salad Archives - Pagina 4 van 4 - Amsterdam Flavours

Pumpkin Salad

This recipe is inspired by one of our favourite chefs of the moment, Yotam Ottolenghi.

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 medium butternut, halved, seeds removed and each half cut into thirds (peel the skin off if you like, but we tend not to)
3 red onions, cut into wedges
50 ml olive oil, plus extra to drizzle over the salad
4 Tablespoons white tahini (available from health food shops)
lemon juice, to taste
1 garlic cloves, crushed
50 g pine nuts
2 Tablespoons za'atar (a Middle Eastern spice mix of dried thyme, sumac and sesame seeds)
small bunch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
50 g rocket leaves
50 g baby spinach

Method
Preheat the oven to 220C.

Place the butternut and onion on an oven tray, add 40 ml olive oil, salt, pepper and the za'atar. Spread out evenly and roast for about 30-40 minutes until the vegetables have coloured and are cooked through. Keep an eye on the onions that they don't burn. Set aside to cool.

Make the dressing by mixing the tahini with lemon juice to taste, 2-3 tablespoons water, garlic and salt. Whisk until the sauce is the consistency of cream.

Heat a frying pan with the remaining 10 ml olive oil over medium heat and fry the pine nuts until golden. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

To serve, place the roasted pumpkin and onions on a serving dish. Drizzle over the tahini dressing and sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley. Top with the rocket and spinach leaves, drizzle with 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

by Bernadette Evers

Salmon Ceviche with Fennel Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the ceviche
250g salmon fillet, skinned
2 tbsp rock salt
1 tbsp red chillies, finely diced
75ml pink grapefruit juice
1 tbsp lime zest
150ml lime juice (about 5 limes)
20g caster sugar
30 coriander leaves, finely chopped

For the salad
1 fennel bulb, finely sliced (using a mandolin if possible)
110g rocket leaves

Method
For the ceviche, lightly sprinkle the salmon fillet with rock salt. Transfer to the fridge and leave for 20 minutes.

Remove the salmon from the fridge, carefully wash off all the salt and pat it dry.

In a small bowl, mix the chillies, grapefruit juice, lime zest and juice together and add the sugar. Add the coriander at the last minute and toss to combine.

Slice the salmon at an angle - each piece needs to be about 2-3mm thick.

Lay four slices evenly in a straight line onto each serving plate.

Spoon all but two tablespoons of the ceviche dressing over the salmon. Set aside for about 30 minutes.

For the salad, soak the sliced fennel in iced water for 2-3 minutes, before removing and draining. Mix with the salad leaves and the reserved two tablespoons of the ceviche dressing.

Place the fennel salad on top of the salmon 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

by Mischa de Winter

Fattoush

Ingredients
2 pita pocket breads, cut into strips about 2 cm wide, then toasted and crumbled
2 heads Romaine lettuce, chopped
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
4 tomatoes, diced (let them drain a minute or two if extra juicy)
1/2 cucumber, diced (same size as tomatoes)
small bunch coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves
small bunch coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley (leaves only, no stems)

Dressing
2-4 cloves garlic, chopped (depending on how garlic you like it)
1 teapoon salt
lemon juice, to taste
1 teaspoon Sumac, plus more for sprinkling at the end if desired)
125 ml extra virgin olive oil

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C. While the oven heats, mash together the chopped garlic and salt using a mortar and pestle, or the side of a knife. Put the garlic paste in a small bowl, then the add lemon juice and 1 teaspoon Sumac. Whisk in the olive oil and set dressing aside. (You can also make the dressing in a glass jar and shake to combine.)

Cut the pita into strips about 2 cm wide and arrange on baking sheet. Bake until the pita strips are crisp but only just starting to brown, less than 10 minutes. Watch carefully as they can go from crisp to overly brown rather quickly.

Remove the outer leaves from the Romaine, trim the stem end and then wash and dry with paper towels. Cut the Romaine into quarters lengthwise, then turn and chop crosswise into small pieces. (If you have a salad spinner, you can chop the Romaine first, then wash it.) Put chopped lettuce into salad bowl large enough toss all ingredients.

Chop tomatoes, spring onions, cucumbers, mint, and parsley and add to the lettuce. Add about half of the dressing and toss, then add the crumbled pita chips and toss again with more dressing. (You may not want to use all the dressing, but this salad should be quite wet.) At this point the salad should sit for a few minutes (or longer) to let flavours blend and so the pita chips absorb some of the dressing. To serve, arrange the salad on a platter and sprinkle with a bit more Sumac.

by Bernadette Evers

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.

by Bernadette Evers

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.

by Bernadette Evers

Cantinetta wine & pasta

Cantinetta, a relatively undiscovered Italian jewel, is situated on the de Clercqstraat in Amsterdam oud-west. American-born Deborah and the Dutch Claudia decided to bundle their passion for Italian food and opened the restaurant 2 years ago. Deborah’s love of Italian food comes from her great-grandmother and mother, with whom she spent many hours in kitchen. This is evident when you taste the freshly made dishes as they come out the kitchen. Locally sourced ingredients are used as much as possible and everything is made from scratch; from pasta, pizza bases and the delicious chocolate olive oil cake.

The restaurant has an industrial feel with a relaxed atmosphere, perfect for an evening of wining and dining with friends. The relatively small menu is inspired by Roman cuisine with quality dishes. The choice for antipasti also includes four homemade brick oven pizzas. The base is prepared from a yeast dough made from red berries which give the pizza’s an incredibly light and crispy texture and beautiful flavour. The toppings vary from basic – oil and sea salt (the sublime tasting base doesn’t really need anything else!), to a pomodori sauce with velvety soft mozzarella from Twente. The fresh salads served include our favourite, the Misticanza, made from an array of fresh herbs like mint, thyme, red berries and rocket. All pasta’s featured on the menu are prepared in house and fresh each day. If you love pasta Carbonara then you must order it here: the black pepper and clove-cured pork cheek in combination with the homemade pasta and farm-fresh eggs results in a perfect rendition of this classic dish. And there’s more than enough on offer for the sweet tooth among you – chocolate sea salt shortbread, lemon rhubarb cheesecake and Roman fried espresso doughnuts with Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate. All dishes can be paired with beautiful matching Italian wines.

All in all, Cantinetta is a wonderful place. Delicious dishes in combination with extremely attentive service and a relaxed atmosphere make this a place you want to come back to. The opening times are plus too - from Tuesday to Thursday till 23:00 and Friday and Saturday till 24:00.

For more information please visit Cantinetta.

by Bernadette Evers

Bilder & de Clercq's new recipes week 31

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:

by Mischa de Winter

SLA

We know food can be dangerously irresistible. That’s why all you’ll find at SLA are salads, juices, soups and snacks so full of flavor you’d forget they’re hearty and healthy, too. Bringing the best of both worlds, without the frills. We just eat.

SLA brings you an abundance of healthy guilty pleasures that give you all-day energy, rather than a short sugar rush. SLA spots the purest ingredients packed with flavor, and turns them into delish dishes. All you need to do is choose… whether you’ll eat in, or out. You can take-away, too.

SLA guides you through the maze of food that works. Both for your body, and (of vital importance!) our planet. Everything you’ll find at SLA is good food. Behind the scenes, we work hard to make it even better. Day in, day out. Our purposeful passion for good food means that SLA is continuously ‘under construction’. In close collaboration with our suppliers we’re constantly striking the balance between quality, locality and the seasons. We learn and improve by doing. And by eating, of course. Just like you do.

At this point, we can guarantee all our meat and poultry is 100% organic, just as the grain-based and dairy products we use (incl. eggs). Fruits and vegetables are 90% organic. Our beer is locally brawn, the wine worthy of our food and the coffee served with the fairest flair.

Locations:

Ceintuurbaan 149, 1072 GB, Amsterdam
Opening hours Monday-Sunday: 11:00-21:00
020-7893080

Westerstraat 34, 1015 MK, Amsterdam
Opening hours Monday-Sunday: 11:00-21:00
020-7893019

Claude Debussylaan 35, 1082 MC, Amsterdam
Opening hours Monday-Friday: 08:00-21:00
020-2333490

For more information please visit ilovesla

by Bernadette Evers