we thought that our new sous vide machine would offer us the inspiration needed.
But what is sous vide cooking? Sous vide is a method of cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a water bath or in a temperature-controlled steam environment for longer than normal cooking times, at an accurately regulated temperature much lower than normally used for cooking, typically around 55 °C to 60 °C for meats and higher for vegetables. The intention is to cook the item evenly, ensuring that the inside is properly cooked without overcooking the outside and retain moisture.
We are still in the testing fase, but the results are promising. Keep an eye on the site, we'll be publishing some of our sous vide recipes soon.
Bilder & de Clercq's New Recipes Week 8 - 2015
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:
Le Salonard
Le Salonard is a culinary paradise in De Pijp. Housing a selection of wines, cheeses, pastries, charcuterie and other delicacies from around Europe, it's all one could ask for for the prefect night in.
There is also a small seated area where you can order a selection of sandwiches and salads.
In our opinion, it's the perfect recipe for the weekend. Buying a selection of their beautiful cheeses and charcuterie, pairing it with a wonderful bottle of wine and ending off with their heavenly looking brownies.
For more information, please visit Le Salonard.
My Little Patisserie
Authentic French delicacies in Amsterdam? Yes it's true!
My Little Patisserie is a Parisian style bakery in the heart of De Pijp district in Amsterdam, specializing in classic French Pastries. Think of Choux buns, Eclairs and Mille-Feuilles.
All pastries are made fresh every morning by the French owner in her boutique using only the best ingredients.
You can also sit down in the shop and enjoy a coffee with your pastry.
For more information, please visit My Little Patisserie.
Bilder & de Clercq's New Recipes Week 7 - 2015
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:
United Pancakes
United Pancakes brings the classic and much loved Dutch pancake into the 21st century. They've been open for 3 months and are redefining the way we eat pancakes. They are making pancakes accessible to everyone.
United Pancakes was born out of the fact that there were no artisan pancake restaurants. They noticed a gap in the market and so this brand was born.
All their products are organic and everything is homemade. Flour comes from their own mill and is available to purchase in the their little shop together with homemade apple and pear syrups, old fashioned Dutch candy and their own branded aprons, t-shirts a baby ware.
The restaurant has a great intimate atmosphere with rough bare brick walls and lots of old wood. It's also an ideal place for kids and the staff are friendly and very attentive.
A new addition are pancakes to go, which is great if you need your pancake fix but don't have the time. It's cooked fresh to order then filled with the topping/flavouring of your choice to enjoyed on the go. We took ours to go as we didn't have much time and it was without doubt one of the most delicious pancakes we've had in a while. We will be back!
For more information, please visit United Pancakes.