Frozen pollock or pollack (Dutch: koolvis, French: colin) is amazingly cheap. It comes in unnatural-looking rectangular blocks. At a local supermarket it is 1.75 euros for 400 grams (that is $2.37/lb). It is “frozen at sea”, which means it is … Continue reading Pasta with Cheap Fish Ragù
Paella is one of the best known dishes from Spain, although it is really from the Spanish city of Valencia on the Mediterranean coast. The name “paella” simply means “pan” in Valencian, although a paella pan is called a “paellera” … Continue reading Paella Mixta
Can you guess what this is? No, it is not smoked chicken breast. Hint: we’ve just returned from a wonderful vacation on the Italian island of Sardinia. It is bottarga di muggine, or the salted and dried roe pouch of … Continue reading Spaghetti con la Bottarga
Teriyaki is a Japanese cooking technique in which fish or meat is broiled or grilled with a glaze of soy sauce, sake, and mirin (sweet sake). (Making your own teriyaki marinade is better than store-bought versions that include too many … Continue reading Salmon Teriyaki Sous-Vide with Bok Choy
When I saw black been beaf on One Man’s Meat, I knew at once I wanted to make a sous-vide version. Conor’s Asian recipes are always quick, simple, and full of flavor. Sous-vide takes the quickness out of it, but … Continue reading Black Bean Beef Sous-Vide
Goat cheese and asparagus both go well with Sauvignon blanc, so it is no surprise they go together as well. In this case I’ve made them into ravioli, delicate parcels of loveliness. To enhance the ‘goatness’ I made goat cheese … Continue reading Asparagus and Goat Cheese Ravioli (Ravioli agli Asparagi e Formaggio di Capra)
It doesn’t have to take a lot of time or effort to cook a delicious meal. This quick pasta dish was inspired by Simona’s insalata di pasta, salmone e pomodori. Her version was made with canned salmon and uncooked tomatoes … Continue reading Pasta with Salmon and Cherry Tomatoes
Fish fillets, such as European sea bass (also known by the Italian name branzino or the French name loup de mer) or sea bream (also known by the Italian orata or the French daurade) are great when cooked on the … Continue reading How To Cook Fish Fillets On The Skin
It is not often that fresh apricots are available here, and as they were not very ripe I thought they’d be most suited to make a sauce. I decided to follow the example of Conor, the king of meat with … Continue reading Pork Tenderloin with Apricot Ginger Sauce
If it’s too hot right now to turn on the oven where you are, save this recipe for later, because it is easy and delicious. Cod, potatoes, and tomatoes are all cooked together in the oven with garlic and herbs … Continue reading Baked Cod, Potatoes, and Tomatoes (Merluzzo, Patate e Pomodori al Forno)
Pasta con le sarde is a very typical pasta dish from Sicily with a unique flavor. The main ingredients are pasta and sardines as the name implies, but also wild fennel (finocchietto). The latter ingredient may be hard to find … Continue reading Pasta con le sarde (Pasta with Sardines and Wild Fennel)
Although primavera means spring, this is also a great risotto to make in summer. Also because in March and April, certainly in this part of the world, the vegetables used for this are not in season yet. There are many … Continue reading Risotto alla Primavera
These fennel ravioli are heavily inspired on these fennel ‘meatballs’ (polpette) that I discovered in Sicily at the great trattoria Tischi Toschi in Taormina. I prepare a lot of fennel, either in a salad, in pasta, or braised as a side. … Continue reading Fennel Ravioli (Ravioli ai Finocchi)
Even in the moderate Dutch climate in summer we have days that are so warm that it is nicer to cook outside than inside. What is locally called “barbecue” is usually a festive meal where everyone participates in the cooking … Continue reading Grilled Sea Bream and Fennel
The popularity of picanha as a cut of beef to be prepared on the grill (BBQ) hails from Brazil, and that is why the cut is known under its Brazilian (Portuguese) name. It is called rump cover or rump cap … Continue reading Warm-Aged and Hay-Smoked Beef Picanha
A simple fruit salad can be made special by the addition of a bit of rose water. Rose water is made by steeping rose petals in water and originates in Iran and India. It has a wonderful smell of roses. Berries … Continue reading Rose Water Fruit Salad
This is an elegant dish for a dinner party that is easy to prepare. Flatfish with mint sauce is a combination I saw in one of Biba Caggiano’s cookbooks. In this case I used sole. If turbot is the king … Continue reading Sole with Mint, Peas, and Fennel
Spain is very proud of its jamón iberico, and rightly so. The cured ham is made from a special breed of pig (known simply as iberico in Spain, but abroad often called pata negra because of the black hooves) and … Continue reading Croquetas de Jamón (Iberico Ham Croquettes)
It is always a treat when friends cooks for me. This simple but tasty dish is based on an appetizer that our friends Merel and Barthold served at a dinner party at their house. As usual with simple recipes, it … Continue reading Sea Bass Ceviche with Avocado
Scaloppine are a popular secondo in Italy because they are delicious and quick to prepare. Thin slices of meat are pounded even thinner and then served with all kinds of sauces, like balsamic, Marsala, with eggplant, mozzarella and tomato, or … Continue reading Veal Escalope with Mushrooms and Marsala (Scaloppine ai Funghi e Marsala)
“Bravo” is a Spanish word that can mean brave (as in courageous), but also wild, rough, or spirited, as in the name of the rough coastline near Barcelona (Costa Brava). And so Patatas Bravas could literally be translated as potatoes with spirit. … Continue reading Patatas Bravas
In Spain we visited the city of Logroño, which is in the Rioja wine region but also famous for its tapas scene. One of my favorite tapas I tried there was smoked sardines (served on toast with roasted bell pepper). It … Continue reading Smoked Sardines (Sardinas Ahumadas)
During our trip to Spain last fall we gorged ourselves on researched many different types of tapas. One very popular kind of tapas that you see everywhere is croquettes with various fillings. They are crispy on the outside and creamy … Continue reading Croquetas de Setas (Mushroom Croquettes)
A frikandel is one of the most popular Dutch fast food items. They are usually produced from “mechanically separated meat”, which means any meat that can be obtained through mechanical means from a carcass after ‘regular’ butchering has finished. To … Continue reading Frikandellen (Dutch Deep Fried Hot Dog)
This is what I had for dinner tonight (followed by a secondo of chicken breast). Spiralized Zucchini (also known as zoodles) is so well known as substitute for real pasta, that we’d almost forget that it is also really good … Continue reading Spaghetti with Spiralized Zucchini
Next to paella, tortilla española or tortilla de patatas is one of the most famous national dishes of Spain. It can be found on restaurant menus, but it is also served as tapas. Patatas means potatoes, and that about sums it … Continue reading Tortilla de Patatas o Tortilla Española (Spanish Potato Omelette)
Rillettes are usually made from meat, cooked slowly in fat until tender enough to be easily shredded, and then mixed with the fat. When my friend Robert mentioned he’d been gifted some skate and asked me to prepare it, skate rillettes … Continue reading Skate and Beurre Noisette Rillettes with Roasted Peppers
Beurre noisette, literally hazelnut butter, is often used in French cooking and baking, and it is therefore good to know how to make it. The hazelnut doesn’t only refer to the color, but also to the nutty smell and taste … Continue reading How To Make Beurre Noisette (Brown Butter)
Yaprak Sarma is a Turkish dish of meat wrapped in grape leaves. Sarmak is Turkish for to roll or to wrap, and yaprak means leaf. Sarma are sometimes also called dolma (from dolmak, to fill or to stuff), but strictly speaking … Continue reading Çiğdem’s Yaprak Sarma (Meat Wrapped in Grape Leaves)
Erbazzone is a savory pie from the town of Reggio Emilia in Northern Italy that is filled with chard (and sometimes also other greens, including spinach). I was reminded of it when Stefano posted his version of it. As usual … Continue reading Erbazzone (Chard Pie)
