Oven roasted vegetables gazpacho, laurel oil

Pre heat the oven to 65°C

First make some laurel oil: blanche 4g fresh laurel leaves for 50 sec in boiling water, then scoop them into ice water. Dab dry and put in a jam jar with 40 ml grape seed oil. Put in the oven for 1 hour.

Put in the blender for 1 min, then drain through cheesecloth and reserve

Put the oven on 220°

Hack 200g red paprika, halve 350g San Marzano tomatoes and 175g apricots, peel and hack  125g carrots. Mix in a bowl with 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp salt and some black pepper.

Spoon on an oven tray covered with baking paper, keeping well apart because too close together they will be steamed instead of roasted and caramelised

Roast for 30 mins

In the meantime peel and slice a small red onion and marinade the rings in 2 tbsp red wine vinegar and 3 tbsp water

Cool the veggies, then blend them with the onion, the marinade , 10 basil leaves, 3 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp ground cumin. Add water the reach the desired consistency 

Taste and season with salt if necessary, then keep in the fridge

Serve at room temperature, with raspberries, cubed green paprika and croutons

Finish with drops of the laurel oil

Recipe by Giorgia Eugenia Goggi in Delicious Magazine

Vitello tonnato salad

Boil 1 egg 5 mins, cool and peel and put  in a small food processor or blender together with 135g  tuna from a tin (incl the oil), the zest and juice from 1/2 lemon, 1 minced clove of garlic, 1/2 tsp Dyon mustard and 30 ml grapeseed oil and whizz until it emulsifies into a smooth sauce. Season with salt and pepper 

Pre heat the oven to 220°C

Wash 10 baby potatoes, halve them, cover in olive oil, season with salt and pepper and bake 30 mins in the hot oven on a tray with parchment paper. 

Whisk the juice of 1/2 orange with 2 tbsp olive oil into a dressing, season with salt and pepper

Use a mandoline to very thinly slice a kohlrabi, then use a serving ring to cut out sixteen 5 cm circles. Keep in the dressing

Start plating with 20 leaves of baby spinach and the cooled potatoes

Add the kohlrabi, slices of veal fricandeau, slices of fresh tuna

Finish with the dressing, dots of the tuna sauce and some dill

Based on Hester de Goede's original recipe in Delicious Magazine

Scallops with sage and pink pepper butter

Take the leaves from a sprig of sage and hack them finely.

Ground 1 tsp pink peppercorns in a mortar

Melt 25 butter in a sauce pan with another sprig of sage. Take off the heat and infuse for 20 mins.

Place a bowl on another bowl filled with ice water

Use a mixer and whisk till the butter turns white and airy, then add almost all the pepper plus the sage. Season with salt

Panfry 4 scallops in butter, 2 mins per side

Serve a shown, use 2 teaspoons to make nice quenelles of the butter.

Finish with the rest of the pepper and lime zest

(Recipe by Liselore Bus in Delicious Magazine)

Asparagus and salmon tart

Defrost 450g store bought puff pastry, then roll out into a 30 x 40 cm shape.

On all sides cut off 1,5 cm strips

Beat an egg and brush the whole surface, then 'glue' the 1,5 cm strips back on the edges to make a border. Brush them with the last of the beaten egg

Softly fry a minced shallot in a tbsp olive oil in a sauce pan, then add 150g frozen  green peas. Season with salt, pepper and the zest and juice of 1/2 lemon 

Use the stick blender to make a coarse puree

Cut off the bottom 3 cm from 400g green asparagus, halve them lengthwise and panfry them for about 4-5 mins, they should have a little bite left

Mix 120 ml crème fraîche with the zest of a lime and the juice of 1/4 lime

Pre heat the oven to 220°C

Transfer the puff pastry to a baking sheet, covered with parchment paper.

Use a fork to make holes in the bottom, then bake 20 mins

Take out and cool a bit

Then spoon small heaps of the créme fraîche and the pea puree all over the tart, followed by the asparagus

Finally add 200g smoked salmon and finish with dill tops. Quarter to feed 4.

(Recipe by Sake Slootweg)

Cole slaw and chicken meatballs

Mix 1 tbsp Greek yoghurt, 1 tbsp crème fraîche, 1 tsp Dyon mustard and the zest and juice of 1 lime.

Thinly slice 200 g white cabbage, cut 100g carrot in julienne, cut an orange in segments (en vife, without the membrane) and quarter 7 cherry tomatoes

Mix the slaw with the yoghurt dressing and marinate for at least an hour

Soak 25g Panko in 5 tbsp milk. 

Beat an egg and mix with 1 tbsp oyster sauce, a knifepoint of nutmeg, 7 hacked cherry tomatoes, the hacked leaves of 3 sprigs of parsley, then add the soaked breadcrumbs

Add 300g minced chicken meat, season with salt and pepper and mix well to firm up.

Pre heat the oven to 200°C

Line an oven dish with baking paper, use and ice cream scoop to make 6 balls from the meat, cover with some more Panko and bake in the hot oven for at least 30 min

(Here Sake Slootweg's original recipe in Dutch)

Tomato tomato with crispy capers

Boil 1 egg 5 mins, cool and peel and put  in a small food processor or blender together with 135g  tuna from a tin (incl the oil), the zest and juice from 1/2 lemon, 1 minced clove of garlic, 1/2 tsp Dyon mustard and 30 ml grapeseed oil and whizz   until it emulsifies into a smooth sauce. Season with salt and pepper 

Wash 2 tsp salted capers, drain and dry, then pan fry them in 4-6 mins in 4 tbsp olive oil till the flowers open and the color changes. Drain and reserve the oil

Cut 2 big Coeur de Boeuf tomatoes in 5 mm slices

Spoon the tuna paste on 2 plates, then arrange the tomatoes like a salade Caprese

Mix the caper oil with 1 tsp old balsamic vinegar and sprinkle over the tomatoes

Finish with rucola and shaved Parmesan and black pepper

< alternative: a small portion as an amuse

Recipe Alice Zaslavsky in Delicious Magazine

Asparagus, steak tartare, pancetta and parsley oil

Use the blender to mix 20g parsley, 1 clove of garlic and 50ml olive oil. Put trough a small sieve, season with salt and pepper and reserve

Peel 4 asparagus

Cut 150g bavette in thin slices, then the slices into strips and the strips into small cubes. Season with salt and pepper

Mince a small shallot, mix with the meat with 2 tbsp olive oil,  a few drops of Worcester and Tabasco, 1/2 tsp Dyon mustard and 1 tsp tomato ketchup

Bring water to the boil with salt and a pinch of sugar, put in the asparagus and boil 5 mins, turn of the heat and keep (under a lid) for another 7 mins.

In the meantime hack 20g hazelnuts and 20g pumpkin seeds and toast them. Season with sea salt

Drain the asparagus, cool under running water and dry with kitchen paper. Use a kitchen burner to color the asparagus

Serve a shown, with slices of smoked pancetta, apple capers and the parsley oil

(Here Kris Herrijgers' original recipe in Flemish)

 

Whole roasted carrots with pangrattato and chilli honey dressing

True, it doesn't look spectacular, but what a nice mix of flavours to eat, believe me.

Preheat oven to 220°C

Place 10 fat carrots on a large baking tray and drizzle with 2 tbs oil. Season to taste and toss to combine. Arrange in a single layer and roast for 35-40 minutes, until carrots are tender and skin is golden and lightly charred.

Meanwhile, to make pangrattato, add remaining 2 tbs oil to a small frypan over medium heat. Add 20g Panko and 1 crushed clove of garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 4-6 minutes, until golden and crisp. Season, transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool completely.

For the dressing, place 2 tbs olive oil, 1 tbsp runny honey and 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar in a small bowl, season and whisk to combine. Season with salt, pepper and 1/2 tsp chili flakes

To serve, halve carrots lengthways. Spread 200g labneh over the base of 2 plates, top with carrots and drizzle with dressing. 

Scatter with breadcrumb mixture and dill sprigs. 

(Here Dannielle Alvarez' original recipe)

Scallops, asparagus, beurre Café de Paris

Mix 45g butter (room temperature), 20g finely cut anchovies, 1/2 finely cut shallot, 4 pressed cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp hacked parsley, the hacked leaves of a sprig of estragon, 1/2 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp Dyon mustard, 1/2 tsp Worcester sauce, 1/4 tsp paprika powder, 1/2 tsp ketchup, 1/2 tsp sea salt

Spoon mixture onto a 20cm-long piece of plastic wrap. Roll up to enclose and form a 12cm log. Twist ends to seal. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.

Peel 6 fat asparagus, cut off the tips, use the rest to make a nice soup.

Boil them 4 mins in boiling salted water, kill the heat and leave them under a lid for another 5 mins

Season 6 scallops with salt and pepper and panfry in a lightly oiled pan, crumble half of the Beurre Cafe de Paris, once it's melted kill the heat, turn the scallops and leave them 2-3 mins to absorb the heat.

Serve as shown, with some sea banana (and crusty bread to soak up the delicieus butter)

Freeze the rest of the butter

(Inspired by Alex Prichards recipe in Delicious Magazine)

Brioche, dulce de leche, passionfruits

Making dulce de leche is simple: put an unopened tin of condensed milk in a pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and keep boiling for 3 hrs. Make sure the tin is under water all the time

Do not open till completely cooled down after the 3 hrs! 

Gently spoon 40g Greek yoghurt through 70ml whipped double cream

Halve 2 or 3 passions fruits

Brush 2 thick slices of brioche with butter and toast them in a 180°C oven for about 10 mins.

Spread dulche de leche on  the toasted brioche, then a big spoonful cream and finally the pulp and juice of the passions fruits

(Recipe by Noni Kooiman for Delicious Magazine)

Kläpphagen's skrei, beurre noisette and horseradish

Start 2 days in advance making pickled red onion and cucumber.

Peel and quarter 3 small red onions. Halve 1/2 cucumber lengthwise, deseed and cut into small cubes. 

Bring 50ml white wine vinager and 150 ml water to the boil with 100g caster sugar.

Put the onions and cucumber in a mason jar and cover with the sweet and sour liquid.

Cool and keep in the fridge for 2 days.

Then cover two 160g filets of skrei (skin on) with sea salt. Rinse and dry after 20 mins

Put them, skin side down in and oiled and hot grill pan and grill for 2 mins. Take out and reserve

Clean 8 bimi and 10 green beans and blanche 2 mins in boiling salted water, cool in ice water and reserve

Put 200g cauliflower florets in a pan with 200ml milk and 200 ml double cream, boil 15-18 mins.

Transfer the florets to the blender, with a couple of tbsp of the liquid and some smoked Maldon salt and make a smooth, almost liquid mash

Melt 40g butter in a saucepan till it smokes and is lightly burned. Take off the fire.

Panfry the fish, skin side down in 20g butter with 1,5 tbsp capers and some sprigs of thyme till the fish is no longer transparent 

In the meantime cover the beans and bimi with a bit of olive oil and grill 2 mins in the grill pan

Start plating with a circle of cauliflower mash, then add pickled onions and cucumber.

Proceed with the bimi and beans and put the fish on top

Finish with grated fresh horseradish and the beurre noisette.

(Recipe by Johan Sköld and Martin Nilsson in Delicious Magazine)

Sardines paté

Carefully open a (120g) can of sardines. Drain the sardines well and remove the bones.

Put the meat in the chopper attachment of your stickblender with 73g butter and 1tbsp Madera (or port) and make a smooth paté.

Mix with some hacked parsley. Season with Tabasco and salt

Spoon the paté back in the tin.

Serve with toasted bread 

(Recipe found in Delicious Magazine)

Pasta alla Norcina

Yes, it is not an award winning picture of an amazing looking dish. The kitchen from Umbria is called cucina povera (poor kitchen) but the simple dishes like this one taste great. The best reason to give you the recipe:

Cover 15g dried porcini with boiling water and soak 20min

Remove the skin of 250g pork sausages and stir-fry the minced meat 10 min till nicely browned 

Drain the porcini (keep the water), hack them finely and add to the meat with 2 finely hacked cloves of garlic. Fry for 4 mins, then add 5g flour and mix well

After 10 min add 200 ml double cream and 100 ml of the porcini water,

Simmer 10 mins 

In the meantime boil 120g penne

Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper

Serve as shown with grated Parmesan.

(Here the original recipe in Delicious Magazine) 

Squid in tomato and paprika coulis

Pre-heat the oven at 200°C. 

Peel 2 ripe tomatoes and 1/2 red paprika.

Halve the tomatoes and put them in a roasting tin with the paprika, 1/3 onion, 1 clove of garlic, 1/8 red chili. Sprinkle some olive oil over it and put in the hot oven for 15 mins

Cool a bit and blend with the inside of a white bun (pistolet), 1/2 tbsp tomato paste, a glug of olive oil, a glug of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Blend into a smooth sauce

Clean 10 baby squid, brush with olive oil en season with salt and pepper.

Panfry them in 15 sec per side

Serve a shown, finish with hacked coriander and some drops of olive oil

(Recipe by Flemish chef Bart Desmidt)

Lemon curd and merengue tart

Melt 75g butter, crush 220g Bastogne biscuits and mix the crumbles with the butter. 

Cover the bottom of a 17x 27 cm baking tin with baking paper and brush the sides with butter, before putting the biscuit mix in. Press well ,then keep in the fridge for an hour to firm up

Split 3 eggs, use the yolks for something else and whip the whites till firm, then carefully spoon in 50g icing sugar

Bring 150g caster sugar to the boil in 50 ml water and use a thermometer to see it reaches exactly 121°C

Ask somebody else to pour the sugar mix slowly, slowly onto the beaten egg whites, while you keep whisking into a merengue

Take the bottom from the fridge and cover with 1,5 jar Chives lemon curd

Then spoon the Merengue on top

Keep chilled till serving.

Use a kitchen burner to make nice brown edges on the merengue and finish with strawberries

(A Janneke Muileboom recipe)

Pasta alla Norma

Slice 1 big aubergine in 2 cm cubes, sprinkle with salt and rest voor 10 mins.

Rinse and dry, then panfry in 3 tbsp olive oil for about 10 mins, till soft and nicely browned.

Take out and reserve

Add another tbsp oil to panfry 1/2 minced onion, 1 tsp caraway seeds and 1 tsp fennel seeds.

After 5 mins add 1 minced cove of garlic and fry another minute before adding 35g tomato paste

After 1 min add 400g tomato cubes from a tin, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and the reserved aubergine

Softly boil for 15 mins to thicken the sauce

In the meantime boil 150g orecchiette pasta, 

Mix the pasta into the sauce, with some of the cooking liquid.

After plating sprinkle 40g grated goat's cheese over the pasta and some rucola

Feeds 2

(Here Julie Teekens original recipe in Dutch)

Asparagus, black tiger gamba's, light red curry sauce

Peel 2 thick asparagus, boil them 5 mins in salted water, shut off the heat and leave them, under a lid, another 6 mins

Mix 1/2 tbsp Thai red curry with 75mk creamed coconut and the juice of 1/4 lime and warm

Pan fry 6 black tiger gamba's in olive oil

Start plating with 3 tbsp curry, put the asparagus on it and then fold the gamba's over the asparagus

Finish with lime zest (Feeds 2)

(Here Onno Kleyn's original recipe in Dutch)

Gratin of red fruit

Defrost 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream and mix with 1 tbsp whipped double cream, 1 egg yolk and 1 tsp Amaretto

Divide over 4 plates and add 16 halved strawberries and 16 raspberries

Then put the plates under a hot grill till the ice is firmed up and nicely browned. Feeds 4

(Recipe by Bart Desmidt)

Burrata, artichoke and tomatoes

For starters fill a pan with 5 cm cold water and add the juice of 1/2 lemon, then trim down 2 big fresh artichokes down to their meaty hearts

(Click here to see how Molly Watson does it)

She writes: cut off and discard the stem end of the artichoke, cut close to the base so the artichoke can stand up on its own.

Pull off and discard the artichoke leaves, starting with the outer ring and working your way around and in the entire thistle. Most of the leaves will snap off, leaving the meaty bit at their ends still attached to the heart. Don't worry if you end up pulling the whole leaf off.

Keep going. Pull off and discard the artichoke's leaves—as you get to the inner leaves, they are more tender, flexible, and yellow. Grab the tops of the center leaves and pull up to remove them. This will reveal the fuzzy, choke underneath. These leaves are often a bit stiff at the ends and depending on the specific variety, may have lovely purple tips.

Use a spoon to dig in and scrape off the fuzzy (and inedible) choke.

Use a paring knife to cut off and discard any tough, fibrous, dark green parts clinging to the outside of the artichoke heart. Be aggressive. You only want the tender, light flesh of the heart when you're finished.

Now you have a fully trimmed and cleaned artichoke heart. It is ready to cook and eat. To keep the hearts from oxidizing and turning brown rub them first with the other 1/2 lemon, then add them in the pan with lemon water. 

Add salt, bring to the boil and cook for 15 mins

Quarter them and marinate for several hours in 70ml olive oil, 1 grated clove of garlic, 3 sprigs of thyme and 2 sprigs of rosemary

Halve 10 cherry tomatoes and mix with the artichokes

Halve a burrata (room temperature) and sprinkle with olive oil, balsamico vinegar, salt and pepper

Start plating with the burrata, then add the artichokes and tomatoes. Finish with Cornish sea salt with garlic and pea shoots

(Recipe by Luca Piscopo in Delicious Magazine)

Fish soup with whiting, fennel and courgette

The original recipe was for haddock but that was not available so I asked my  fishmonger to cut two 6cm fillets from 1/2 whiting and took the off-cuts as well

Use a mini parisienne spoon to create 10 small balls from 1/2 courgette. Panfry them in butter with a clove of garlic and a sprig of thyme

Cut two 5mm slices from a small fennel bulb, boil them in salted water during 6 mins.

Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper and keep on the side, cut the rest of the fish in pieces and braise them in some butter. Deglaze with 50ml white wine and 1 tbsp Marsala.

Braise 200g tomatoes from a tin (without the liquid) in some olive oil. 

Then roughly hack 1/2 celery stick,  1/2 fennel bulb, the rest of the courgette and add to the tomatoes with 1/2 minced shallot and 1 minced clove of garlic

Sweat a couple of mins then add the braised offcuts. Season with a pinch of cumin, curry, fennel seed, a star anise and Piment d'Espelette. 

Blend into a smooth soup.

Braise the reserved fennel slices in a glug of olive oil with 2 tbsp water.

Panfry the fish fillets in butter

Start plating with the soup, add the fish fillets. Put a slice of fennel on top and finish with the courgette balls and some fennel green. I had some leftover vongole and added them too 

(A Bart Desmidt recipe from his book 'Simpel maar goed')