Hasselback potatoes with thyme and bay leaf

Hasselback potatoes are a true wonder of the world. Their crispy layers and soft insides make them the ultimate roasted potato and make a visually stunning dish on any table. They might look daunting but with a bit of practice you can prepare these little gems in a matter of minutes

Date pie with pecans, dark chocolate and vanilla crème fraîche

Pecan date pie with vanilla creme fraiche

Date pie with pecans, dark chocolate and vanilla crème fraîche

Gooey pie of Medjool dates, toasted pecans, and dark chocolate
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Course: Dessert, Pies
Cuisine: middle eastern
Keyword: Dates, Pecans, pies
Servings: 8 people
Author: Bart van der Lee

Equipment

  • 21 cm pie tin with a loose bottom

Ingredients

For the crust

  • 100 gram butter
  • 200 gram cake flour
  • 65 gram sugar
  • 1 egg

For the filling

  • 125 gram butter
  • 125 gram brown sugar
  • 75 ml golden syrup
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 star anise
  • 4 medium eggs
  • 200 gr pecan nuts
  • 100 gr chopped dark chocolate
  • 150 gr chopped dates

For the vanilla crème fraîche

  • 200 ml crème fraîche
  • 20 gram caster sugar
  • 1/2 pc vanilla pod

Instructions

For the crust

  • Dice the butter and mix with the sugar, flour, and lightly beaten egg. Mix the dough loosely and don't over mix. Flatten the dough, wrap in plastic and leave it to rest in the fridge for 30min.
  • Roll out the dough to about 1/2 cm thickness and line the baking tin. Pierce the dough with a fork and put it back in the fridge to rest for 15 minutes. Bake the crust at 170°c for 20 minutes till it has a light brown colour.

For the filling

  • Roast pecans at 180°c for 8 minutes or till they are lightly toasted, chop them coarsely.
  • Chop the chocolate and the dates coarse and mix with the pecans.
  • Melt the butter, sugar, golden syrup, cinnamon, and star anise in a pot and leave it to infuse for 15 minutes. Let it cool down, remove the star anise and cinnamon and mix in the eggs with a spatula. Add the chocolate, pecans, and dates and mix them together.
  • Pour the mixture into the crust-lined cake tin and bake at 145°c for 45 minutes.

For the vanilla crème fraîche

  • Whisk the crème fraîche with the vanilla pod seeds and sugar till stiff peaks.
  • Serve the date pie warm with a scoop of vanilla crème fraîche.
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Tom Kha Ghai (Thai coconut soup)

Thai Tom Kha Ghai soup

Tom kha ghai (Thai coconut soup)

Thai coconut soup with chicken and mushrooms
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Thai
Keyword: chicken, mushrooms, Spicy
Servings: 3 people
Author: Bart van der Lee

Ingredients

  • 250 gr chicken thighs
  • 100 gram button mushrooms
  • 400 ml coconut milk
  • 160 ml coconut cream
  • 1 tsp red curry paste
  • 1 tsp coconut oil
  • 1 thumb ginger
  • 1 stalk lemongrass
  • 1 small shallot
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 red chilli
  • 2 tsp fish sauce
  • 1 lime juice
  • 2 Kaffir lime leaf
  • 10 gram fresh Coriander

Instructions

  • Clean the chicken thighs from fat and impurities, cut into small chunks, and season with salt.
  • Chop the onions, garlic, and ginger and sweat them together in a pot in some coconut oil. Add the red curry paste and sweat for another minute or two.
  • Add the coconut milk, coconut cream, fish sauce, lemongrass, chili, kaffir lime leaves, and simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Add the chicken thighs and mushrooms and simmer for another 15 minutes.
  • Season the soup with lime juice, salt and finish with the coriander leaves.
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Black rice with sugar snaps and sun-drenched tomato and mint

Black rice with sugar snaps and dried tomato

Black rice with sugar snaps and sun-drenched tomato, basil and mint

A super healthy and delicious rice dish
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Course: Grains, Side Dish
Cuisine: contemporary european
Keyword: black rice, healthy
Servings: 4 people
Author: Bart van der Lee

Ingredients

  • 100 gram black rice
  • 150 gram sugar snaps
  • 100 gram sun-drenched tomatoes
  • 5 gram basil
  • 5 gram mint
  • 15 ml olive oil

Instructions

  • Cook the black rice in the rice cooker or in a pot.
  • Blanch the sugar snaps and cut the tomatoes in half.
  • Wash, dry, and chop the basil and mint.
  • Mix the cooked black rice, sugar snaps, dried tomato, olive oil, and herbs together and finish with a pinch of salt.
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Poussin chicken and lentil stew with smoked paprika and cumin

Baby chicken and lentil stew

Poussin baby chicken and lentil stew

Wintery stew of poussin chickens with puy lentils and spices
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Latin American
Keyword: chicken, lentils, stew
Servings: 4 people
Author: Bart van der Lee

Ingredients

For the poussin chickens

  • 3 poussin chickens
  • 25 gram butter

For the lentils

  • 200 gram lentils
  • 750 gram chicken stock
  • 4 fresh tomatoes
  • 1 shallot
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 red chili
  • 25 gram tomato paste
  • 1 tsp smoked Paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cumin

Instructions

For the lentils

  • Rinse the lentils and cook with the chicken stock for about 10 minutes till they are half cooked.
  • Peel the tomatoes by pouring a kettle of boiling water on them and leave them for 15 seconds. Drain the water, let them cool down, and take off the skins. Chop them fine with a knife.
  • Chop the chili, shallot, and garlic and sweat in a nob of butter. Add the tomato paste, cumin, smoked paprika, and the chopped tomatoes. Cook this for about 5 minutes and add the lentils. cook 5 minutes more and set aside.

For the poussin chickens

  • Separate the chicken breasts and legs from the carcass or ask the butcher to do it.
  • Season the chicken with pepper and salt. Fry the breasts and legs in a pan with some oil on the skin side. Do this for about 5 minutes till the skin is crispy and brown. Remove the oil from the pan, add the butter and fry the chickens on both sides for about 5 minutes till they are golden brown.
  • Add the cooked lentils and stew this together for about 25 minutes un till the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Garnish with lots of coarsely chopped parsley.
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