Jam Doughnut Muffins

Ingredients
140 g castor sugar, plus 200 g extra for dusting
200 g plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
100 ml natural yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
140 g butter, melted, plus extra for greasing the tin
12 teaspoons raspberry or apricot jam

Method
Heat an oven to 180 C. Lightly grease a 12-hole muffin tin.

Place 140 g sugar, the flour and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl and mix to combine. In a jug, whisk together the yogurt, eggs and vanilla. Tip the jug's contents and melted butter into the dry ingredients and quickly fold with a metal spoon to combine.

Divide two-thirds of the mixture between the muffin holes. Carefully add 1 tsp jam into the centre of each, then cover with the remaining mixture. Bake for 16-18 mins until risen, golden and springy to the touch. Leave the muffins to cool for 5 mins before lifting out of the tin and rolling in the 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


Tomato, Basil and Parmesan Quiche

Ingredients
Pastry
280 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
140 g cold butter, cut into pieces
a pinch of salt

Filling
300 g cherry tomatoes
10 ml fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper
drizzle olive oil
50 g parmesan, grated
2 eggs
250 ml cream
small bunch basil leaves, shredded, plus a few small ones left whole for scattering

Method
Heat the oven to 120 C. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and lay on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper. Sprinkle with thyme leaves, salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and bake for 1 hour until slightly dried and the flavour concentrated.

To make the pastry, tip the flour, a pinch of salt and butter into a bowl, then rub together with your fingertips until completely mixed and crumbly. Add 8 tablespoons cold water, then bring everything together with your hands until just combined. Roll into a ball and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a round about 5cm larger than a 25cm tin. Use your rolling pin to lift it up, then drape over the tart case so there is an overhang of pastry on the sides. Using a small ball of pastry scraps, push the pastry into the corners of the tin. Chill in the fridge or freezer for 20 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 180 C.

Lightly prick the base of the tart with a fork, line the tart case with a large circle of greaseproof paper or foil, then fill with dried beans or rice. Blind-bake the tart for 20 minutes, remove the paper and beans, then continue to cook for 5-10 minutes until lightly browned. Remove the tart case from the oven.

While the tart is cooking, beat the eggs in a large bowl. Gradually add the cream, then stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper. When the case is ready, sprinkle half the cheese over the base, scatter over the tomatoes, pour over the cream mix, then finally scatter over the rest of the cheese. Bake for 20-25 mins until set and golden brown. Leave to cool in the case, trim the edges of the pastry, then remove from the tin. Scatter over the remaining basil and serve in slices with a green salad.

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


Bagels with Pastrami and Sauerkraut

Bagels are continually gaining popularity in Holland. They should be dense and chewy, as bagels are first boiled and then baked. Combined with a pastrami (which is beef that has been brined, spiced, smoked and steamed) and a few other delicious things, you're on to an absolute winner.

Serves 2

Ingredients
2 bagels
100 g sliced pastrami
3 pickled gherkins
about 50 g of sauerkraut
3-4 tablespoons mayonnaise mixed together with piccalilli (according to your taste)

Method
Slice the bagels in half. Spread the tops and bottoms with the piccalilli mayonnaise.

Lay the sauerkraut on the bottom half of the bagel. Top with the sliced pastrami.

Slice the gherkins lengthways and place on top of the pastrami. Replace the caps of the bagels 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


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


Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

This carrot cake recipe is gluten free. The flour is replaced with ground almonds, which ensures that this is a light and moist cake. Of course carrot cake wouldn't be complete without the obligatory creame cheese topping.
Serves 8
Ingredients
5 eggs
265 g brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125 ml sunflower oil
440 g ground almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
400 g carrots, peeled and grated
75 g shredded coconut
70 g toasted pecan nuts, roughly chopped
80 g golden raisins

cream cheese icing
250 g cream cheese
55 g icing sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method
Preheat oven to 160°C.

Grease and line the base of a 24 cm springform tin with non-stick baking paper.

Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla in an electric mixer and whisk for 15 minutes or until thick and tripled in volume. Place the oil, ground almonds, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, carrot, coconut, pecans and raisins in a large bowl and mix well to combine. Fold through the egg mixture and spoon into the tin.

Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes – 1 hour 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out with a few crumbs attached. Allow to cool completely in the tin before refrigerating for 2–3 hours or until firm.

To make the cream cheese icing, place the cream cheese and sugar in an electric mixer and beat for 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the lemon juice and beat for a further 1 minute or until smooth. Carefully remove the cake from the tin and pread with the icing.

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 


Root Vegetable Soup

A deliciously healthy soup to keep you warm during these cold days. This soup also suitable as part of a detox diet.

Serves 2

Ingredients
50 g red lentils
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, bruised
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch chilli powder
salt and pepper
750ml - 1 litre chicken or vegetables stock
5 cm piece ginger, peeled and grated
4 tablespoons olive oil
freshly chopped parsley and 2 tablespoons coconut milk to garnish*

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the sweet potato, carrots, parsnip, onion, garlic, chilli to taste, turmeric and cumin on an oven tray. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil.

Roast for 30-40 minutes in the oven or until the vegetables are soft. In the meantime, heat a pot with 1 tablespoon olive oil and gently fry the ginger off for about 1-2 minutes. Add the stock and lentils and simmer gently until the lentils are cooked, about 15-20 minutes.

Once the vegetables are cooked, add them to the stock and mix well. Blend until smooth using a stick blender or in a blender. Return to the pot, reheat and adjust the seasoning if necessary. If the soup is too thick, add a little extra water or stock to thin it down.

Serve in bowls garnished with chopped parsley and coconut milk.

*To increase the health factor, sprinkle the soup with a few chopped peanuts and chia seeds before serving.

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 

 


Crepes Suzette

Today, February the 17th is International pancake day. While we love the traditional pancakes with a little cinnamon-sugar and lemon and American pancakes, we felt that we wanted to make it a little more indulgent. So here is an absolute classis which everyone should have in their repertoire.

Serves 4-6 

Ingredients
100g flour
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
about 300 ml milk
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon oil
butter for frying

Suzette Sauce
75 g butter
150g sugar
2 lemons
2 oranges
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier or orange liqueur, or to taste

Method
Mix the egg and egg yolk with the flour, oil and a pinch of salt and add part of the milk. Whisk until you have a thick mixture and add as much of the remaining milk as needed. (This can also be done in the food processor.) The batter should be the consistency of cream.

Allow the batter to rest for ± 30 minutes. Cook the crepes in a crepe pan or frying pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Grate the zest of the 1 lemon and 1 orange and squeeze the juice from all. Place the sugar in a pan and caramelise over a medium heat until an amber colour. Carefully add the citrus juices and cook over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Mix in the butter, grated zests and Grand Marnier or orange liqueur. If you dare, flambé the liqueur before adding, but please be very careful!

To serve, fold the crepes into quarters and reheat briefly in the sauce. Serve with scoops of vanilla ice 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


Valentine's Shortbread Hearts

We've already given you a recipe for shortbread, but here's a twist turn turn them into Valentine's heart cookies.

Ingredients
250 g flour
75 g castor sugar
150 g unsalted butter
pinch of salt

Method
Preheat the oven to 170° C.

Place the flour, sugar, butter and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and starts binding together.

Remove the dough from the food processor and knead lightly until the mixture comes together. Roll the pastry out thinly cut into hearts with a pastry cutter. Place onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and prick with a fork to prevent them rising too much.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes until pale golden. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with castor sugar. Allow to cool completely. Decorate with pink icing) or any color of your choice. You can either make your own or use store bought.

Shortbread keeps well for a couple weeks if stored in an airtight container. But if you're as greedy as we are, it will probably only last a couple of days!

If you don't have a food processor, shortbread and also be made by hand.

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


Potato Rosti with Poached Egg, Smoked Salmon and Hollandaise

This is our prefect recipe to make for that someone special in your life. We advise giving it a practice beforehand, so that you can execute all the elements perfectly.

Serves 2

Ingredients
Hollandaise Sauce
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon cold water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
a little salt and pepper
200 - 250 g butter, chopped

Rosti
3 nicola potatoes
salt
pepper
olive oil
30 g butter

2 eggs
splash of white wine vinegar
1 pack smoked salmon
small bunch fresh chives, finely chopped

Method
Start by making the Hollandaise. Place the egg yolks in a Bain Marie pan or a small bowl. Beat well. Add the water, lemon juice and salt and beat together over hot water (au Bain Marie) until it thickens. Gradually beat in the butter, a couple small pieces at a time. Make sure to soften the butter slightly in your fingers before adding. Continue until all the butter is used and the mixture becomes thicker. If you feel the bowl is becoming too hot, remove from the heat for a short time to cool it down. It must be hot enough to cook the eggs and emulsify the butter, but not too hot so that the eggs scramble!

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Check the balance of flavour and add more lemon if desired. Keep warm over the hot water, but keep an eye on it. It might have to be stirred from time to time. If it gets too thick before serving, add a splash of cold water to thin it down.

Now for the rosti's. Peel the potatoes and coarsely grate them. Place the grated potatoes in a clean tea towel and squeeze out the liquid. Place the potato in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Heat a small frying pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place the grated potato in the pan, pressing it down. Fry on a medium heat until golden brown. When the edges of the rosti begin to colour, add half the butter around the edges of the pan. Carefully flip the rosti over and continue frying until the other side is golden. Repeat with the remaining potato and keep both rosti's warm in the oven (100° C).

Bring a small pot of water to the boil. Add a splash of white wine vinegar and turn the heat down, so that the water gently simmers. Break the eggs into 2 cups. Use a whisk to stir the water vigorously, forming a 'whirlwind'. Carefully add the eggs to the pot so that the yolks become enveloped in the egg white. Cook the eggs for 2- 2 1/2 minutes. The yolks should still be soft.

To serve, place a rosti on each serving plate. Drape the salmon on top of each rosti. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and drain on a tea towel. Sprinkle each egg with a touch of salt and pepper. Lay the eggs on the salmon, spoon over the Hollandaise sauce and finish with the chopped chives.

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 

 


Vegalicious (Vegetarian)

We are all guilty of going to the supermarket or market, seeing an array of vegetables and never quite knowing what we should do with all the produce on offer. This vegetarian cookbook is just the answer.

The recipes are straight forward with easily obtainable ingredients. The photos are enticing, urging you to have a go and cook the recipes for yourself.

We decided to have a go at one of the recipes and chose the Rigatoni with Chilli and Walnuts. Quick and easy to make, it was on the table in 15 minutes. It was delicious and surprising how much flavour can come from such simple ingredients. A few points from our side about the recipe - we halved the number of walnuts, increased the garlic and served it with a green salad, which we felt was a much needed addition. Our changes are reflected in the recipe below.

Rigatoni with Chilli and Walnuts

Serves 4

Ingredients
150 g walnuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
2 generous tablespoons mascarpone
2 generous tablespoons finely grated Parmesan
350 g rigatoni (or any other short, tube-shaped pasta)
salt and pepper

Method
Roast the walnuts in a dry frying pan until golden brown and smelling nice and toasty. Place them on a chopping board once they've cooled down, roughly chop (so that there are large and small pieces).

Place the olive oil in a cold pan with the garlic and chilli and heat for 1-2 minutes over a low heat (the garlic shouldn't colour). Add the thyme leaves. Remove from the heat and stir through the mascarpone, Parmesan, salt, pepper and all but 2 tablespoons of the walnuts.

Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water according to the package instructions. Drain off, reserving a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Return the pasta to the pan with the reserved cooking liquid and the walnut sauce and mix together well. Sprinkle with the remaining chopped walnuts and serve with a green salad.

Publisher: Terra

Author: Alice Hart

Price: 15,00 euro