Brill, shrimps, parsley root, beurre blanc

Hack 50g celeriac, 1/2 shallot and 1/2 fennel bulb and quarter a bulb of garlic. Panfry the veggies in some soy oil, with 3 sprigs of thyme 

After 3 mins deglaze with 1 dl Noilly Prat vermouth and reduce.

Add 1 dl fish stock and 1 dl cream and boil softly for 15 mins.

Crush some black pepper corns with your knife and add to the beurre blanc

Strain the beurre blanc in a sieve 

Peel a parsley root and slice into very small cubes, pan fry them in a tbsp soy oil during 3 mins. Season with pepper and salt and add to the beurre blanc, softly boil for another 10 mins

Season the filets (120g) of brill and pan fry in a tbsp soy oil then add 25g butter before turning the fish to fry for another 2 mins

In the meantime stretch microwave foil over a plate, oil lightly and put some nice parsley leaves on the foil. Microwave at 100W during 10 sec

Open de door to let the steam escape and microwave again during 90secs. to make the leaves crispy.

Start plating with the parsley root cubes in the sauce, then the fish and then some shrimps

Finish with the crispy parsley leaves.

(recipe by Stefan van Sprang)

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Scallops with Ratatouille and Parmesan Sauce

In a sauce pot, add 50ml white wine and 1/4 chopped shallot and reduce by 75%.

Add 100ml cream and reduce by 50%

Remove from heat and whisk in 30g grated Parmesan cheese, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Puree in a blender for 30 seconds, reserve warm until use.

Warm the contents of a tin of Bonduelle ratatouille (very good, so why making your own?)

Heat a saute pan with a bit of olive oil in it (let the pan get hot enough that you start to see a bit of smoke coming off the oil).

Season 4 scallops with a bit of salt and carefully place them into the pan.

Allow them to sear for 90 secs, then flip them and sear the other side for another minute and a half.

Place them on top of 2 spoonfuls of ratatouille, finish with the Parmesan sauce and cayenne pepper.

(Here chef Dean Maupin's original recipe)

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Scampi & Smoked Sausage Gumbo

Boil 100g rice

Slice a smoked sausage (mine was a delicious smoked sausage from Brandt & Levie, with venison and wild  boar, 250g) and pan fry in some olive oil. Take out and reserve.

Fry 10 scampi in the same oil and season with Cajun spice mix. Take out and reserve

In another pan sweat 1/2 sliced onion and 1 minced clove of garlic. Then add 1 peeled and cubed red paprika, 2 sliced celery sticks and more Cajun spices.

Melt 25g butter in the scampi pan, add 25g flour, boil and whisk into a nice roux.

Deglaze with 3dl vegetable stock and keep stirring into a nice thick sauce. Taste and season with Cajun spices and chili powder

Add the sausage, the scampi and the veggies. Taste again and season with sea salt and lime juice.

Serve with rice, parsley and 1/4 lime

(Here Jeroen Meus original recipe in Flemish)

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DIY steak tartare

Probably my all time favourite starter.

Everything is ready to prepare a very personal mix with parsley, ketchup, capers, shallot, gurkins, Dyon mustard, an egg yolk and tarragon.

The hand-sliced and diced raw meat was pre-seasoned with 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper, Worcester sauce and Tabasco.

Served with French fries, bien sûr.

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Italian flatbread, Mozzarella, red onion

Pre heat the oven at 180°C

Mix 200g flour with 1tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp dried oregano, 2 tbsp dried thyme, 1 tbsp dried rosemary, pepper, salt and 200g cottage cheese*

Add 3 tbsp good olive oil and start kneading the dough

Cover a baking tin with paper and push the ball of dough flat, in a pizza shape. It should be 3 mm thick

Slice a red onion thinly and push the rings softly in the dough.

Slice a good quality buffalo Mozzarella to put on top. Finish with some rosemary and coarse sea salt

Bake for 25-30 mins

Serve with aioli. Or pesto.

(Here the original recipe on mindyourfeed, in Dutch)

* Kwark/platte kaas/fromage frais 

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Middle Eastern spiced lamb kebab, cucumber sauce

Combine 225g lean lamb mince, 1/2 crushed garlic clove and 1/4 grated onion in a large bowl

Add 1/16 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp crushed fennel seeds, 1/8 tsp ground cumin, 1 cm peeled and grated ginger, 1/4 red chilli (de-seeded and finely chopped) and salt and pepper to the bowl and mix well

 

Add 1tsp chopped mint leaves, 1 tsp chopped coriander leaves  and 1/2 egg yolk and keep mixing until thoroughly incorporated

 

Divide the mixture into 2 evenly-sized portions and shape each portion into a patty

 

Cover a tray in cling film, lightly grease with oil and arrange the patties on top. Leave to rest in the fridge for at least an hour

 

Preheat the oven to 200˚C/gas mark 6

 

Transfer the patties onto a tray lined with foil and place under a hot grill for 2 minutes or until browned on each side. Then, place into the oven for 10 minutes

 

Meanwhile, squeeze the water out of 1/4 grated cucumber and add to a bowl along with 150g low fat natural yoghurt, 1/2 large ripe chopped tomato, 1/2 tbsp chopped coriander and mint each. Stir to combine and set aside

 

Open 2 wholemeal pitta breads at the top to make a pocket. Remove the burgers from the oven and serve inside the pitta with the yoghurt sauce

 

(Here Geoffrey Smeddle's original recipe)

 

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Japanese chicken meatballs, fried rice, veggies

Boil 150g Basmati rice. Then cool and reserve.

Mix 250g minced chicken meat with 1/4 beaten egg, 1 tbsp teriyaki sauce, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp corn flour, 1,5 tbsp bread crumbs, pepper and salt. Add some grated ginger and grated garlic, mix wel and reserve in the fridge for 2 hours.

For the sauce slowly heat 50g soy sauce, 50g water, 50g sake, 50g mirin, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, some grated ginger and garlic and the juice of 1/4 lime. Finally thicken the sauce with 1 tbsp corn flour.

Use 2 hands to make 'golfballs' from the chicken meat and pan fry them golden brown, in some olive oil

In the meantime halve 2 king oyster mushrooms lengthwise and use a sharp knife to make criss cross incisions in the flat sides before rubbing them with salt and pepper, which makes it easier to absorb the seasoning

Add to the meat balls and fry golden.

Move the meatballs to the sauce to boil them further, adding their juices to the sauce. Keep a lid on the pan.

Peel and halve 3 young carrots, pan fry them in some olive oil

Peel 1/4 cucumber and remove the seeds, Hack the rest in pieces, season with salt and pepper and panfry in olive oil a very hot pan till browned. Then add the cucumber to the carrots and fry for a couple of minutes more

Use the hot cucumber pan to pan fry the rice in some extra olive oil. Grate some ginger and garlic over the rice, add 1 tbsp soy sauce, 50g sliced shiitake and 1,5 tbsp Ponzu.

Start plating with the fried rice, add the meat balls and finally the veggies and the sauce

Finish with sesame seeds.

(Recipe by Jacob Jan Boerma on Cheflix)

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Chateaubriand sauce Bearnaise

 

Pre-heat the oven to 190°C

Start with the gastrique, the base for this sauce. Sweat a chopped shallot in a tbsp butter. Deglaze with 50 ml tarragon vinegar and 50 ml white wine.

Add 5 sprigs of tarragon, 5 crushed black peppercorns and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a rapid simmer and cook till the liquid has reduced by about 75%.

Set aside to cool for a few minutes, then strain into a small bowl, pressing the shallot mixture with the back of a spoon to squeeze out all of the liquid. You should have about 2 tablespoons. If you're short, just add a little water to make up the difference.

Season 400g chateaubriand liberally on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil in a heavy, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and sear until lightly browned on all sides, turning with tongs as needed, about 3 minutes total.

Place the skillet in the oven and roast for 10 to 12 minutes, until the oven thermometer registers 48° for medium rare. Wrap in foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving (to avoid blood loss.)

In the meantime rinse and dry the saucepan and add 125g clarified butter. Melt completely over medium heat and keep warm. 

Place 3 cm of water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Find a stainless steel bowl that will fit over the simmering water without actually touching it during cooking. 

Place 2 egg yolks and 2 tbsp gastrique into the bowl and whisk together until blended. Set the bowl over the simmering water and whisk vigorously as the eggs thicken and increase in volume, scraping the sides frequently to keep the mixture cooking evenly. You must whisk continually until the eggs have thickened to the point where you can see thin ribbons form when you lift the whisk. This should take about 5 minutes

To finish the sauce, whisk in the warm melted butter in a very slow drizzle. The sauce will thicken and develop a glossy sheen. Add 2 tbsp of hacked chervil and tarragon leaves each. Finish with some cayenne pepper. 

Slice the meat, pour over the sauce and serve immediately.

Great with French fries.

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Portobello schnitzel, sumak beans

Mix 2 tsp sumak, the juice of 1/2 lime, 1 tsp ground paprika, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 dl olive oil and 1/2 tbsp honey. Taste and season with salt. 

Slice 1/2 red onion and add to the vinaigrette.

Mix 1 dl olive oil with salt, pepper, 1 tsp thyme leaves, 1 tsp hacked rosemary and 1 grated clove of garlic

Halve 2 portobello mushrooms horizontally and brush all sides with the herb oil.

Hack 30g hazelnuts and toast in a dry pan.

Boil 250g green beans in water with a tsp baking powder, about 5 mins.

Separate 2 eggs, beat the egg whites and pour in a soup plate, fill another plate with 75g Panko

Dip the halved mushrooms first in the beaten egg white and coat them all over. Do the same with the Panko.

Fry the 'schnitzels' in hot arachide oil till nicely browned and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper 

Cut 125g Haloumi cheese in small cubes and panfry briefly.

Drain the beans and mix with the hazelnuts, the sumak dressing and some mint and parsley leaves

Serve as shown.

(Here Jeroen Meus' original recipe in Flemish)

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Sausage and bacon frikadeller, onion and mustard sauce

Slit the skins of 225g pork sausages  (mine were biological Brandt&Levie's fennel seed and red wine sausages) and remove the meat. Put into a bowl and discard the skins. Add 75g finely diced bacon to the sausage, mix in 1 tsp chopped parsley and check the seasoning. Roll the mixture into table tennis-sized balls, about 45g each, so you have 6 balls. Set them apart on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Warm 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over a moderate heat, add the frikadeller and let them brown appetisingly, turning from time to time. Transfer to a baking dish. Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6.

For the sauce, peel and finely slice 200g onions. Warm 1,5 tbsp olive oil in the pan in which you fried the frikadeller and add the onions. Lower the heat, partially cover with a lid and cook for 15-20 minutes until soft and pale gold. Add 1/2 tsp coriander seeds, 3 juniper berries and 1 bay leaf.  An occasional stir will help the onions to cook evenly. 

Bake the frikadeller in the oven for 15 mins until cooked trough. If you need to keep them warm while you finish, switch off the oven and cover with foil

Halve 250g red cabbage and shred finely. Heat 1,5 tbsp oil in a deep pan or casserole, add the cabbage and 2 cloves and cover. Continue cooking for 5 minutes, giving it an occasional stir, then add 2 tbsp cider vinegar and replace the lid. Leave to cook for 2 minutes, then stir in 1 tbsp red currant jelly and add a little salt and pepper. 

Stir 1/2 tbsp grain mustard and 50g crême fraiche into the onions and let it bubble briefly, adding a little salt and pepper. 

Transfer the cabbage to a serving bowl, place the frikadeller among the cabbage, then spoon over the onion sauce and serve. 

(Click here for Nigel Slater's original recipe)

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