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Pesto alla trapanese (Sicilian pesto)

2012-09-29T20:14:00.000+02:00

I was watching Nigella on tv the other day, preparing her own variation of pesto alla trapanese, in which she used sultanas and anchovies. I didn't fancy that particular combination much (to each their own, obviously) but it reminded me that it had been a long, long time since I made any kind of pesto.

Those who know me are well aware that for this sort of preparation and many others I never follow any kind of recipe nor measure things. Also, far be it for me to claim any sort of authenticity for what you'll read below. All I know is that it's delicious, and that's already a good thing.

Pesto alla trapanese

Ingredients: (4 persons)

350-400 g cherry tomatoes or, as a rule of thumb, 8-10 cherry tomatoes per person
2 fat cloves of garlic
a large handful of basil
a handful of blanched almonds
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
about 100 g of grated pecorino cheese
optional: a few mint leaves

Preparation:

Blanch the almonds. Place them in boiling water for one minute then immeditely take them out of transfer them to a bowl of cold water. The skin should come right off when you press the almonds between your fingers.

Place the blanched almonds, cherry tomatoes, basil, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor. If using mint, add it now. Pulse until chopped but not pureed (so that the almonds still retain a little bite) then add olive oil and mix until obtaining a smooth sauce.

Cook the pasta al dente. Retain a small cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta. Immediately add the sauce and mix well. Add the grated pecorino and mix again. If you feel the sauce is a little dry, add a spoonful at a time of the cooking water until satisfied.

Serve immediately.

Note: another way of preparing this pesto is by using a pestle and mortar, which will make for a more rustic, crunchy sauce. If you do it this way, chop the cherry tomatoes into small cubes and do not grind them down with the rest of the ingredients.

Asparagus, beetroot & blood orange salad, orange sauce

2012-04-29T17:37:00.000+02:00

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A colorful, fresh and delicious salad...

Asparagus, beetroot & blood orange salad, orange sauce

Ingredients (for 4 persons)

2 beetroots
a handful of young green asparagus spears
225 g frisée lettuce
one radicchio
2 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp walnut oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 blood oranges
125 ml freshly squeezed and filtered orange juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp grape seed oil or vegetable oil
salt, pepper

Preparation

Cook the beetroots with their skin on in a 180°C oven for an hour or until tender. Leave to cool, remove the skin and cut in thin irregular shaped slices.

Briefly toast the pine nuts in a non-stick pan.

Peal the blood oranges and cut them in slices.

Blanch the green asparagus for about 2 minutes in boiling salted water. Take out and immediately place them in iced water to stop the cooking process. Dry on kitchen paper.

Put the orange and lemon juice in a small sauce pan and cook for about 5 minutes under medium heat. Remove from the heat and add the grape seed oil. Mix well.

Place the frisée lettuce and chopped radicchio in a bowl. Add the olive oil, walnut oil and vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.

Arrange on each plate a handful of salad, asparagus spears, beetroot slices, blood orange slices and toasted pine nuts. Drizzle with orange sauce and serve immediately.

Asparagus, beetroot & blood orange salad, orange sauce

Bún thịt nướng (Vietnam)

2012-03-04T16:44:00.000+01:00

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Bún thịt nướng is a Vietnamese dish consisting of marinated grilled pork served with thin rice noodles over salad and pickled carrots and cucumbers. Roasted peanuts and a traditional nước mắm-based dipping sauce add to its fantastic flavour. There is some amount of preparation to take care of but it isn't very much work and is quite easy. The end result, in any case, is well worth it.

Bún thịt nướng

Ingredients: (serves 4)

For the pork and its marinade:

3 tbsp shallots, minced
3 tbsp lemongrass, finely minced
3 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
2 tbsp garlic, minced
2 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp fish sauce (nước mắm)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper
500 g pork shoulder, in thin (~1 cm) slices

For the final dish:

Vermicelli rice noodles
1 1/2 cups of pickled carrots and cucumbers
2 handfuls of salad leaves, sliced
1 handful of fresh mint, sliced
1/2 cup roasted peanuts, crushed
1/2 cup green onion oil
1 1/2 cup dipping sauce (nước chấm)

Pickled carrots and cucumbers:

2 carrots, very thinly sliced
15-cm piece of cucumber, cut into matchsticks
rice vinegar
pinch of sugar

Scallion oil:

1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Dipping sauce (nước chấm):

1/2 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp chili paste or chili sauce
fresh red chilies, very thinly sliced, to taste

Preparation:

Prepare the pickled carrots and cucumbers. Place thinly sliced carrots and cucumber in a bowl, cover with rice vinegar and add a pinch of sugar.

Prepare the marinated pork. Cut the pork in thin slices. Add honey, fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar to a bowl. Mix well until sugar is dissolved. Add the rest of the marinade ingredients and combine. Add pork and mix to coat each slice with the marinade. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Prepare the green onion oil. In a skillet, slowly heat the vegetable oil. Add the chopped green onions and cook over very low heat until just wilted, about 2 or 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare the dipping sauce. Combine fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and warm water. Mix until sugar is dissolved. Add the chili paste and sliced chilies. Adjust to taste.

Cook the noodles as indicated on the package. Rince with cold water, strain and reserve.

Remove the meat from the fridge about 10 minutes before grilling. If possible, grill the meat over a flame. If not, place a grill pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, toss the meat and grill it for 1 to 2 minutes on each side.

Assemble the dish in individual bowls. Place pickled carrots and cucumbers (and a little pickling juice) in the bottom. Add the mint and chopped salad leaves. Cover with the noodles. Place the grilled meat on top and brush it with the green onion oil. Add crushed peanuts. Serve alongside the dipping sauce.

Bún thịt nướng

Biscotti / Cantuccini

2011-12-21T18:32:00.000+01:00

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These are wonderful Italian crispy biscuits, doubly-baked and packed pull of almonds. I used a different recipe in the past but this time I went for one seen on Manue's blog (in French). I used only almonds inside the biscotti (because I know that the person I'll gift them to will prefer them this way) but Manue used a mix of almonds, chocolate chips and candied orange. Which is also good, obviously. I've also made another batch, replacing 40 g of almonds by dehydrated cranberries, which I had at home.

Biscotti / Cantuccini

Ingredients:

1 egg
80 g sugar
20 g dark brown sugar
120 g flour
A few drops of vanilla extract (and, depending on personal taste, a few drops of bitter almond extract)
1/2 tsp baking powder
95 g almonds, quickly roasted beforehand

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 160°C.

Beat the egg with the sugar and the vanilla extract (plus the bitter almond extract, if chosen). Add the flour with the baking powder, then the almonds. Mix with fingertips. Using your hands, form a log on a lightly floured surface.

Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 160°C for 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely on a rack. Cut diagonal, 1 cm thick slices and lay them on the baking sheet, still lined with parchment paper. Bake a second time at 160°C for 10 minutes, turning the biscotti over after 5 minutes.

Turn the oven off and leave the biscotti inside for a further 5 minutes. Then take out of the oven and leave to cool on a rack.

New York deli style rye bread

2011-12-11T18:59:00.001+01:00

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I love rye bread. It has great flavour and is perfect to make tasty sandwiches to take with me to work. When I started baking bread a year and a half or so ago, it was one of the first things I attempted to make. I've come a long way since this first trial and have tried different recipes although they do not always end up being published here. The main reason for this is that, more often then not, I tend to improvise. Or not measure things properly. Or just take parts of different recipes and mix them up because I don't have all the ingredients at hand. Things usually turn out for the best but I guess I could make an effort to write things down properly. Sometimes, I start off with the best of intentions but am forced to change course, and that is exactly what happened today.

Over the week, I had looked at different rye bread recipes and decided on baking something inspired by New York deli rye bread but with a few adjustments. First, I had no caraway seeds on hand. Then, at 11pm I realised I didn't have enough regular bread flour left. So I decided to use what was left and to supplement it with 6-grain flour. Also, I wanted to use some dehydrated sourdough powder which I had left over. I use this mostly when I make french baguettes and it just works a treat. Yesterday night I prepared the pre-ferment with it but when I came to the kitchen this morning, I found it in exactly the same state as it was 10 hours before. Flat. I then had to adapt the recipe hoping that I could use that flat sponge instead of throwing it away. I used more instant yeast than would have normaly been required, added some lukewarm water to better hydrate the mix including the 6-grain flour and gave the dough plenty of time to rise.

I'm happy with the result. The bread could have looked better, but it's delicious. It sang wonderfully after having been taken out of the oven and the crust is to die for whilst the crumb is soft and springy. Can't wait for sandwiches tomorrow.

New York deli style rye bread with butter and a little fleur de sel.

Here's the recipe. Between braces are the amounts I used but I've also written what was supposed to be used had I not gone for dehydrated sourdough. For a more authentic New York deli style bread, use the amounts without the 6-grain flour. But the result will be tasty either way.

Ingredients: (for one large loaf)

Sponge:

80 g white bread flour + 40 g 6-grain flour OR (originally) 120 g white bread flour
95 g rye flour
[1 1/2 tbsp dehydrated sourdough powder (levain fermentescible, in French)] or 1/2 tbsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp honey
350 ml water, at room temperature

Final mixture:

260 g white bread flour + 90 g 6-grain flour OR (originally) 350 g white bread flour
[1 1/2 tbsp instant yeast] or 2/3 tbsp instant yeast
[about 40 ml lukewarm water]
10 g salt

Preparation:

Prepare the sponge 8-12 hours before baking by mixing all ingredients in a large salad bowl until obtaining a thick batter. Cover with cling film and leave at room temperature.

Add the final mixture flours and the salt to the sponge. Mix with a spoon and, if you're using 6-cereal flour, gradually add lukewarm water until the flour is sufficiently hydrated. Add the yeast and incorporate into the mix. Cover and leave to rest for 20 minutes.

Take the dough from the salad bowl and start kneading it on a lightly floured surface. The dough will be sticky. Add a little flour if necessary. Knead for 5 minutes then cover the dough with the salad bowl turned upside-down. Leave to rest for 20 minutes, then knead again for 5 to 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled cointainer, cover and leave to ferment in a warm place for 90 minutes or until at least doubled in volume.

Punch the dough to deflate it, knead it quickly for 30 second then shape it quickly as a ball and return it to the oil container. Leave to rise again for about 45 minutes.

Take the dough out of the container and shape it as a batard. Transfer to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a non-stick sheet. Leave to rise for 45 minutes.

During the final rise, pre-heat the oven to 230°C.

Place a small oven-proof dish filled with boiling water on the bottom of the oven. Dust the bread with flour and slash it with a sharp knife or a razor blade. Put in the oven directly. Before closing the oven door, throw in a small amount of water on the bottom sole to generate steam.

Bake at 230°C for 15 minutes then turn the heat down to 200°C and continue baking for 30 to 40 minutes.

Leave the bread to cool on a rack for about 2 hours before slicing.

New York deli style rye bread with butter and a little fleur de sel.

Maple syrup and oatmeal bread

2011-11-06T17:32:00.002+01:00

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I have had cravings for maple syrup lately. Maybe that's a fall thing. So, last night when I was trying to decide what sort of bread to make this morning, it immediately became an ingredient of choice. I wanted the bread to be sweet, but perhaps not overly so. To have a soft crumb, but not like a brioche. To this end I softened the dough with butter and used a combination of white and whole wheat flour. Rolled oats add some texture, and cinnamon a little warmth. I am quite pleased with the result: the bread is delicious, the maple syrup flavour comes through very nicely and the crumb is nice and soft.

Maple syrup and oatmeal bread

Ingredients: (for one loaf)

200 ml hot water
50 g rolled oats
60–65 g maple syrup
60 g butter
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/3 tsp cinnamon
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
50 g whole wheat flour
280 g white bread flour

For dusting: (optional)

a few tbsp of water
1 tbsp maple syrup
caster sugar and sugar pearls
a pinch of cinnamon

Preparation:

Combine the water, oats, maple syrup, butter, salt, and cinnamon in a salad bowl. Let cool to lukewarm. Stir in the flours and yeast and incorporate into a dough. Knead for about 10 minutes. The dough will be very slightly wet and supple. You may add a little flour when kneading but make sure to keep the dough sufficiently hydrated, as the rolled oats will soak in some of the liquid. Shape as a ball, place in a lightly oil container, cover with a damp towel and leave to ferment for about 2 hours or until dough has doubled in size.

Deflate the dough. Using your hands, quickly shape it as a rectangle, with the short edge facing you. Fold about one third of the dough down and seal with your finger tips. Fold again to shape as a log. Seal the fold tightly to increase surface tension. Place seam side down in a loaf pan, making sure the edges of the log touch the sides of the pan. Cover with a damp towel and leave to proof for an hour and a half or until the dough crests above the top of the loaf pan.

Before the end of proofing, preheat the oven to 180°C.

Bake at 180° for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the loaf pan and place on a rack.

Mix caster sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. In another, mix water and maple syrup. Lightly coat the top of the bread, using a brush. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar and the sugar pearls.

Leave the bread to cool on a rack for about 2 hours before slicing.

Note: As they haven't been pre-soaked, the rolled oats in this bread will remain a little crunchy. If you want them softer, place them in a bowl a couple of hours before starting the bread and cover them with water. Drain the excess water before adding the oats to the other ingredients. Note that you will need to use slightly less than 200 ml water as some has already been absorbed by the oats.

Additional note: This bread also makes fantastic toast!

Maple syrup and oatmeal bread

Submitted to YeastSpotting. Thank you to Sally at Bewitching Kitchen for hosting it this week.

Improvised coffee cakes

2011-11-02T18:08:00.001+01:00

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There are days during which I know I want to bake something nice and sweet, but have no clue what to make and do not necessarily want to spend too much time in the kitchen. In this case, I tend to improvise with whatever I have at my disposal. I quite liked these little coffee cakes, for lack of a better name, and their interesting texture. I think they will be gone very quickly...

Improvised coffee cakes

Ingredients:

For the cakes:

80 g butter, at room temperature
4 tbsp sour cream
3/4 tbsp coffee extract
1 tbsp vanillated sugar
120 g powdered sugar, sieved
150 g flour, sieved

For the garnish:

6–7 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk
grated dark chocolate

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Place the soft butter, sour cream, vanillated sugar, coffee extract and powdered sugar in a salad bowl. Beat until creamy. Incorporate the flour.

Transfer this mixture to individual moulds (here, I used mini kougloff moulds). Alternatively, you could use a piping bag (e.g. with a star-shaped nozzle) and fill paper cups placed in muffin tins.

Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes or more, depending on the quantity of dough in each individual cake. The cakes should start to golden a little and the inserted blade of a knife should come out clean. Take out of the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes before taking out of the moulds, if you used them. Otherwise, remove the cakes and paper cups from the muffin tins. Place on a rack.

In a bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and milk to form a paste or thick liquid. Drizzle over the cakes then sprinkle with grated chocolate.

Improvised coffee cakes

Garlic soup

2011-10-31T17:12:00.002+01:00

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I first had garlic soup a few years ago when visiting my friend Edith in Romania. Her mother had prepared it, and I thought it was absolutely delicious. As soon as I came back to Belgium, I set about recreating it so as to be able to introduce my family to it. They all loved it and I still prepare it from time to time when the mood strikes me. Which has been the case today. Here's the recipe I came up with...

Garlic soup

Ingredients:

3–4 tbsp olive oil
24 garlic cloves (or thereabouts)
2 medium size onions
1 glass dry white wine
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock (I use chicken)
1 bay leaf
120 g white bread, torn into pieces
salt, pepper
20 cl liquid cream
a few sprigs of chives

Preparation:

Peal and roughly chop the onions and garlic. Heat up the oil in a large saucepan, under medium heat. Add the onions and cook gently for a few minutes until translucent. Add the garlic. Cook under low heat, without letting the onions and garlic brown, for about 20 to 25 minutes until soft. Cooking the garlic a long time will diminish the intensity of its taste.

Augment the heat a little and add the white wine. Leave to simmer for a few minutes.

Add the stock and the bay leaf. Cover. Bring to a boil then turn the heat down and leave to simmer gently for 30 minutes.

Remove from the heat. Add the bread pieces, mix, cover and leave to sit for 10 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf. Pour the soup into a blender and mix until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. If necessary, re-heat the soup a little, then add the cream and mix it with the soup.

Serve immediately, topped with a few chopped chives.

Quick and easy thai-style chicken

2011-10-30T12:24:00.001+01:00

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This is a recipe inspired by the flavours of thai cuisine. Very easy to prepare and packed full with flavours. Quantities mentioned in the recipe can be varied depending on your taste: you can use more or less ginger, or chili peppers, and you'll always end up with something that works. I have, to be honest, never measured anything when preparing this dish. It always turns out delicious...

Quick and easy thai-style chicken

Ingredients: (for two persons)

2 large chicken breasts
200 ml coconut milk
a 4-5 cm piece of ginger
3-4 green onions
4-8 tbsp fresh red chili peppers
about 10 stems of coriander

Preparation:

Cut the chicken breasts in thin strips. Reserve.

Peal the ginger. Roughly chop the chili peppers, ginger and the white part of the green onions. Place in a mixer, together with the coriander. Mix to form a paste. Add the coconut milk then mix again briefly to obtain a thick liquid.

Place the chicken strips in an oven-proof dish. Cover with the coconut milk marinade. Cover the dish with cling film and leave to marinate in the fridge for 20 minutes or more.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Remove the cling film and cook at 200°C for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.

Serve with jasmine rice, topped with thinly chopped green onions and chilies.

Note: if you wish to obtain a sauce with a more reddish colour, do not add the coriander to it, or use less of it. You can then serve the dish topped with the coriander you haven't used.

Chocolate and fleur de sel shortbread biscuits (Pierre Hermé)

2011-10-22T18:54:00.001+02:00

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This recipe, seen on Stéphanie's blog, immediately attracted my attention. These shortbreads are delicious, combining the strong flavour of dark chocolate with a subtle pinch of fleur de sel. And they couldn't be easier to make...

Chocolate and fleur de sel shortbread biscuits

Ingredients:

180 g flour (T55 if possible)
155 g dark chocolate (70%), roughly chopped
30 g non-sweetened cocoa powder
155 g butter
120 g brown sugar
50 g sugar
5 g bicarbonate of soda
3 g fleur de sel
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation:

Sieve flour, bicarb and cocoa. Reserve.

Work the butter into a pommade. Add brown sugar, sugar, fleur de sel and vanilla extract. Mix well. Incorporate the sieved flour, bicarb and cocoa, then the chocolate pieces. Mix quickly until obtaining an homogeneous dough.

Transfer the dough to a work surface and roll into 4 2cm-diameter cylinders. Place each cylinder in cling film and store in the fridge for about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 170°C.

Remove the dough from the cling film and cut into 2cm pieces. Place on oven sheets lined with baking parchment. Cook for about 11 minutes. Make sure of not over-cooking the shortbreads.

Leave the biscuits to cool and solidify at room temperature, still on the baking parchment.

Ricotta, lemon and bergamot tart

2011-10-16T14:04:00.002+02:00

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Ricotta, lemon and bergamot tart

Ingredients: (for a 23-cm diameter tart)

For the crust:

150 g plain flour
2 tablespoons caster sugar
60 g butter, cubed
2 egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:

400 g ricotta
220 g caster sugar
zest and juice of 2 lemons
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7-8 pinches of bergamot essential oil crystals (optional)

Preparation:

Place flour, sugar and butter in a salad bowl and quickly work with your fingertips until crumbs form. Add egg yolks and vanilla and mix until dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead lightly into a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll pastry out to line a 23-cm tart tin. Trim edges, prick base with a fork and chill while making filling.

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Place the ricotta in a large salad bowl. Beat until softened then gradually beat in sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in lemon zest then eggs, one at a time. Add crystals, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix until smooth and well blended.

Pour into pastry shell and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 190°C and bake for another 35 minutes, until pastry is cooked and filling pale golden.

Leave to cool for a few minutes then remove from the tart tin. Cool on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Lunch at "Alexandre" restaurant, Brussels

2011-10-05T22:22:00.001+02:00

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After visiting the workshop of Brussels' famous Biscuiterie Dandoy with Françoise, Pascale, Edda, Françoise and Greg this Tuesday, we had plans to have lunch together. The restaurant had been chosen by Françoise and was kept as a surprise. As we were walking toward rue du Midi, it became clear that we were going to lunch at Alexandre, a restaurant opened last year by young chef Alexandre Dionisio and already crowned with one Michelin star. Alexandre previously worked at renowned Brussels restaurants such as the Comme Chez Soi or the Sea Grill.

The restaurant is on the small size but very pleasant, with dark furnishings and bright colours on the walls. You get a glimpse of the kitchen through a sliding door at the opposite end of the room and can't help noticing that everybody there seems to be working quietly and in a very organised manner. Service is, of course, impeccable. And the food, most excellent. We were booked for a set menu at the cost of 30€, excluding drinks.

And this was what we found before us:

Alexandre, rue du Midi 164, 1000 Brussels

- Black olive cakes, grissini, anchovy sauce and roasted macadamia nuts
- Salmon with gouda espuma, black olives loam, puffed rice
- Squid ink risotto, stir-fried saffron squid and green pesto emulsion
- Fusilli with oysters, clams and girolles mushrooms, parmesan espuma
- Beef cheek, mousseline Robuchon, bacon galette, season vegetables
- Chou pastries, marshmallows, vanilla cakes, milk jam, bitter chocolate balls with citrus frosting

The verdict: very positive. We all enjoyed the meal a great deal. A huge thank you to Françoise for organising this fun day out...

Practical information:
Alexandre - Restaurant
Rue du Midi, 164
1000 Brussels
Tel. +32 (0)2 502 40 55
http://www.alexandre-restaurant.be/

Visit of Biscuiterie Dandoy's workshop

2011-10-05T19:11:00.000+02:00

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At Françoise's invitation, I met up this Tuesday with Pascale, Edda, Françoise and Greg for a friendly gastronomic walk in Brussels. The day started with a visit of Brussels' famous Biscuiterie Dandoy's workshop where we were very kindly greeted by general manager Mr Helsen and workshop chef Mr Sassi.

Flagship store, rue au Beurre

Dandoy is a famous institution in Brussels. They have been making biscuits since 1829. Their first shop was located rue Marché-aux-herbes but then moved to rue au Beurre in 1858, where it remains and acts as the flagship store, very close to the Grand-Place. There are now seven Dandoy stores: six in Brussels and one in Waterloo. The most popular delicacies are the speculoos, almond bread (a tin, dark, crispy biscuit with almond slivers) and pain à la grecque. Pain à la grecque literally means "Greek bread" but it's worth mentioning that its origin is in no way Greek. A few centuries ago, Augustine monks regularly donated bread to the poor, in the center of Brussels, in an street called "Fossé aux loups" or "Wolvengracht" in Dutch (Wolves Ditch). That bread became known as "bread from the ditch" (grachtbrood in Dutch) or "pain de la gracht" or "pain de la grecht" in local dialect, which in turn became "pain à la grecque" when wrongly translated back to French. Today's pain à la grecque is a soft flatbread with cinnamon and cristallised sugar.

Pain à la grecque

The workshop visit was quite interesting. We saw how "Feuilles de palmier" (palm leaf) biscuits and speculoos were made and were lucky enough to taste some pain à la grecque, still warm, just out of the oven. We were also happy to experience the relaxed and calm atmosphere of the workshop and the cheerfulness of the 15 or so employees working there. They are without a doubt proud of their work and know-how. Also good to see was how fabrication processes remain of an artisan nature, with a lot of things still done entirely by hand.

Feuilles de palmier

Speculoos

We evidently visited the rue au Beurre shop later during the day to buy our favourite biscuits.

Practical information:
Maison J. Dandoy
31, rue au Beurre (between the stock exchange building and the Grand-Place)
1000 Brussels
http://www.biscuiteriedandoy.be/

P.S. I'll explain what we got up to next during this fun day out in a following post. Suffice it to say at this point that we ate very well indeed...

Violet macarons

2011-09-18T15:00:00.001+02:00

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Whilst visiting Isabelle for my first macarons baking session, I noticed a jar of violet sugar in her pantry. We started thinking about how to make use of it in our last batch of macarons. Initial thoughts of a standard white chocolate ganache were dismissed as we both thought it might end up being too sweet. We then decided to experiment a little, using mascarpone cheese as a base.

Violet macarons

Ingredients:

For the shells: (35–40 macarons)

220 g powdered sugar
125 g almond powder
100 g egg whites (separated from the yolks, kept in the fridge for 3 days and taken out 2 hours before using)
20 g caster sugar
a tiny amount of purple colouring powder

For the violet filling:

250 g mascarpone cheese
3–4 tbsp violet syrup
4–5 tbsp violet sugar
1 sheet gelatin
water

Preparation:

Make the violet filling in advance, as it has to set in the fridge. In a bowl, soften the mascarpone with a fork. Add the violet syrup and sugar and mix well. Don't add all the syrup and sugar in one go: rather, add half the total amount then taste and add more to adjust colour and taste to your liking. Make sure everything is well mixed. Soften the gelatin in cold water for a few minutes. Take it out and strain the water by pressing the gelatin between your hand. Heat up a very little amount of water, and mix the gelatin in the warm water until dissolved. Add to the violet mixture and mix well. Leave to set in the frige for a few hours.

Make the shells. Finely sieve the powdered sugar and almond powder. Beat the egg white with the caster sugar, adding the colouring powder half-way, until firm. Pour the sieved ingredients over the beaten egg whites and fold them in from the exterior towards the center, applying a little pressure. Continue until smooth, shiny and homogeneous.

Using a round nozzle, pipe the mixture in small circles on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Tap the tray on the counter a few times to get rid of air bubbles. Slide the parchment paper on a table and let rest for an hour. Keep building sheets of shells this way until you run out of mixture.

Preheat the oven to 145°C.

Bake at 145°C for 17 minutes.

Pipe the violet filling and build the macarons. Leave in the fridge for 24 hours, then ideally take the macarons out of the fridge a couple of hours before serving.

Lemon curd macarons

2011-09-18T15:00:00.000+02:00

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I love lemon curd. So it's no surprise that it became an obvious choice during my first macarons baking session. The lemon curd used here is Isabelle's recipe. Very easy to make and highly recommended.

Lemon curd macarons

Ingredients:

For the shells: (35–40 macarons)

220 g powdered sugar
125 g almond powder
100 g egg whites (separated from the yolks, kept in the fridge for 3 days and taken out 2 hours before using)
20 g caster sugar
a tiny amount of yellow colouring powder

For the lemon curd:

4 large organic lemons
220 g powdered sugar
3 tbsp of "peket citron" or, if you can't find it, limoncello
2 eggs
4 g agar-agar powder
15 g butter

Preparation:

Make the lemon curd in advance, as it has to set in the fridge. Very finely zest the 4 lemons, then juice them (300 g juice or thereabouts). Transfer zest and juice to a saucepan. Add the sugar, eggs, peket/limoncello, butter and agar-agar. Heat gently, stirring constantly, until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Transfer to glass jars and leave to cool in the frige for a few hours.

Make the shells. Finely sieve the powdered sugar and almond powder. Beat the egg whites with the caster sugar, adding the colouring powder half-way, until firm. Pour the sieved ingredients over the beaten egg whites and fold them in from the exterior towards the center, applying a little pressure. Continue until smooth, shiny and homogeneous.

Using a round nozzle, pipe the mixture in small circles on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Tap the tray on the counter a few times to get rid of air bubbles. Slide the parchment paper on a table and let rest for an hour. Keep building sheets of shells this way until you run out of mixture.

Preheat the oven to 145°C.

Bake at 145°C for 17 minutes.

Pipe the lemon curd and build the macarons. Leave in the fridge for 24 hours, then ideally take the macarons out of the fridge a couple of hours before serving.

Speculoos macarons

2011-09-18T14:59:00.000+02:00

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This was my first introduction to making macarons. This initial batch of speculoos macarons was the easiest to make as the ganache is a ready-made product easily found all over Belgium. Shells are left in their natural colour.

Speculoos macarons

Ingredients: (for 35–40 macarons)

220 g powdered sugar
125 g almond powder
100 g egg whites (separated from the yolks, kept in the fridge for 3 days and taken out 2 hours before using)
20 g caster sugar
crunchy speculoos paste

Preparation:

Finely sieve the powdered sugar and almond powder. Beat the egg whites with the caster sugar, until firm. Pour the sieved ingredients over the beaten egg whites and fold them in from the exterior towards the center, applying a little pressure. Continue until smooth, shiny and homogeneous.

Using a round nozzle, pipe the mixture in small circles on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Tap the tray on the counter a few times to get rid of air bubbles. Slide the parchment paper on a table and let rest for an hour. Keep building sheets of shells this way until you run out of mixture.

Preheat the oven to 145°C.

Bake at 145°C for 17 minutes.

Pipe the speculoos paste and build the macarons. Leave in the fridge for 24 hours, then ideally take the macarons out of the fridge a couple of hours before serving.

Blogging, friendship and making macarons

2011-09-18T14:58:00.000+02:00

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When I started this blog, I was not expecting very much. Having a repository for a few recipes that I could share with friends, getting advice and feedback from other people, that was about it. What I had not anticipated was how easy it would be to meet a lot of fun, interesting and kind people. There have been a few outings with the Belgian culinary blogs group to which I was added last year, the hugely successful Belgian culinary blogs fair last June and many more activities are planned in the near future. An important aspect of blogging, of course, is the inherent exchange of knowledge between bloggers. Most of the time, this is done by reading and trying out recipes and techniques in one's own kitchen but it doesn't have to be this way. A few months ago, during a conversation I had with Isabelle, I happened to mention to her that I had never prepared any macarons. I was instantly invited to come over and spend a day or two with her and her family, where we could make (and eat!) macarons together. So, early last Friday morning I hopped on the train for a fun two days in the countryside, away from Brussels.

We quickly got going and decided on three different kinds of ganache: speculoos (favoured by Isabelle's husband and kids), violet and lemon curd. I was a little surprised by how easy it actually is to make macarons – or perhaps Isabelle is just a good teacher! Truth be told, we didn't bother to fiddle too much with the almond powder, making sure it's really, really finely sieved, to make sure we obtained extra smooth shells. In the end, it doesn't make much difference and does not affect the taste. I will probably try, as a matter of curiosity, when making them at home but that is not a choice we made on the day. Also, it's worth nothing that oven temperature and baking times are really important. You'll have to tweak them a little depending on your own oven but once you've got the precise setting and timing it all goes like clockwork.

Here's what we ended up with:

Lemon curd, violet and speculoos macarons.

Quick links to recipes: lemon curd, violet and speculoos.

Casatiello (Italian savoury brioche)

2011-09-11T08:37:00.000+02:00

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It's no secret that I love brioches of all kind. Last Easter I prepared a huge Romanian Cozonac and, as it turns out, it has become the second most popular post on the English version of this site. Today we will be visiting Italy as this post is about Casatiello, a savoury brioche loaded with flavours. The recipe comes from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice.

Casatiello (Italian savoury brioche)

Ingredients: (for one large loaf)

Sponge:

1/2 cup white bread flour
1 tbsp instant yeast
1 cup whole milk, lukewarm.

Dough:

3 1/2 cups white bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup provolone piccante, coarsely grated
120-150 g pancetta

Preparation:

Make the sponge. Mix flour and yeast in a bowl, add the milk and whisk. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to ferment at room temperature for an hour.

Meanwhile, cut the pancetta in dices and sauté until crisp. Pad the dices on kitchen paper and reserve.

Make the dough. Stir flour, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs and the sponge and mix to form a coarse ball. Mix for about a minute then leave to rest during 10 minutes to allow the gluten to develop. Then, divide the butter in four or five parts and start incorporating it, stirring vigorously. After 10–12 minutes you'll end up with a smooth dough which will eventually come off the sides of the bowl. As usual, add a little flour when and if necessary. When the dough is smooth, add the crisped up pancetta and mix until evenly distributed. Then, add the cheese and incorporate it. Lightly oil a large salad bowl, place the dough in the bowl and roll it around quickly to coat it with oil. Leave to ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes.

Remove the dough from the salad bowl and transfer it to an oiled loaf or cake pan, shaping it first if required. Proof for 60 to 90 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Bake at 180°C for about 40 to 50 minutes, until golden brown. When ready, remove the bread from the pan and leave to cool on a rack for at least an hour. Can be served warm or cold.

Casatiello (Italian savoury brioche)

Submitted to YeastSpotting.

No-knead spelt bread rolls

2011-08-28T15:56:00.000+02:00

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When time is lacking, I sometimes decide to bake no-knead bread. Such recipes are now extremely common and pose no difficulty. But considering how little effort is required, the end result is more than decent, taste-wise. This morning I wanted to use spelt flour and bake individual bread rolls.

No-knead spelt bread rolls

Ingredients: (for 4–6 small rolls)

150 g spelt flour
100 g white bread flour
7-8 g instant yeast
1 tsp salt
200 ml lukewarm water

Preparation:

Mix both flours in a salad bowl. Take 50 g out of this mix and transfer to a large bowl. To it, add the yeast and 50 ml lukewarm water. Mix well, to hydrate the flour. Add a little more water if necessary. Cover with cling film and leave at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Add salt to the flours in the salad bowl and mix. Add the yeast mixture and the remaining 150 ml water. Mix rapidly with a spoon until the obtention of an homogeneous, sticky dough. Generously sprinkle flour on top of the dough. Cover with a damp towel and leave to ferment 90 to 120 minutes or until the dough has at least doubled in volume.

Place an oven-proof dish filled with water on the sole of the oven and preheat to 250°C.

Flour your work surface. Tip the dough out of the salad bowl. Quickly cut the dough in 4 to 6 parts. Shape them without kneading.

Transfer to an oven rack lined with parchment paper. Cook at 250°C, 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the rolls. Here, 20 minutes were enough for 6 rolls. When baked, leave to cool on a rack for about 2 hours before serving.

Crackers with herbs and spices

2011-08-25T22:43:00.001+02:00

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A very simple recipe for home-made crackers. You can customize them whichever way you want, for example by adding parmesan cheese, seeds or spices. I always make a whole sheet pan of them and as many variations as I can. For this batch, I used oregano, sesame seeds, paprika, coarse salt, cumin powder, blue poppy seeds and dried wild fennel flowers.

Crackers with herbs and spices

Ingredients: (for one oven sheet pan)

1 1/2 cup bread flour
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 to 1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp instant yeast
seeds and spices

Preparation:

In a salad bow, stir the flour, yeast, oil, honey and salt. Add water little by little, just enough to bring everything together in a ball. Knead for about 10 minutes, adding a little flour if necessary, until you get a supple but firm dough. Transfer to a lightly oiled container. Briefly roll the dough around to coat it with oil. Cover with cling film and leave to ferment for about 90 minutes or until the dough doubles in size.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface. Shape it into a square using your hands. Dust with a little flour. Roll into a large rectangle, using a rolling pin. You may need to let the dough relax (covered with a towel or plastic wrap) for a few minutes from time to time. The thinner you'll roll up the dough, the crisper your crackers will be.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Carefully transfer the dough to the baking sheet. Mist the dough with a little water and sprinkle on seeds and spices. You can precut the crackers using a pizza slicer or bake the whole sheet as is and snap it into shards when baked.

Bake at 180°C for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the dough. The crackers are ready when they begin to brown evenly.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the crackers cool in the sheet for about 10 minutes before snapping them apart.

Indian street food menu at De Pastorale, Bart de Pooter's restaurant

2011-08-18T23:45:00.002+02:00

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When Apolina sends along an invitation to an evening in Bart de Pooter's two-Michelin star restaurant (De Pastorale, Reet, Belgium) it's impossible to decline. A few weeks ago, the chef had offered her the fantastic opportunity of cooking Indian street food in his kitchen and to invite a dozen of Belgian food bloggers to attend. He also offered to serve dishes from his own menu during this evening, of which you'll find an illustrated summary below.

Thank you to Apolina, Bart de Pooter and his team for this memorable evening!

	De Pastorale (Reet, Belgium)
	Mussels in mussels jelly, miso and crusty algae bread
	Atlantic jackknife clam, coriander chutney, pandan rice cream
	Wada pav: bread with spicy potato mixture, coconut, garlic, peanut and chili dry chutney
	Pav bhaji: spicy vegetable mash with bread
	Bhel puri: puffed rice, tomatoes, cucumber, shallots, green mango, crunchy vermicelli, coriander/dates and tamarind chutneys
	Sev batata puri: crusty bread discs with potatoes and chutneys
	Ragda pattice: dried peas curry and idli (steamed rice and lentil bread)
	Pani Puri: hollow crisp bread
	Sea bass with fennel, fennel seeds and parmesan sauce
	Sweetbread and variations around the tomato (marmelade, chutney, ketchup)
	Raspberries filled with white chocolate mousse, basil sorbet, crumble, basil and peppermint flowers
	Sweets
	Sweets
	Fresh mango salad
	Red fruits crumble and ice cream
	De Pastorale (Reet, Belgium)

My personal favorites: wada pav (for the intensity of flavours), bhel puri (surprising texture), the sea bass dish (perfectly balanced and absolutely delicious) and the raspberries with basil sorbet (plenty of contrasts for both taste and textures).

The bloggers attending this evening were: Delphine, Fanny, Françoise, Grégory, Isabelle, Manue, Marc, Marion, Philou, Sandro, Sophie, Sylvain et Vanessa. A few journalists were present, together with Anouk Van Ranst, a young and talented designer who created items for the restaurant. Wines accompanying the meal were served by sommelière Lieselot Jonckheere.

Bread buns with grilled vegetables and aromatic herbs

2011-07-31T15:35:00.004+02:00

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I haven't been blogging or indeed cooking much since last month's entry for Bread Baking Day #41 but I find myself back here for yet another bread recipe, this time for BBD#42, the theme of which is "Let's bake bread for a picnic". I have chosen to bake tasty individual buns. I have incorporated parmesan cheese and lots of aromatic herbs in the dough and filled the bun with red pepper paste, bacon (optional) and grilled vegetables.

Bread buns with grilled vegetables and aromatic herbs

Ingredients:

For the dough:

350 g white bread flour
200 ml milk, lukewarm
50 g parmigiano reggiano, freshly grated
7 g instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp mixed aromatic herbs (thyme, rosemary, oregano), finely chopped
1 tbsp fennel seeds

For the filling:

2-3 tbsp red pepper paste (subsitutions: sundried tomato paste, pesto rosso)
red peppers, onion, courgettes, cut in 1 cm pieces and grilled
bacon or pancetta, grilled (optional)
olive oil to drizzle
salt, black pepper

Preparation:

In a large salad bowl, mix together the flour, parmigiano reggiano, salt, fennel seeds and aromatic herbs. Add the olive oil, sugar, yeast and milk. Knead for about 10 minutes, shape in a bowl, transfer to a lightly oiled container, cover with a damp towel and leave to ferment for 1h30 to 2h until the dough has more than doubled in size.

Meanwhile, cut the vegetables in 1 cm portions. Mix with 1 tsp olive oil then grill over high heat until they take on some colour. Remove from the griddle pan and reserve. Now grill the bacon or pancetta for about one minute on each side. Remove from the pan and transfer to kitchen paper. Reserve and let cool.

Gently flatten the dough to a 30x30 cm square. Spread with red pepper paste then add the grilled ingredients. Drizzle with a little olive oil, coarse sea salt and black pepper. Roll up the dough.

Cut thick (about 4 cm wide) slices and lay them down sideways (so that the filling is visible) on an oven rack lined with parchment paper. Cover with a towel and leave to rise 40 to 50 or until the buns have swelled up.

Pre-heat the over to 200°C.

Bake the buns and 200°C for about 25 minutes. Leave to cool on a rack. Delicious whether eaten warm cold (great for a picnic, thus).

Submitted to Bread Baking Day #42.

Bread buns with grilled vegetables and aromatic herbs

Hoegaarden white beer, fennel seeds and rosemary sourdough bread

2011-06-27T09:20:00.003+02:00

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Addendum: Connie kindly suggested that I took part in the 41st edition of Bread Baking day (BBD#41), the subject of which is "Bread with local herbs". Rosemary and fennel seeds, of course, are not originally from the region I live in. I made this bread before reading the brief, so I hope I'll be forgiven. I am, however, using a local beer. ;-) By the way, Hoegaarden beer uses coriander seeds in its fabrication: these have been available locally since the 15th century.

Living in Belgium means being spoiled for choice when it comes to beer: about 800 varieties can be found. I confess that I don't drink beer very often although I do appreciate the wide range of flavours. In summer however, I sometimes enjoy a glass of Hoegaarden white beer, which I find quite refreshing. Summer not having been quite here yet, I thought I would try to use white beer in my Sunday bread baking routine. The combination with fennel seeds and rosemary immediately seemed to pop into my mind and I decided to give it a go.

It's a strange feeling to open a bottle of beer at 7:30 in the morning. I hadn't prepared any pre-ferment the night before because my sourdough starter didn't seem to be very much awake yet (it had been in the fridge for a couple of weeks, and was only out and fed again since a little under three days). Also, I planned to go out mid-morning to meet other bloggers at an Indian cash and carry (I bought mango juice, coconut milk powder, cumin seeds, curry leaves, samosas, dried fenugreek leaves and refrained myself from buying more stuff) so I figured I could start the sponge early and see how it was around 1:30pm. I could then get started with it or, if it was flat, just use commercial yeast. Luckily the sponge was active and bubbly; one more hour wouldn't have hurt, but I was in a hurry.

So, how was the result? I think my starter would have benefited from a couple of days more feeding. The dough didn't rise terribly much during fermenting and proofing but there was a reasonable oven spring. The crumb was a little chewy, but nothing terrible. The crust ended up great, really good texture and taste. And happily the three main flavours (beer, fennel seeds and rosemary) were balanced, easy to pick up individually but also worked great together.

Hoegaarden white beer, fennel seeds and rosemary sourdough bread

Ingredients: (for one loaf)

For the sponge:

120 g 100% hydration sourdough starter
60 g white bread flour
45 ml Hoegaarden white beer

For the final dough:

235 g white bread flour
65 ml Hoegaarden white beer
40 ml lukewarm water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped

Hoegaarden white beer, fennel seeds and rosemary sourdough bread

Preparation:

Place the sponge, flour, beer and water in a salad bowl. Mix for a few minutes until combined, then add the salt. Knead for about 10 minutes, adding a little flour or water if necessary. Add the fennel seeds and rosemary, then knead again for a couple of minutes until well incorporated.

Shape in a ball, transfer to a lightly oiled container, cover with a damp towel and leave to ferment for about 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Shape the dough. Place on an oven tray lined with parchment paper or a non-stick mat. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to proof at room temperature for 90 minutes to a couple of hours.

Preheat the oven to 250°C. When ready to bake, place an small oven-proof dish filled with boiling water on the sole of the oven. Dust the loaf with a little flour and slash its surface with a knife. Place the tray in the middle of the oven. Throw a small quantity of cold water on the sole of the oven to generate steam and immediately close the oven door.

Bake with steam for about 15 minutes then remove the small oven-proof dish. Lower the temperature to about 225-230°C and continue baking for a further 15 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a rack for 2 hours before serving.

Hoegaarden white beer, fennel seeds and rosemary sourdough bread

Submitted to YeastSpotting.

Banana bread

2011-06-25T15:38:00.001+02:00

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Always delicious and could not be easier...

Banana bread

Ingredients: (for one standard loaf)

120 g walnuts and/or hazelnuts, toasted & chopped
230 g flour
150 g sugar
2 eggs
115 g butter, melted and cooled
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 generous tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, nuts, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a salad bowl.

In another salad bowl, combine the mashed bananas with the eggs, cooled melted butter, and vanilla.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until you get a thick, chunky batter. Do not overmix. Pour into a baking tin.

Cook for about 55-60 minutes (or until the blade of an inserted knife comes out clean) at 180°C.

Leave to stand for a few minutes then take the bread out of the baking tin. Leave to cool on a rack.

Banana bread

Belgian culinary blogs fair (Brussels, June 18–19, 2011)

2011-06-21T00:07:00.002+02:00

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The first Belgian culinary blogs fair took place on June 18–19 at the Autoworld museum in the Cinquantenaire Park, Brussels. The French version of this fair has already taken place 3 years running in Soissons and quickly became an unmissable event for food bloggers. This event is organised by Chef Damien of 750 grammes and his team. For the Belgian edition, they were helped by locals Philou and Apolina.

During the weekend, numerous cooking demonstrations by bloggers and chefs alike took place. Bloggers could then, of course, taste the food. Every hour, at least three different recipes were demonstrated. On Saturday we all attended a huge picnic, every blogger having brought a dish and something to drink, to be shared with everybody. Actually choosing what to eat was a very difficult task, seeing the extent and quality of what was on offer! In the evening, a gala dinner was organised, with (you guessed it) more food to indulge in... After the doors closed for the night on Saturday, some of us stayed outside chatting, late into the night, accompanied by a few bottles of wine. On Sunday, more demonstrations took place and yet more food was on offer...

For many bloggers, including myself, the most important thing about the fair is that it allows to meet a vast number of people who are all passionate about food and cooking and come from various parts of Belgium and France, in a relaxed, cheerful atmosphere. Being quite new to the blogosphere, this was my first participation. I was very happy indeed to be able to spend a couple of days with a few bloggers I had met before, and to get to know many people I only knew through their respective blogs but not yet in person. Amongst these were: Carole, Marion, Françoise, Françoise, Sophie, Sophie, Marie, Emmanuelle, Isabelle, Isabelle, Domi, Salima, Alexia, Sylvain, Barbara, Latifa, Muriel, Hilde, Mamina, Apolina, Philou, Stéphanie, Sylvie, Finla and many more!

The next fair will take place in Soissons next November, but (and this is great news) Damien announced that there will definitely be a second, even bigger edition of the Belgian edition in 2012. And rightly so: the event was a tremendous success, and I am sure many of us already cannot wait for next year!