Rhubarb Lemonade

For 8 glasses

For the Rhubarb Syrup

1,2 kg rhubarb, peeled and diced
480 g castor sugar
450 ml water

For the Rhubarb Lemonade

sparkling water
lemon slices
mint leaves

Method

To prepare the rhubarb lemonade first combine the rhubarb, sugar, and water in a large saucepan.

Cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently for 20-25 minutes until the rhubarb is soft and the syrup has slightly thickened.

Strain the syrup through a fine sieve lined with muslin or cheesecloth, sat over a bowl.

Press the rhubarb against the side of the sieve with the back of a spoon to extract as much syrup as possible.

Pour the rhubarb syrup into a jar, seal well, and chill until ready to serve.

To Serve

Pour 50 ml of rhubarb syrup into serving glasses.

Top up with chilled sparkling water, stir briefly, and garnish the rhubarb lemonade with lemon slices and mint leaves before serving.


Asparagus Vichyssoise

On a hot spring or summer day, there is nothing as refreshing as a chilled soup. The classic Vichyssoise is a chilled leek and potato soup. To this recipe, we have added one of our favourite ingredients of the season, namely green asparagus. Try this recipe out for your next lunch or dinner.

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 bunches green asparagus
40 gr butter
1 large onion
1 large leek
2 floury potatoes
1 vegetable stock cube
250ml tub cream
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Method 
1
Cut the asparagus tips into 4 cm pieces. Finely chop the remaining asparagus. Finely slice the onion and cut the leek in lengthways in half. Wash under a tap of cold water and finely slice. Peel the potato and cut into cubes.
2
Heat a pan with the butter and olive oil. Add the onion, leek, potato and sliced asparagus (keep the asparagus tips aside). Mix well through the warm butter, cover the pan and sweat for 10 minutes over a low heat.
3
Dissolve the stock cube in 1 litre boiling water. Add the stock to the pan. Bring to boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
4
Add 200 ml cream and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Blend with a stick blender (or regular blender). Thin with a little water if necessary. Cool off, place in a bowl and chill in the refrigerator until cold.
5
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add asparagus tips. Boil for 2-3 minutes. Drain off the water and cool under cold water. Drain on kitchen paper.
6
Spoon the soup into 4 bowls. Sprinkle some of the remaining cream over it and top with the asparagus tips.

This soup is also served delicious hot.


Cooking Workshops

COOKING WORKSHOPS

Monday 20 February 2017 – Desserts and Pastry Workshop

A meal is like a book. It needs a good ending to make it memorable.’ And so this lesson will be…. From crostata, meringue, mousse and ice cream. Pure sugary heaven!

Time:
18:30 – 23:00

Location: Amsterdam Flavours, Pazzanistraat 7, 1014 DB Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam

Price: €69 per person incl. 2 glasses of wine, cup of soup, recipes and lesson materials

 

Monday 6 March 2017 – World Tapas

Inspired by the small bites in Spain, we’ve gathered our best bites from the around the world to share.

Time:18:30 – 23:00

Location: Amsterdam Flavours, Pazzanistraat 7, 1014 DB Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam

Price: €69 per person incl. 2 glasses of wine, recipes and lesson materials

 

Monday 20 March 2017 – Italian

Join us for a taste of Italy. We will be cooking some of our favourite Italian dishes. And don’t forget we’ll pair the food with our favourite Italian wines too.

Time:
18:30 – 23:00

Location: Amsterdam Flavours, Pazzanistraat 7, 1014 DB Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam

Price: €69 per person incl. 2 glasses of wine, recipes and lesson materials

 

Monday 24 April 2017 – Fish and Shellfish

Perfectly cooked fish every time! Round and flat fish, filleting, cooking methods. Shellfish and even squid. Delicious recipes to expand your repertoire.

Time: 
18:30 – 23:00

Location: Amsterdam Flavours, Pazzanistraat 7, 1014 DB Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam

Price: €69 per person incl. 2 glasses of wine, recipes and lesson materials

 

The cooking workshops are suitable for all levels of cooking skills. We will all sit down and enjoy the food cooked during the workshop. Lessons are given in both English and Dutch.

To reserve a spot, please call or mail:

Bernadette:     06 17 35 4009           bernadette@amsterdamflavours.com

Mischa:           06 14 19 3431             mischa@amsterdamflavours.com


Making the most of Artichokes

Artichokes are a thing of beauty. When everyone else is thinking of asparagus, we're thinking of artichokes. They both namely in season at the same time.

Classically served boiled or steamed with melted butter or a vinaigrette, this most luxurious of vegetables always evokes a sense of celebration.

We particularly like the baby violet artichokes. We trim the stalks and remove the hard outer leaves, cleaning it up to be left with the beautiful heart. Keep them in a bowl of lemon water to stop them discolouring. Then halve them, remove the choke (the hairy middle bit) and you're ready to go.

We take a clove or 2 of garlic, still in the skin. Place in a pan with a good glug of white wine and boil to reduce by half. Then add a good amount of olive oil, thyme, bay leaves, salt, pepper and top up with some water. Add the artichokes, cover with a piece of greaseproof paper and simmer gently until tender, around 15 minutes but this depends on the size of your artichokes. Allow them to cool in the liquid. Delicious served as a vegetable accompaniment or on crostini.

 


Pea and Mint Soup

Make the most of seasonal fresh peas in this bright and vibrant soup. If you can't find fresh peas. frozen work just as well.

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped
olive oil
850ml vegetable or chicken stock
400 g fresh or frozen podded peas
4 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
salt and pepper
50 g fresh ricotta, thinned with a little milk, to garnish
pea shoots, to garnish

Method
Heat a pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil an fry the onion for about 5 minutes. Pour in the stock and add half the mint and bring to the boil. Add the peas and bring to the boil again.

Stir in the remaining mint and season with salt and pepper. Blend the soup in a liquidiser until smooth as you like. Taste and check the seasoning, adjusting with salt and pepper if necessary. Return to the pan and reheat.

Serve the soup in bowls, garnished with the ricotta and pea shoots.

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


Celeriac Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients
100 g walnuts
3 tablespoons butter
3 leeks, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves
6 medium eating apples peeled, cored and roughly chopped
120 g cashew nuts
4 stalks of celery, sliced, use the leaves as a garnish
2 litres chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 small celeriac - about 250g peeled and roughly chopped
1 small bunch freshly chopped parsley

Method
Toast the walnuts in a large saucepan and then set aside.

Heat the butter in the pan on a medium heat then add the leeks and celery and let sweat for 8 minutes until soft on a medium heat.

Add garlic, thyme and apples and sweat for a further 5 minutes. Add the chopped celeriac and the hot stock, bring to the boil and then simmer on medium heat for 12 – 15 minutes until the celeriac is tender. Take off the heat.

Add the cashew nuts, most of the parsley and the sea salt and pepper. Blend the soup, in batches, then return to the pan on a low simmer. Season with salt and pepper and serve with the toasted walnuts, chopped fresh parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

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


Easter Lamb

Ingredients
1 de-boned shoulder of lamb about 1 ½ - 2 kg
salt and pepper
fresh oregano or fresh rosemary
small bunch of flat leaf parsley
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves of garlic

Sauce
200 ml white wine
1 bunch of tarragon
2 shallots, finely chopped
400 ml lamb or veal stock

Method
Pre-heat the oven to 160° C.

Make a paste from the herbs using the rosemary or oregano, parsley, garlic and the olive oil by mashing up in a pestle and mortar. Rub on the inside of the shoulder. Take a length of kitchen string and tie up the meat into a tidy roll. Season with salt, pepper.

Heat a heavy casserole with some olive oil over a high heat and brown the lamb on all sides.  Place a lid on the casserole and roast for a about 60 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to stand for a further 20 minutes in a warm place.

Pour of the excess fat and add a little stock to the pan, bring to the boil and reserve for the sauce.

To make the sauce, ,blanch the tarragon in boiling water for 10 seconds, then plunge into cold water. Dry off, remove the leaves from the stalks and chop finely. Reserve to add to the sauce later.

Place the stalks in a pan with the white wine and shallot, bring to the boil and reduce by half. Add the lamb or veal stock and simmer gently until reduced by a quarter.  Add the cooking juices from the lamb and the tarragon, just before serving. Season, if necessary with salt and pepper.

Braised Greens
2 heads of Swiss chard or Cavalo Nero
4 tablespoons olive oil
6 anchovy fillets, chopped
50g raisins soaked in a little brandy or hot water
2 tablespoons toasted nigella seeds (black onion) or pine nuts

Method
Wash the vegetables well in cold water and remove any though stalks.

Blanch the vegetables for a few minutes in boiling salted water and drain well.

Heat the olive oil in a pan add the chopped anchovies, toss in the vegetables and heat through; add the raisins, the seeds or nuts. Season to taste with salt and pepper 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 


Lamb Racks with Chimichurri

Serves 6

Ingredients
50 ml soy sauce
50 ml sunflower oil
tablespoons sherry
garlic cloves, minced
racks lamb chops, french trimmed
tablespoons cumin seeds, toasted
tablespoons Szechuan peppercorns, toasted
tablespoons salt
tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)

Coriander Chimichurri
1 cup coriander leaves
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons fresh jalapeño or green chilli, chopped
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
80 ml olive oil

Method
Begin with the coriander chimichurri. Blend all ingredients without the oil. Then drizzle in oil with the machine running. Season to taste with salt.

Mix soy sauce, oil, sherry, and garlic together. Cut lamb into 6 equal pieces and marinate for 6 to 8 hours.  Grind cumin seeds, peppercorns, and coriander seeds. Mix with salt and chili and sprinkle liberally over lamb. Heat a grill pan over medium heat and grill until rose inside. Let rest about 5 minutes, then slice each piece in half. Serve with the coriander chimichurri.

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 


Asparagus

Asparagus season has officially started for this year! And we're so pleased, as asparagus are one of our favourite vegetables. They're incredibly versatile as they can be blanched, grilled, roasted and when thinly shaved, even served raw.

How do you best store and clean asparagus?
In the refrigerator asparagus have a shelf life of about 7 days, in a damp tea towel (to prevent drying out) it's 1 to 3 days. Asparagus can also be frozen. Before freezing, the asparagus should be washed and peeled (there is no need to blanche them). When you want to use the asparagus, place them straight from the freezer into a pan of boiling water.

To give you some inspiration, here are 2 of our recipes using asparagus. Go out and get some now!

Green Salad

Asparagus and Turnip Greens Pasta