Guinea Fowl with Hispi Cabbage

Guinea fowl is a much underrated protein. It's lean and full of flavour. Use it as a substitute for chicken. This recipes makes for a simple yet delicious dinner.

English 

Serves 2

Ingredients
2 guinea fowl breasts
1 hispi cabbage
1 shallot
125ml cream
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
50ml Noilly Prat
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Method
Preheat the oven to 180° C. Finely slice the cabbage and shallot.

Season the guinea fowl breasts with salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil and fry the guinea fowl on both sides until golden brown. Transfer to a roasting dish and roast for about 10 minutes in the oven.

Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the same pan as you cooked the guinea fowl and fry the shallot for 2 minutes. Add the cabbage and fry for a further 5 minutes. Remove the guinea fowl from the oven and rest for 3-4 minutes. Add the curry powder to the cabbage and fry for 1 minute. Add 50 ml Noilly Prat and cook until mostly reduced. Add 125 ml cream and cook for a couple of minutes until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide the cabbage between 2 plates. Slice the guinea fowl into 3 pieces, set on top of the cabbage and serve.

Nederlands

voor 2 personen

Ingrediënten
2 parelhoenfilets
1 spitskool
1 sjalot
125ml slagroom
1 theelepel milde currypoeder
50ml Noilly Prat
4 eetlepels olijfolie
zout en peper

Bereiding
Verwarm de oven voor op 180°C. Snijd de spitskool in dunne reepjes en snijd het sjalotje fijn.

Bestrooi de parelhoenfilets met zout en peper. Verwarm een koekenpan op medium vuur met 2 eetlepels olijfolie en bak de parelhoenfilets aan beide kanten goudbruin. Leg ze in een ovenschaaltje en zet ze in de oven voor ongeveer 10 minuten.

Voeg 2 eetlepels olijfolie toe aan de pan waarin de parelhoenfilets gebakken zijn en bak 2 minuten. Voeg de spitskool toe en bak nog eens 5 minuten. Haal de parelhoen uit de oven en laat 3-4 minuten rusten. Voeg de currypoeder toe aan de kool en bak nog 1 minuut. Voeg 50 ml Noilly Prat toe en kook licht in. Voeg de room toe en kook het 2 minuten in (room wordt wat dikker). Breng op smaak met zout en peper.

Verdeel de kool over 2 borden. Snijd de parelhoen schuin in 3 stukken en leg ze bovenop de kool.


Eton mess with espresso merengues

Ingredients

Meringues
100g egg white
200g caster sugar
drop of lemon juice
1-2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

To finish
500 ml whipped cream, sweetened
250 g blackberries
maple syrup, to drizzle
hazelnut praline, to sprinkle (see below for recipe)

Method
Preheat an oven to 110 ° C. Rub a bowl with a few drops of lemon juice.

Put the egg whites in a bowl and whisk until stiff. Gradually add the sugar and beat until the meringue is thick and glossy. Whisk instant espresso powder, to taste, through the meringue.

Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and spoon on the meringue. Bake in the oven for about 1 to 2 hours.

Crush a layer of meringues into a serving bowl. Top with some whipped cream, blackberries and blackberry sauce. Repeat ending with a layer of crushed meringues.

Alternatively, give it more of an avant garde look by 'deconstructing' the Eton Mess on beautiful plates and serving them to your guests. Let your imagine run wild when it comes to the plating.  Serve at once so that the meringues are still nice and crispy.

Praline

Ingredients
100g castor sugar
100g hazelnuts

Method
Put the sugar and hazelnuts into a heavy-based sauté-pan over a low heat until the sugar gradually melts and turns a rich caramel colour. Do not stir. When the sugar has caramelized and not before, carefully rotate the pan until the nuts are all covered with the caramel. When the nuts go ‘pop’ pour the praline on to an oiled baking sheet. Leave to get quite cold. When the praline is hard, crush in a food processor or with a rolling pin. The texture should be quite coarse and gritty. Store in an airtight container.


Grilled White Asparagus with Smoked Salmon and Tarragon Sauce

It's a week until Easter and you're still probably wondering what to make? We always think of asparagus, but because of the extended cold snap this year, we'll have to be patient a little longer. Hopefully you'll be able to get your hands on some white gold, the first of the season's Dutch white asparagus just in time.

Serves 4

 

Ingredients
24 white asparagus
400g sliced smoked salmon
1 bunch tarragon
250 ml tub cream
2 shallots
200 g butter
200 ml white wine
6 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
1
Peel the white asparagus and cut off a 1 cm piece from the tough stalk end. Finely chop the shallots. Place the asparagus in a pan with cold water and salt, place the asparagus peelings on top and bring to the boil. Boil for 1 minute, turn off the heat and allow the asparagus to stand in the hot water for about 2 minutes.

2
Heat a pan with 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat and sweat the shallots for 5 minutes. Add 200 ml white wine and simmer until reduced by three-quarters. Add the tub of cream and simmer until reduced by half.

3
Remove the asparagus from the water and discard the peelings. Dry the asparagus on a clean tea towel. Drizzle over 3 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat a grill pan over medium heat and grill the asparagus until golden brown.

4
Strain the sauce to remove the shallot and return to the pan over a low heat. Cut the butter into pieces and whisk into the sauce. Pick the tarragon leaves off the stalks and chop finely.

5
Divide the grilled asparagus between 4 plates and lay the smoked salmon on top. Stir the tarragon through the sauce and spoon over the asparagus.


Mushroom Carbonara

A vegetarian version of one of our favourite pasta dishes.

Serves 2

Ingredients
500 g mixed mushrooms
200 g tagliatelle
3 sprigs thyme
2 cloves garlic
4 eggs
250 ml cream
75 g grated Parmesan
Olive oil (3 tablespoons)
Salt
Pepper

Method
1
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil for the pasta. Finely chop the garlic. Wipe the mushrooms clean with a piece of kitchen paper and remove the hard stalks. Cut the mushrooms in half, if necessary.
2
Heat a frying pan with 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Strip the thyme leaves off the stalks. Fry the mushrooms for about 4 minutes until golden brown. Add the garlic and thyme leaves to the pan for the final minute of cooking.
3
Place the tagliatelle in the pot of boiling water and cook for about 4-6 minutes or until al dente. Drain the pasta off and return to the pot. Separate the eggs; place the yolks in a small bowl and whisk together with 200 ml of the cream, salt and pepper.
4
Mix the tagliatelle with the egg and cream mixture, the fried mushrooms and half the Parmesan, until the egg yolks warm through and begin to thicken and coat the pasta (you might need to do this over a very low heat). Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the pasta into a bowl and scatter with the remaining Parmesan.


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


Rhubarb and Strawberry Eton Mess

This is one of those desserts that's easy to make and always a guaranteed success.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients
Meringues, crumbled

Rhubarb compote
1 kg rhubarb
sugar to taste
1 vanilla pod or 2 star anise
a splash of water to get it going

750 g strawberries, rinsed, hulled and halved
750 ml cream, whipped and sweetened with a touch of sugar

Method
Make the meringues according to the recipe. You'll find the recipe by clicking above.

Make the rhubarb compote by trimming the rhubarb if stringy. Chop roughly and place in a pan with sugar (start with about 200 g and add more according to your taste), the vanilla pod or star anise and a splash of water. Bring to the boil and simmer until the rhubarb is soft, with some pieces still holding their shape. If your rhubarb isn't very pink, you can always add some Grenadine syrup to give it a blushing pink colour. Allow to cool completely.

To assemble the Eton Mess, take a large glass bowl. Crumble some meringues in the base and spoon in some rhubarb compote and scatter over some strawberries. Top with a third of the cream and repeat. You want to end with a layer of cream. Top a few strawberries and crumbled meringues and serve straight away.

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 


Chocolate Guinness Cake

Nigella Lawson is famously known as The Domestic Goddess. Her cakes and dispelling baking myths have made her a household name. Recently someone told us we had to make her Chocolate Guinness cake. So we did. The combination of chocolate and Guinness makes a deep, dark cake, which is moist and delicious. And now we're sharing the recipe with you.

Ingredients
250 ml Guinness
250 g unsalted butter
75 g cocoa powder
400 g castor sugar
142 ml sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
275 g plain flour
2 ½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
for the topping
300 g cream cheese
150 g icing sugar
125 ml cream

Method
Preheat the oven to gas mark 180°C and butter and line a 24cm springform tin with baking paper.

Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter and heat until the butter has melted. Whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the buttery Guinness pan and finally whisk in the flour and bicarb.

Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.

When the cake's cold, place it on a flat platter or cake stand and start with the icing. Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, sieve over the icing sugar and then beat them both together. This can also be done in a processor, putting the unsieved icing sugar in first and blitz to remove lumps before adding the cheese. Add the cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency.

Ice the top of the cake 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


Sticky Toffee Pudding

Ingredients
75 g butter, plus extra for greasing
175 g soft brown sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
2 eggs
2 tablespoons black treacle
200g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
200g pitted dates
300 ml water
1 tablespoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Caramel Sauce
300 g sugar
300 ml cream
50 g butter
generous pinch of salt

Method
Preheat an oven to 180 C. Grease a 30 cm x 20 20 cm square cake tin with butter and line with baking paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the golden syrup, treacle, vanilla extract and eggs, a little at a time, and blend until smooth. Mix the flour and baking powder together. Add the flour and blend, at a low speed, until well combined.

Meanwhile, place the dates in a pan with the water and bring to a boil. Blend the dates and water in a Magimix (food processor) to a smooth purée. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda and vanilla.

Pour the date mixture into the batter and stir until well combined. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is springy and golden-brown.

To make the caramel sauce, place the sugar in a pan and het gently until it dissolves and is caramelised to a mahogany colour. Carefully add the cream, stand back as it will spit and splatter. Keep on the heat, stirring now and again until the caramel dissolves. Turn off the heat, stir through the butter and salt.

To serve, cut the pudding into 12 generous squares and place serving plates. Pour over the caramel sauce and serve. Delicious with a scoop 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