06-27064866 (Restaurant) / 06-27379389 (a-la-Minute) info@a-la-damaris.com
Recipes
Eggplant, tomato, turmeric and walnut stew

Eggplant, tomato, turmeric and walnut stew

It’s like green beans and tomato, so it is with eggplant and tomato. The variations are endless and always lead to delicious comfort food. This is also the case with this classic. Everything is right, everything is tasty, everything is fine. And the more patience you have, the tastier it becomes.

Citrus rice

Citrus rice

In addition to a sweet dish, I like to put down a fresher dish. I love those complementary or sometimes even contrasting flavors. That’s how I came up with the idea of cooking rice in citrus juices. Of course, depending on what you want, you can make it from quite sweet to a bit more bitter or sour. It’s just what you want. In any case, it is really very different. And that’s always nice, such a surprise.

Salad with unforgettable dressing of sun-dried tomatoes

Salad with unforgettable dressing of sun-dried tomatoes

You can simply make the green salad with the green ingredients that you like best. Here I added some edamame beans and avocado. Plus fresh herbs such as flat-leaf parsley, mint, dill and coriander. But the dressing is the winner, so don’t let the salad compete with the dressing. The salad should provide the crunch, that’s the most important thing.

Sudanese eggplant stew

Sudanese eggplant stew

Just when you think you’re familiar with all the eggplant stews, you stumble upon this one. And what a one. So surprising. So good. So different. Guests raved. And so do we. We are going to make this very often.

Olive soup à la Ellen

Olive soup à la Ellen

We went for lunch with our dear friends and good cooks Wim and Ellen. And Ellen conjured up an olive soup that was so delicious and surprising that I immediately knew one thing: we are going to serve it with à la Damaris. I had never come up with the idea before and judging by the reactions of our guests, I was not the only one. I gave it an à la Damaris touch but other than that all credits go to Ellen.

Parsnip and celeriac crème brulée

Parsnip and celeriac crème brulée

I love the combination of savory and sweet. And I really like to surprise guests with a combination that they absolutely do not expect. And this crème brulée ‘ticks all those boxes’. It was a big hit at the restaurant’s Christmas dinner. And it might as well be at your home.

Jerusalem artichoke puree with fried spring onion, pine nuts and hazelnuts

Jerusalem artichoke puree with fried spring onion, pine nuts and hazelnuts

Jerusalem artichoke, it’s not an everyday vegetable. But it’s worth playing with in the kitchen. Its nutty taste, delicious structure and ability to easily adapt to its environment make it a fantastic vegetable. The vegetable garden we work with had a good harvest this year and we took advantage of it. Served here with delicious spring onion with star anise. And some crunchy hazelnuts and pine nuts fried in spicy pul biber. Talk about layers of flavor.

Sweet potato pear soup

Sweet potato pear soup

I used to make sweet potato pear salad… and suddenly thought … That could also be a great soup. But it shouldn’t stay and be too sweet either. And so I added some fenugreek. And that was a great find, if I do say so myself. And then add a few caramelized walnuts and it was complete.

Pea-almond puree with sweet onions

Pea-almond puree with sweet onions

Green peas, what to do with them? Boring, dry, mwa. But somehow they keep pulling at me to make something delicious with it. And that worked out very well with this dish, if I do say so myself. It is a great combination in which the pea rises to great heights. And in addition to being tasty, the pea is also mega healthy, even though you might not say so at first glance. So let’s make it…

Arabic pumpkin allspice bread/appetizer

Arabic pumpkin allspice bread/appetizer

Virry – actually Virginie – walked into the restaurant one day. A farmer at her back – with us in Gameren – had a lot of pumpkins left. Could I do something with that? Naturally. And so we made soup, salad, main courses, mashed potatoes and more of those whoppers of pumpkins for weeks. And this bread. As one of the two starters of a four-course menu. Almost wanting to eat them with your hands.

Lentil-eggplant stew

Lentil-eggplant stew

It’s such a cold day outside, you come home and you need comfort food. Then this is your best option. If you’re lucky, it’s already on the table, otherwise you’ll have to work for another 45 minutes. But then you also have something… By the way, it’s delicious all year round.

Deliciously soft Kibbeh of pumpkin and seven spice powder

Deliciously soft Kibbeh of pumpkin and seven spice powder

Yes, and there’s another kibbeh. When autumn comes – and also in winter – kibbeh is to me what stew is here. Deliciously warming, delicious comfort food, always different. And this one is with pumpkin, also such a real autumn vegetable of course. And nice and soft and quite creamy for a kibbeh, because the pumpkin is incorporated in it. And that is also very comfort food.

Walnut soup

Walnut soup

A soup I always wanted to make, walnut soup. And our guests were extremely enthusiastic. It is creamy, it is soft and yet very interesting in taste. Purely positive, of course.

roumaniya fetteh

roumaniya fetteh

I was brought up with two dishes that are very similar. Mudardra (we called it pjadra) and Roumaniya (see also elsewhere on the site). This is a variation on the Roumaniya theme. Super tasty and ultimate comfort food. Crispy due to the pomegranate seeds and the crispy bread.

Pumpkin soup with ginger (syrup) and coconut milk

Pumpkin soup with ginger (syrup) and coconut milk

Pumpkin soup doesn’t look so good, I notice when I listen to our guests. It is not often possible to make a pumpkin soup really tasty. Fortunately, this soup is an exception to the rule, the guests said. And I couldn’t agree more. By the way, it applies to all pumpkin soups here on the site. You can make really tasty pumpkin soup, folks.

Date cardamom cookies

Date cardamom cookies

Date cardamom cookies are of course available on every street corner throughout the Middle East. From Lebanon to Morocco (that’s North Africa idd) and back. And in any form, they are delightful. These ones too. We also use them as a starter in the menu. With a dip. Divinely delicious and surprising at the same time.