Green smoothie
Ingredients
3 apples
1 small cucumber
1/2 pineapple
small bunch parsley
1/2 cup natural yoghurt
Method
Peel the apples, remove the core and seeds and chop up. Peel the pineapple, remove the core and chop roughly.
Peel the cucumber and cut into chunks. Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour into tall glasses and serve garnished with fresh strawberries.
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 perfect green salad
The perfect green salad relies on the freshness of it's ingredients, the variety of lettuces and herbs you add and of course the perfect balance between a good olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice.
Start with a selection of leaves and herbs, preferably from the market. Examples are butter lettuce, cos, frisse, chicory, rocket and watercress. Bring in some freshness with herbs - mint, flat leaf parsley, onion cress, chives and basil.
You can add some texture if you like in the form of green asparagus (lightly blanched or grilled) or croutons.
Place all the ingredients for your salad in a large bowl. It's important to have room to lightly toss your salad with the dressing so that each leaf is evenly coated and not bruised by being over-worked.
The next important step is the dressing. The dressing should never overwhelm a salad, but compliment it's ingredients. The simplest and best form is a vinaigrette made from good olive oil, good vinegar or lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Basic vinaigrette dressing
2 tablespoons vinegar or 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (optional)
90 ml extra virgin olive oil
Method
In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar or lemon juice with the salt, pepper and mustard if using.
Gradually whisk in the oil in a steady stream until the vinaigrette is blended and thickened. Taste for seasoning. If the dressing separates, bring it back together by whisking rapidly.
Once you have your dressing made, pour it over the salad at the very last moment just before serving. Remember the word 'dressing' says it all - it should just be a light coating around the leaves and not flood the salad. Remember too that if the dressing is added too long in advance, the vinegar or lemon juice will begin cooking the leaves and they will turn limp and soggy.
Your salad can be put together with whatever you have or is in season. Feel free to add other ingredients to turn it in to a more substantial meal. Think too about adding different flavours to your vinaigrette in the form of chopped garlic, shallot, herbs or flavoured vinegars.
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
Smashed avocado and baked egg
Ingredients
4 slices bread of your choice
2 haas avocados
2 eggs
olive oil
salt and pepper
sprinkling of ground cumin
Method
Halve the avocados, remove the stones and scoop out the flesh. Coarsely mash in a bowl with fork and season with salt and pepper. If you wish, you can add a few drops of lemon juice.
Toast the bread until golden and crispy. Heat a non-stick frying pan with a splash of olive oil. Fry the eggs until cooked to your liking (we prefer sunny side up with a soft yolk). Season with a little salt and pepper.
Spread the mashed avocado on the toast and top with the fried egg. Sprinkle with a touch of ground cumin, 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