Fresh orzo soup
This is not an ordinary soup. It is a true Mediterranean/Middle Eastern soup. The lemon juice and the dill make it a typical soup for a hot summer day.
Loubyeh b’zeit
Cinnamon is the secret ingredient here with the string beans and the tomato.
Lunch with a ‘star’
Bread, it’s not my favourite. I prefer having a warm lunch. Even salad are lukewarm often at my table. But if I make this little mushroom dish for lunch, than even I have some bread to go along with it. It’s a smasher. Irresistible and greedy, that’s what it does to you. But hey, there are worse things we need to deal with.
Spaghetti with kale pesto and cashew nuts
It is something different. A pesto that has a slightly more intense taste to it. But really nice to alternate between pesto’s. This pesto can be used for this pasta, but you can easily use it the next day or week. With other veggies, in your dressing, on your bread.
Batata in coriander seeds and red wine
Now this is a different way of having potatoes. Fried in olive oil with beaten up coriander seeds. Actually I beat up the potatoes too before they find their way into the pan. At the end they get a nice red wine shower. You are already on the verge of making it, right? Tonight, right? I knew it.
Moroccan braised spicy celeriac
Celery is such a nice and healthy vegetable, and this is a fantastic way of preparing it. Moroccans are the best in coming up with amazing vegetable stews. Like this one. With tomatoes and a fatal combination of spices. The green olives are the smashers too.
Spaghetti with the truffle sauce
On a chilly day, when you long for something heart warming. Something intense. And feel good. Then that’s the day you really should make this sauce to go with your spaghetti. And after that, the day can just glide into the night, still enjoying the memory of that fantastic pasta.
Tiramisu
I do not fancy deserts much and do not have a sweet tooth. Tarte Tatin, yes. And Tiramisu, also a loud and clear ‘si’ to that. For these two I make an exception and will do my utmost to make a vegan version of them. Well, here you have it. Did I already mention that it is amazing? That it is delicious? Well, it is.
Pasta aglio olio
This dish consists of 4 ingredients: olive oil, garlic, (red) chili pepper and pasta. It took me a while to prepare a pasta aglio olio that scored an A on my own report. I just could not get it totally right. One night I was having diner with Italian colleagues in Milan and I asked them: how do you prepare a good pasta aglio olio. Well, the evening turned into a heated discussion. I had no clue that a simple dish with 4 ingredients could be the source of so much discussion. Grandma, mum, sister, aunty, the beloved neighbour, all their secret recipes brought at the table. Well, this is my version… But, I did learn that evening what the secret magic to a great pasta aglio olio is… read the preparation of the recipe.
Risotto with artichoke and lemon zest
You will find quite some risotto’s on this website. And that’s because we love them so much. That’s because risotto is comfort food. And because it’s slow food. And this risotto is another ‘independently tasting’ risotto. So different from the others. And that’s why it deserves a special place between the other recipes.
Syrian spinach
Spinach, I think it is my favourite vegetable. And there are so many ways of preparing it in a fantastic way. In Syria they really know their way around spinach. With pomegranate. Yes, pomegranate and pine nuts. And red onion. Really lovely.
Moroccan green beans à la Fatim-Zahra
Many cultures have a dish where green beans and tomatoes are the main ingredients of a dish. You’ve got the Lebanese Loubyeh b’zeit, the Italian Fagiolini di Sant’Anna and this Moroccan recipe, of Fatim-Zahra. They are all really nice, but I think this one is my favourite. Such an intens taste and so full of character. Green beans and tomato become classy at once. From totally boring to very special in a few minutes. This is lovely together with the angel hair rice.
Spaghetti à la Trapanese
A nice quick pasta that everybody simply loves. Sometimes the chef is applauded for the most simple dishes. Well, this one is the one. On a weekday you will score high points on this one.
Angel hair and rice
Rice is a side dish of course. You eat it with something else. But sometimes rice is so nice that it stands alone, on its own two feet. This rice has two feet as it is combined with angel hair. But hey, we always eat it with something else. Well, sometimes you take a spoonful in the kitchen when nobody is watching. Right before serving. Or when you clear the table, a spoonful ends up in your mouth. Just like that. Oh well, it also happens at the table if you’re honest…
Focaccia à la io
Wine in the dough. Yes, it plays an important role in the fermentation process and it adds a more intense taste to the bread and airy texture. The sage of course is important. Crispy and a sensational addition to the taste.
Brussels sprout and hazel nuts
Brussels sprouts are the best. The whole year long according to myself. One can suddenly crave for it. I love bitter vegetables, so that’s nice for the Brussels sprouts. This way of preparing them is a great addition. The sage from my garden blends in perfectly just like the roasted hazelnuts. Simply delicious.
Smothered radicchio
Bitter and sweet. A great bite. The taste stays with you. And that taste is so nice that you will find yourself preparing this again, soon.
Pasta à la Katrin
I had this pasta sauce for the first time when I was visiting my friend Katrin in Hamburg. It took a while for her to prepare it before she was satisfied with the taste. The quality of the sauce depends on your patience. It should be well reduced. That’s crucial for the taste and the substance. Patience it is, but it’s for a good cause.
Herb salad
This salad is made of fresh herbs and arugula. You can combine them at your own taste. It also depends on what is in the house or in your garden or on your balcony. Sometimes I go wild and choose oregano. You can make this salad as extrovert or subtil as you like. It depends on what you feel like and what is to be found on the menu.
Salad with artichoke, avocado and tomato
Soft, softer, softest. This is how you can best describe this salad. The avocado, artisjok, ripe tomatoes, they are all nice and soft. The pine nuts are a bit nosy in this salad. Just like the fresh basil. But it all works out really well between all of them.
Salad à la le frigo
This large salad actually never looks the same. It depends on what I find in ‘le frigo’, the fridge. Okay, most of the time the salad will have baby gems and tomato. And I always add some fried onions, garlic and red pepper. But after that it becomes free format. Avocado, corn, cucumber, carrot, pickle, pine nuts/ sunflower seeds/ pumpkin seeds, lentils, chickpeas, courgette, rice, potato .. I could go on for ever. A nice creamy dressing tops it off. I make that with vegan mayonaise, hummus and coconut yoghurt.
Bruchetta with olive oil and tomato
That’s what I love about the Italians. With just a few ingredients – often no more than cinque, so five – they create something incredible. This is a snack to accompany your drinks or something you can have for lunch. We do that all of the time. You have some great bread. Put some great olive oil on it. Then you cut real ripe tomatoes in two and rub the open side on the bread. While you squeeze out the juice and the seeds. You add some salt and freshly grounded pepper and some fresh basil. You pick up the bread, bring it to your mouth …
Hummus errrr beetroot dip
First there is hummus. And then comes …. hummus. And then there is hummus and then … yes ladies and gentlemen comes this dip which has also become the love of my kitchen life. You take a spoon, prepare yourself for disappointment – it’s not hummus – and next thing you know you just fell madly in love. Big time. So if you have a raw beetroot in the fridge and some tahina and garlic … salt and pepper. Let it happen.
Warak enab
It looks good. You cannot tell from the outside what you will find within. It is a delicious dish. It is always tasteful. And it’s slow food. To sum it up, totally my type of dish. Also, very versatile: lovely as part of a mezze, for lunch and as a side. This version is one of my favourites, but you will get to know other versions on this website. But, that’s something to look forward to right?
Crispy kale salad
Yes, that’s right, a crispy kale salad. How does the kale get crispy, you may ask? Well, that’s a good question … you fry it quickly in sunflower oil. That’s the trick. And the effect is huge. The effect is surprising. And delicious. Put an apron when you put the kale in the frying pan. This salad is crispy, fresh and sweet at the same time. Really worth a try.
Cauliflower chickpea soup
This is a typical soup to serve as a starter, to create some appetite. Quite a surprise maybe when you hear cauliflower and chickpea. But this is a light and tasteful little soup. Because of the cumin it gets a Moroccan swing to it. And the sumac takes it away.
Salad of lentils and quinoa
You keep on eating. This is a light salad, the lemon juice gives it a refreshing character. The parsley lifts it all up. The quinoa feels great in your mouth, and the lentils do exactly what they should do. On a warm summer day this is your salad.
Sunny spinach
The Dutch love mashed potatoes with veggies in them. Especially when they are full of taste. This one is great, light, full of taste. Nice in winter and in summer.
Ramen noodles soup
Could we have ramen noodles tonight, asked one of our daughters. She had travelled through Asia and longed for these tastes. I looked up several recipes in cook books and decided to try it this way. It was bulls eye. Such an amazing taste. A unique taste although I did detect my good old tahina while eating the soup. I never knew Asian cuisine also used sesame paste.
Pleasantly surprising walnut dip
This walnut dip appears on your table very often in the Middle-East. But not so much in other regions. That’s a pity because it’s so delicious. With drinks, as a mezze dish or even just on a cracker with some lettuce.