Cauliflower soup

So, it's been a while. A long, long while. My life has changed radically. The cute little house in the forest is still there...but I'm no longer in it. At least not permanently. It will now be a place to hide from the big, bad Amsterdam.
Yes, I've moved back. I found a job and a house, and I'm enjoying the buzz of the city once again. Looking out of my window I no longer see deer jumping around, it's just the neighbors across the street closing their curtains. It's a different life, completely. Not so much time for blogging anymore! But, now that everything has settled down a bit, I think I'll start again. Even if it's just as a notebook for myself.
Today I will start with a recipe I got from my mother-in-law. It's delicious, fresh and very pure. It sounds a bit complicated, but actually it's quite simple. Just try it!
I'll serve it tonight on my Easter dinner, followed by lamb, spring vegetables and a dessert.



Cauliflower soup (serves 4-6)

1 cauliflower (NL=bloemkool, S=blomkål)
1,25 L water
1 large tablespoon of butter
1 onion, chopped
1 sellery stick, chopped
2 tablespoons of flour
100 ml cream
50 g grated pecorino and some extra to serve
nutmeg (NL=nootmuskaat, S=muskot)

step 1
* cut the cauliflower in half. divide in two parts, and cut one part in nice florets, without the green
* bring 1,25 L water to the boil in a large pan and add the florets. boil for around 5 minutes, until just tender
* when that's done, take out the cauliflower with a (slotted) spoon and put it a bowl to use later. don't throw away the water!

step 2
* cut up the other half of the cauliflower, including the green, in large chunks
* take a large pan and fry the onion and sellery in butter, until soft and shiny
* add the unboiled cauliflower and greens, and 2 tablespoons of flour and keep frying for a minute, while stirring
* add the water you used to boil the cauliflower in and cook for 20 minutes

step 3
* purée the soup and add 100 ml of cream, the pre-boiled florets and 50 g of pecorino
* taste, and add salt and pepper
* serve with freshly grated nutmeg and some extra pecorino or parmezan

I changed the recipe a little bit - originally it has carrot instead of sellery, and parmezan instead of pecorino. All variations taste good. What I especially like about this soup, is that it's creamy but still has texture, and that it's very pure in flavour. Vrolijk Pasen!

Roasted red soup

I have a few recipes for you, waiting to make an appearance here on the blog. A soup; a healthy plate and a simple, but delicious dessert with nuts, apples and pears. What shall I share with you first? Perhaps the soup. I have made it a couple of times, and have the original idea for it from this website. Have a look there if you like healthy and vegetarian food.
The flavour of the roasted vegetables in this soup is really great.



I added a little twist to the recipe by putting in a little anchovies and I have replaced the vegetable bouillon for fish bouillon - but you can keep it simple and completely vegetarian too if you like.

Roasted red soup (serves 4)

olive oil
5 ripe (grape) tomatoes (NL: trostomaten, S: kvisttomater)
1 large red bell pepper (NL/S: paprika)
4 small onions
5 cloves of garlic
500 ml water
1 cube of fish bouillon (or vegetable bouillon)
optional: 2-3 anchovies
salt and pepper
a few drops of tabasco
freshly grated parmezan

* preheat the oven to 190 C
* grease a baking tray with some oil
* peel the onions and remove the seeds and membrane of the red bell pepper
* cut the tomatoes, red bell peppers and onions in quarters, place them on the baking tray and pour a few tablespoons of olive oil on them
* use your hands to make sure they are all covered by a thin layer of oil and place them skin side down (or in case of the onions - where the skin used to be)
* don't peel the garlic, just put them in a corner of the baking tray
* place in the oven for 45 min, or until the onions are browned a bit on the sides and all the vegetables are soft and cooked
* take the garlic aside and put the rest of the vegetables (including their juices) in a pan
* peel the garlic and add to the veggies
* also add the anchovy, if you are using it. it will add a little bit of extra flavour and saltiness
* in another pan, bring 500 ml water to the boil and add the bouillon cube
* use a hand blender (NL: staafmixer, S: stavmixer) to puree the vegetables and add half of the bouillon. add more bouillon if needed to create the texture you prefer - this will vary depending on how much juice the vegetables are containing
* warm the soup through and add salt and pepper to taste, and a few drops of tabasco
* serve with a handful of freshly grated parmezan

I usually serve this soup as a starter. It's really great when you have pasta as a main course, because this way you still get your portion of vegetables. Smart, huh.
Of course you could serve it for lunch as well, perhaps with some garlic bread.

Bruschetta con funghi

I wanted to make artichokes with basil butter as a starter for the girls. In the supermarket though, I found that the artichokes were way too expensive. So, when I saw they had a nice assortment of mushrooms and some ripe tomatoes, I decided to make two types of bruschetta instead. The recipe for the bruschetta con pomodori you already got and now I will tell how I made the bruscetta con funghi. It was delicious by the way!



Bruschetta con funghi

olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced + 2 cloves of garlic
300-350 g mixed mushrooms (I used oyster, shiitake and ordinary mushrooms), roughly sliced
4 slices of rustic bread
1 tablespoon of butter
handful of flatleave parsley, chopped

* heat the oven to 200 C
* heat the oil and add the garlic and mushrooms
* stir fry on a medium heat for 10 minutes
* in the meantime, roast the bread slices for 10 minutes in the oven, or fry them in a pan
* cut 2 cloves of garlic in half and rub the bread with the garlic
* back to the mushrooms: add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 handful of chopped parsley and raise the heat for a minute
* then spoon the mushroom mixture onto the slices of bread
* have a good glass of dry white wine to go with it!

Bruschetta con pomodori

So, finally that bloody thesis has been handed in. What a joy and what a relief! To celebrate I had a dinner with my friends. I made some bruschetta as a starter, one with mixed mushrooms and one with tomato.



After that we had Parmigiana di Melanzana (an oven dish with aubergines and parmezan), with tagliatelle and a salad. Finally we had a glass filled with layers of marinated strawberry, vanilla cream, curd and meringues. And a lot of wine with all the courses, naturally.



Bruschetta con pomodori (4 servings)

4-6 tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped + 2 cloves of garlic
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
juice of 1/4 orange
1/2 teaspoon sugar
handful of basil, shredded
4 slices of rustic bread
salt and pepper

* put all the ingredients in a bowl and leave to stand for 30 minutes or longer
* heat the oven to 200 C and roast the bread slices for 10 minutes, or fry them in a pan
* cut 2 cloves of garlic in half and rub the bread with the garlic
* with a spoon, take some of the mixture, making sure to leave as much juice behind in the bowl as possible. Spoon the mixture on the slices of bread.

Make sure to use ripe tomatoes. I added a little orange juice, which tasted great and gives a slight twist to this classic Italian dish.

It's all about the carrot soup

I think I am nearly done with my thesis...I have to read it again to make sure, and then print it and hand it in tomorrow - and then I am really done. Can't wait for the moment when that that stack of papers, with a thud, lands on the bottom of my professor's post box at university. It will be a burden of my chest and a load of my back! But I'm not there yet, congratulate me tomorrow! I plan to cook something festive then, to celebrate with my friends that we have made it.
But for now a very simple recipe for a simple, but beautiful soup. Carrot and parsley are friends, that you can taste. Some orange and a hint of onion enhance the flavours of carrot and round it off. This soup is very pure and fresh. No coriander or cumin, which I also love, because those strong flavours take over. In this soup the star is the carrot and it shines in all its glory!



It's all about the carrot soup (serves 4)

sunflower oil or butter
1 large onion, diced
800 g carrots, sliced
1 L water
2 cubes of vegetable bouillon
150 ml orange juice
a few handfuls of flat leaf parsley, chopped
crème fraiche or sour cream

* fry the onion in some oil or butter for 1 minute and add the sliced carrots. continue to cook for 1 minute
* add 1 L of water and 2 bouillon cubes and bring to the boil
* boil for about 15 minutes, until the carrots are tender and you can easily pierce them with a fork
* take the pan of the heat and use a hand mixer (NL:staafmixer) to puree the mixture into a smooth soup
* stir in 150 ml of orange juice and bring back to the heat for a few minutes, so the flavours can blend together
* serve with a lot of fresh parsley and a good dollop of crème fraiche or sour cream

Prawns with homemade mayonnaise

Up until a few years ago I didn't like prawns. In fact, I didn't like anything that could crawl or still had legs, claws or antennas.
Then I started going to this tapas place around the corner of my old house in Amsterdam. I would go there with either my roommate and best friend A. and/or my boyfriend M. Both of them were crazy about the gambas al ajillo. With fascination and disgust I looked at those little animals and watched how they were devoured. The head was jerked off, and then the rest of the skin. Taking the bowels out and then, finally, they could eat this poor little pink thing. Not so appealing, but the smell of garlic and oil..hmmm.
Finally I took a bite. Since then I am sold and now I skin these little mama's without any scruples what so ever.



I also love eating them plain, with some homemade mayo, toasted bread with butter and some lemon juice. Just put everything on the table, and let everybody clean the prawns themselves.
Take 100 g of unpeeled, cooked prawns per person.

Mayonnaise (around 1 cup)

1 egg yolk
1 small teaspoon Dijon mustard
2,5 dl sunflower oil
little bit of lemon juice
salt and pepper

* mix the egg yolk with the mustard with a (electric) whip (NL: garde)
* add just a drop of oil and mix
* add another drop and mix and continue this way until it's getting thick and creamy
* dribble in the rest of the oil slowly while whipping continuously (I tend do it too fast and have to start over - very annoying)
* stir in some lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste



Tips:
* don't use olive oil for your mayonnaise, or use half olive and half sunflower oil, because otherwise the olive oil flavour will dominate the mayonnaise too much.
* make sure all the ingredients of the mayonaise are on room temperature
* you can use frozen prawns if you skin them while they are still frozen. This way they won't get soggy (I got this tip from my 'aunt-in-law' who is a food journalist/writer and great cook)