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')     

Langoustine tail, spinach and girolles

Hack 1/2 green chili and finely slice 1/2 shallot. Softly boil them in 125 ml langoustine stock, then add 75g cold butter and use the stick blender to make beurre monté, mounted butter.

Cool to 60°C, add 2 pre-boiled langoustine tails and warm them during 10 mins

Clean 50g girolles and pan fry them in some oil with a sprig of thyme and a clove of garlic

Stir fry 50g spinach in olive oil, with 1/2 tsp grated ginger and a pinch of salt

Start plating with the spinach, put a langoustine on top and surround with the mushrooms and the beurre monté

(Recipe by Bart Desmidt)

Scallops, pistachio salsa

Hack 1/2 tbsp pistachios, 1/2 green chili and 1 tbsp coriander leaves finely, Mix well and ad the zest and juice from 1/2 lime. Season with salt and pepper.

Season 2 scallops with salt and pepper and flash fry in a bit of olive oil

Serve in their shells, cover with the salsa and a few drops of the frying oil

(Recipe by Bart Desmidt)

Thinly sliced fillet of lamb, Sicilian capers pesto

Season a 250g fillet of lamb with salt and pepper and panfry in about 4 mins in butter. Then roll in alufoil and rest for 15 mins

For the pesto put 4 tbsp olive oil, 4 tbsp capers, 8g parsley (stems hacked, leaves plucked), the zest of 1/2 lemon and 1 tbsp juice in the blender and whisk into a smooth pesto

Add 1 tbsp soaked and hacked raisins and2 tbsp toasted and hacked  pistachios. Tast and season with salt and pepper. Add some water if too thick

Finely hack 3 anchovies and mix with 3 tbsp mayonaise and 2 tbsp milk. Season with chili flakes and transfer into a piping bag.

Slice the lamb as thin as possible and put on 2 plates.Top with the pesto

Finish with stripes of mayo, some parsley leaves and hacked toasted pistachios.

Serve with toasted crostini. Feeds 2

(Recipe by Hester de Goede in Delicious Magazine)

Crispy King crab bites, salsa from avocado, spring onion and tomato

Use scissors to open the leg of a pre-boiled King crab lengthwise, take out the meat and cut into 2 cm pieces

Cover them first with flour, the egg yolk and finally Panko

Cut 1/2 avocado, 1/2 spring onion and 1/2 (peeled) tomato into 5mm cubes.

Make a dressing from 1,5 tbsp sunflower oil, 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil and the juice of 1/4 lime. Taste and season with sea salt and a knife point of sambal oelek.

Mix with the veggies and add some hacked coriander leaves.

Deep fry the crab briefly in sunflower oil

Serve the salsa in glasses, topped with crab bites and some cress

(Here Myriam Minne's original recipe in Flemish)

Asparagus, King crab, mayonaise blanc and sea banana

Take 2 pre-boiled legs of King crab and use scissors to cut them open to remove the meat. Cut in 2 cm pieces and dry them on a plate between kitchen paper.

Whisk a mayonaise from 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp Dyon mustard, 1 tsp warm water, 1 tsp sushi vinegar and about 75 ml grapeseed oil

Whisk the remaining egg white in a second bowl till you can turn the bowl over while the beaten egg white stays firmly in place

Then, bit by bit, carefully spoon your mayonaise into the beaten egg white. This way you can double the amount of mayonaise without having to use more oil, which is much healthier.  Taste and season with pepper and salt. 

Remove the kitchen paper, and lightly brush the crab with molten butter. Put in a 70°C oven for a bit

Peel 6 asparagus. Boil them in salted water for 5 mins, then turn of the heat and leave them under a lid for 10 mins. 

Use a serving ring to spoon a circle of fluffy mayonaise blanc on 2 plates. Then position the asparagus as shown. Put the crab on top, with some more mayo.

Finish with sea bananas and some black pepper.

(Recipe by Janneke Muileboom)