Broccoli salad with sweet tahin dressing
Ever since the Ramen noodles I know that the Japanese also use sesame paste in their dishes. And that’s also the case with this salad. The dressing determines the taste that will not really ring a familiar bell, but you know one thing for sure. You will prepare this more often.
Tarte Tatin aux abricots
One of my daughters pledged one day: I could have Tarte Tatin for breakfast, lunch and diner. And as a snack in between. And I couldn’t agree more. It is so mouthwatering and such comfort food. Enjoying every minute of this sensation. I do not have a sweet tooth but I must say that I have made Tarte Tatin to perfection in the past 15 years. In only two versions: one with apple and this one with apricots. A la myself, the two most délicieux combinations. Usually I make it for desert. That’s when you can extend this enjoyment the longest.
Braised greens
The green part of this dish is great. Check. It shows, right. But the fantastic and devastating effect of the rice is not so obvious. It’s made with vegan cheese, butter and lemon. Yes, nothing less. And in combination with the peas, little gems, fresh mint, leaks and and and … leaves you speechless. I know.
Kachumbari
My Kenyan friend Peninah lives in Nairobi and is the founder of the organisation Safe Spaces. 1500 girls from the slums – Peninah was one of them a long time ago – get a view and a chance of a future life outside the slums. How? Check her website https://www.safespaces-nairobi.org . I am her liaison in the Western world and for that reason she often stays with us in our home. And of course we cook together. Her recipe of Kachumbari has become one of our favourites. This lukewarm combination of delicious soft tastes with a spicy edge is a tropical delight on the table. We serve it with ginger rice.
Apple capers and ciabatta
Apple capers are a wonderful product of nature. Their texture, colour and taste give a totally different dimension to a salade that hardly any other ingredient could copy. In this ciabatta salad they have the same effect. The ciabatta bread that has been roasted in olive oil and garlic finds a perfect partner in the fresh and salty sour taste of the capers. Molto gustoso, is what they say in Italy. We say incredibly delicious.
Spaghetti salad with baies roses
A pasta salad appears regularly on many tables. This pasta salad is delicious – of course – but also has a secret ingredient: baies roses. Although it’s not that secretive as you see it right away. The little red pink balls are easily detected in this salad. By eye and by taste. They deliver a slightly spiciness that stays with you for a little while. And that separates this salad from the others just like that.
Fried courgette strips
Look, you want a snack. But you want something different. You want to make something so nice they’re almost going to fight about it. These fried courgette strips are your answer to THE snack. Of course, you can also make them as a side dish. Or put on a salad. Or… Anyway, go make them if you fancy a new addiction. Because that’s definitely what it’s going to lead to.
Borlotti beans on toast
From the outside they are maybe not so much a natural beauty, but thankfully they make up for it on the inside. These borlotti beans are fried shortly in the pan with some olive oil and garlic. You mash them a bit and then you serve them on your bruchetta. Many high brows will go up when the taste reveals to be a pleasant surprise. Just a nod that it’s great. Mission accomplished.
Salad of radicchio and pear
This light salad is a picture perfect and delicious on a nice summer day. Fruit is always a great addition to a salad and in this case as well. This salad consists of only a few ingredients but that’s perfectly okay. It’s full if taste and lovely for lunch or as a side dish.
Tomato mint salad
A salad like this is served on a little saucer. Some salads deserve their own scale, literally. No large amounts, just a personal small plate with your salad. That’s the feeling this salad gives me. You eat it in small bites. Delicately. And with your bread you dip in the juice. Mmmmmm
Spaghetti with crispy cauliflower
Cauliflower and Italian sauce, it doesn’t come naturally to me. Cauliflower and Italy, for some reason I have difficulty of bringing these two together. But Italians love cauliflower and rightfully so. With this sauce they have raised the bar once again. It doesn’t remind you of anything you already know. And yet again you do not need to get familiar to the taste, it is an à la casa experience, home coming that is.
Fennel with saffron croûtons
I simply love fennel. And great croûtons are rare, but if you know how to make them you find yourself in heaven. With this recipe you will make these croûtons from now on. The combination with the fennel is fantastic. And the real saffron brings it to that culinary level. Love it.
Seven shades of green
This salade is really something different. A salty salade. For the dressing we used soy sauce. This give it a totally different taste. An addition to the salad family. Green asparagus, soy beans, spinach, avocado… green comes in many colours. A red pepper adds a bite to it together with the green lemon. But there is more..
Risotto al salto
The name says it all. This risotto makes a salto in the pan. This is a dish that comes to you as a pleasant surprise. You have risotto – preferably risotto à la Milanese – left over from the night before and ask yourself what you could do with it. In a way that it is really delicious. The Italians came up with this fantastic idea, you make a pancake out of it. Lovely with a green salad. For lunch or an easy diner. What’s that? Yes, you’re right. I often make too much risotto à la Milanese on purpose, so that I have no choice the next day but to make that Risotto al salto.