Chicken & beans

This makes a great simple meal, especially if you have made the garlic chicken a day in advance. I like to serve it with a green salad, for a complete and healthy meal.

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Chicken & beans 

  • 800 gr large white beansChicken1
  • 1 chili pepper, finely sliced
  • 1 handful of parsley roughly chopped
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1 recipe garlic chicken (crush the garlic cloves into a paste)
  • Scoop 1 spoon of fat from the top of the stew, fry the chicken pieces in this with the skin side down.
  1. On a medium heat brown and reheat your chicken.
  2. Add the beans, chili pepper, the garlic paste and a couple of spoon fulls of broth.
  3. Heat this mix for 10 minutes while stirring.
  4. Sprinkle the beans with lemon and parsley before serving.

Garlic chicken

This dish is so great for creating lovely finger food. The chicken is delicious on toasted bread. It also makes a simple and great meal when combined with beans.

The chicken is very tender when it is cooked this way. It is cooked long and slowly, emerged in a tasty mix to keep it moist. The large quantity of garlic makes everything taste unique and sweet! Any leftover garlic can be mixed with some butter to make a great garlic butter. The leftover broth makes a great gravy base.

Garlic chicken

  • 4 chicken thighs
  • 2 bulbs of garlic
  • 125 gram of butter
  • 500 ml chicken stock
  • For this recipe you don’t need to peel the garlic cloves. Just remove the ends.
  1. Season your chicken.
  2. Melt 50 grams of butter in a frying pan and brown you chicken.
  3. Add the cloves, stock and the rest of the butter.
  4. Let this simmer for 1 hour or until the chicken just doesn’t fall of the bone.
  5. Let your stew cool down.
  6. Take the garlic out of the peels and collect them in a bowl.
  7. Keep the chicken and gravy and the garlic cloves in the fridge.

This chicken is lovely on grilled bread, with a spread of the garlic cloves, the chicken and some salt and pepper. You can also use this garlic chicken for making chicken & beans.

Find more chicken inspiration here.

Yoghurt garlic sauce

  • 3 large tbsp yoghurt
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
  • 1 tsp of dried dill and/or 1tsp of dried mint
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Optional: handfull of freshly chopped koriander, mint and/or parsley
  1. Mix to combine.

Pitasaus1

Best when prepared one day in advance, so the flavors ar well combined.

Keeps up to 3 days in the fridge.

Tastes great with flat bread, curries, chick pea stew and chips.

Tzatziki

My husband loves a good barbeque. But before the meat is ready we like knibble on something. For us, that’s crispy bread and taziki. This yoghurt dip ticks all the boxes for me, both the garlic flavour and the smooth and rich, creamy texture. Normally such a delicious sauce is based on so many fats, like your mayo based  sauce. But a taziki is yoghurt based and by comparison much healthier. This is why I must insist you use full fat greek yoghurt for this, non of that crazy diet stuff. Plus, full fat yoghurt contains more nutrients as well.

Feel free to replace my 2 favorite soft herbs with other options such as chives, dill or parsley.

I know this is hard, but try to let this sauce stand in the fridge for an hour, so the flavours are properly combined.

Just enjoy this sauce with crunchy bread, pita’s, falafel, naan’s, roast meat or with potato chips!

Cacik1

Tzaziki

  • 1 cucumber
  • 4 tbsp salt
  • full fat greek yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 handful of fresh mint
  • 1 handful of fresh koriander
  • 2 cloves of garlic

Grate your cucumber with a course grater. Now we will drain the water out of the cucumber to intensify the flavour. So bear with me and add all the salt to the cucumber. Mix this well in a bowl and leave to stand on one side while you continue with the other ingredients.

Finely chop the mint and coriander. Grate the garlic cloves.

In a large bowl add the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, chopped herbs and garlic. Season with a small amount of salt and pepper.

After 10-30 minutes of steeping rinse your grated cucumber in a collinder. This should clean away all that salt. The cucumber needs to be as dry as possible. I do this by first pushing as much water as possible through the collinder. After this I squeeze the grated cucumber between my hands. Add the dry handfuls of cucumber to the yogurt mix.

Stir your tzaziki thoroughly. Let it stand in the fridge for an hour (or overnight), and salt to taste before serving. This sauce will keep for a couple of days if stored in the fridge, that is, if there is anything left!

GreekStew4

Tzaziki is also great with some oven chips, or as a side dish with a Greek lamb stew.

No fuss tomato sauce

PastaSauceThis is the easiest way to make tomato sauce ever! You make it with fresh ingredients and the flavor is so intense. The bog secret is that the ingredients are not fried but roasted. You can use this sauce with your pasta or as a pizza sauce. Both my son and my husband have approved this recipe, it is finger licking good!

This recipe is enough for a family pasta meal. But you could easily make a large batch and freeze the rest of the sauce. The sauce can also keep in the fridge in a jar for a week.

TPasta2

No fuss tomato sauce

  • 6 tomatoes
  • 1 onion
  • 1 handfull of fresh thyme and rosemary
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • Honey
  • Olive oil
  • Optional: 1 chili pepper for a kick
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  1. Preheat the oven at 220 degrees C.
  2. Halve all the tomatoes and place them sliced side up on a baking tray.
  3. Peel and quarter the onion and peel the garlic. (Slice the chili in chunky pieces.)
  4. Scatter the other ingredients between the unions.
  5. Sprinkle the tomatoes, onions, garlic and chili with thyme and rosemary.
  6. Drizzle with honey and oil
  7. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes to an hour, untill your ingredients are nicely roasted.
    If you are making this in advance, shutdown your oven and let it cool while leaving the tomatoes in.
  8. Blend the roasted ingredients to a smooth paste.
  9. Mix in the oregano, salt and pepper to taste.

Funny farfalle with chanterelle cream sauce

Farfalle4I love trying new ingredients, and the other day I found some forest mushrooms in my supermarket. As I love any mushroom, I had to buy and try it.

I decided a simple pasta would do this ingredient justice. My son loved the flavor of the pasta and the sauce, but returned the fried chanterelles to my plate. Oh well, the texture of mushrooms isn’t for everyone, and I was happy to receive extra mushroom.

This recipe would work with any flavorsome mushroom, or even a mix. You can easily leave out the ham for a vegetarian option.

If you are going all out, garnish your pasta with freshly chopped parsley for some freshness and drizzle with some truffle oil.

Funny farfalle with chanterelle cream sauce (serves 2 and 1 toddler)

  • 250 grams of pasta
  • 150 grams chanterelle mushrooms
  • 1 shallot, finely sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
  • 100 grams of ham in fine ribbons
  • 1 glass white wine
  • 150 ml cream
  • Handful of chopped flatleaf parsley
  • Some olive oil and a knob of butter

First boil your pasta according to the instructions. While your water boils and your pasta cooks, you can make your sauce.

1. Clean your chanterelle mushrooms and cut them in similar size pieces.
Farfalle22. Gently fry the chanterelle mushrooms and union in the butter and olive oil until soft. Add salt and pepper to your mushrooms.

3. Add the garlic and the wine. Let this mix stew for a few minutes so the alcohol can evaporate.
Farfalle14. Stir in the ham and add the cream. You can turn off the heat on your sauce until your pasta is cooked.
Farfalle2Drain your pasta when it is cooked.
Farfalle45. Warm your sauce and pasta while combining them.

Sprinkle with parsley and dress with some olive oil or truffle oil and enjoy!

Simpel starters : Bruschetta

bruchetta

We love eating dinner al fresco. But not every food is equally appropriate for this. This snack makes perfect finger food with a glass of wine in your sunny garden.

Combined with a pasta salad and some veggies it makes a lovely summer meal or a great starter at a barbecue.

You can make the garlic oil by simply finely slicing the garlic and covering it with olive oil. After half an hour the oil will have a lovely garlic flavor. You can keep this oil for a few days.

Rockin Bruschetta (about 12 servings)

  • 1 jar of Rockin Rocket pesto
  • 12 slices of mozzarella
  • Cherry tomatoes in different colors
  • Slices of old bread
  • Garlic olive oil
  • Olive oil
  • Balsamic vinegar

bruchetta1

Brush the bread slices with the garlic oil, then grill or toast them. Season the slices generously with salt and pepper while they cool. I quartered all bread slices to create the right bruschetta size.

Halve the tomatoes, dress them with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season the tomatoes and toss to dress them.

Spread the Rockin Rocket pesto on each slice. Layer the mozzerella and a few tomatoes on each slice. Take your bruschetta and enjoy.

Rockin Rocket Pesto

rrpIf you ever tried growing rocket (or arugula) you know it grows like a weed. You can eat these lovely leaves every day once your rocket plants get going.

In Holland you find them in the wild too. They grow on sandy soil, so you find them in the dunes, next to rail roads and just on side walks.

If you are lucky enough to have an abundance of rocket, you might be looking for a new way to use it up. I like to do this by making my own pesto.

This recipe has no exact quantities, I suggest going with your instincts, and go by what you have in your fridge and adding ingredients to your taste.

Rocket_Pesto

Rockin Rocket Pesto

  • 1 – 2 handfulls of rocket
  • 1 handful of cashews (or hazelnuts, walnuts, peanuts, whatever nut you like)
  • a piece of hard cheese
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 – 2 tbsp of lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

I grind and mix my ingredients in my trusty little blender. Make sure you have enough oil in the blender.

Store your pesto in a jar or container in the fridge. Keep a layer of oil on top of your pesto to keep it fresh. Eat it within a week, but for us this is not a challenge!

This pesto is lovely as a dip with some home made bread, on your (meat) sandwich or through your pasta. If you add some more oil and lemon juice, it makes a lovely dressing for your tomatoes and mozzarella salad.

RocketPesto_Salad

 

This recipe works with basil or fenil tops too.

BBQ favorites: mustard chicken

We love having barbecues! This year I will be sharing our favorite recipes for this occasion.

BBQ

This is our favorite way for eating chicken from the barbecue. You might think that this marinade is way too sharp, but this one of those recipes where heating really transforms the flavor. The mustard transforms into a sweet and delicious crust when grilled.

This marinade is bold in every way, with a whole garlic bulb and lots of thyme, preferably fresh. Don’t hold back on the salt, chicken needs a large amount of salt to bring out all of it’s flavor.

Another advantage of using this marinade: the crust it forms seems to keep the meat tender and moist. This mustardy chicken is delicious with my potato salad and some green salad.

Chicken1

Mustardy chicken

  • 1 jar of sharp Dijon mustard (250 ml)
  • 1 head of garlic, coarsely chopped
  • 3 tbsp thyme
  • 2 tbsp course sea salt
  • Free range organic chicken:
    • 1 chicken – This marinade is enough for a whole roast chicken. For a barbecue cut your chicken into manageable pieces.
    • or 6 chicken breasts – This recipe could also be used for  chicken breasts if you don’t like eating of the bone. If you cut the chicken breasts in half, you get a nice size.
    • or 12 chicken wings for smaller snacks.

ChickenRawApply your marinade ingredients straight on your chicken and spread your marinade evenly. This marinade should form a thick coating that crusts up.

Always test if your chicken is cooked by slicing into a thicker section. If the liquid running out of it is clear, and the meat is white, your chicken is ready to eat.

If you are going to cook your chicken on the barbecue. The key is turning your chicken over frequently above medium heat coals.

If you are going to use the oven:

  • 1 whole roast chicken –  about 1 hours at 200 degrees C for a medium size chicken
  •  6 chicken breasts – about 30 minutes
  • 12 chicken wings – about 20 minutes

Chicken

Pizza Angry Monkey

AngryPizza2My husband named this pizza and it is his idea of food heaven. You can make this pizza using the dough I described in the Perfect Pizza Peluzza. Angry is a reference to the chilies used in this pizza, giving it a kick. And monkey is a reference to the primal state your husband will be in while he waits for this pizza.

Please remember not to put to many ingredients on your pizza, it should be a thin slice of goodness that cooks in a short amount of time. This recipe is for 1 pizza, feel free to make many more and discover your own favorite pizza.

Pizza Angry Monkey

  • Pizza doughAngryIngredients
  • 1 cup of tinned, diced tomatoes
  • grated cheese (I use Gouda because I’m dutch, but any hard neutral cheese would do)
  • 3-5 slices of mozzarella
  • 3-5 slices of tomato
  • 1 tbsp oregano
  • 5 sliced button mushrooms
  • half an onion in rings
  • 3-5 slices of salami
  • 2 chilies (jalapeno or regular red chilies) in rings
  • 1 finely sliced garlic clove
  • 3 tbsp olive oil

Preheat your oven to 220 degrees C. Make sure it is well and hot before placing the pizza in, as this guarantees the best crust.

Combine the olive oil and garlic and set aside for after baking.

GarlicOil

Roll out your dough to a 30 cm diameter. Prick the bottom thoroughly with a fork. This prevents the dough from puffing up under the topping, and pushing your topping of.

Place your pizza base on the oven plate. Spread the tinned tomatoes over the pizza. Generously season this sauce. Sprinkle with oregano, then with cheese.

Evenly spread out layers of Mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, salami, onion and chili slices.

Bake your pizza for 10 to 20 minutes. Brush your pizza crust with the garlic oil and crack fresh black pepper on top….. and enjoy!

AngrPizza2By the way, pizza’s are a great recipe to make with your toddler.