Nasuha Blog

I wanted a starter but did not want to go shopping. Took some leftover asparagus from the fridge and remembered this recipe from a small French bistro. Simple, with some good olive oil and sea salt.

Cut 2 portobellos in 1 cm thick slices and mix them with 1 clove of garlic, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp sea salt and pepper from the mill.

Preheat the oven at 220C

Mix 2 tbsp olive oil with another 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1 garlic clove, 1/8 tsp chili flakes and 1/4 tsp sea salt. Cut 2 thick slices of brioche and cover them with this mix.

Bake the mushrooms in the oven for about 13 minutes, after 7 minutes put the bread in to toast.

Poach the eggs and serve with basil leaves and a spoonful of sour cream.

(recipe by Ottolenghi)

Scrub and boil 2 big potatoes for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven at 220C.

Dry the potatoes, lightly oil them with olive oil en sprinkle some sea salt over them before putting them in the oven for 25 minutes.

In the meantime mix the contents of a 145 gr can of tuna, with 160 ml unsweetened mayo, 1 clove of garlic,  20 cl milk, 10 gr capers, 20 gr of parsley, 2 tbsp lemon juice and 2 anchovies in your blender.

5 mins before the potatoes are ready it's time to boil 2 eggs for 5 mins.

Cut the hot potatoes almost in two, sprinkle some salt flakes inside and stuff them: first with some more tuna, then the tuna sauce and finish with the runny eggs, more capers and parsley.

My interpretation of an Ottolenghi recipe

Slice red bass fillet and cover with the juice of a lemon. Leave alone for 10 minutes, so the juice can cook the fish. In the meantime quarter cherry tomatoes and get some small basil leaves. Finish with pepper and salt and some good quality olive oil.

(A Jamie Oliver recipe)

Mix 100 grs soft goats cheese with a finely chopped garlic clove, half a tsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, a pinch of sea salt and the zest of a lemon. If necessary some water to make it more liquid.
Lightly cover the asparagus with coconut oil and use a griddle pan to cook them in about 4 mins.

Plus anchovies, capers,  garlic, olive oil and parsley.

A few bits of smoked mackerel, some fried prawns. Half a beetroot thinly sliced, the other half pureed with 120 ml chicken stock
Half an avocado diced, the other half pureed with 120 ml vegetable stock, then I added 1 leaf of gelatine.
Some thinly sliced red onion, a few dollops of mayo/horseradish... that's all folks.

(Inspired by Belgian masterchef Mario Aerts)

Start with the soup. Roughly cut 2 yellow paprikas, 1/2 a fennel bulb, 3 cloves of garlic and a stalk of celery and sweat them in some olive oil. Add a pinch of safran.
Add 0,8 litre chicken stock and softly boil for 10 mins. Use a stick blender to liquify and then add 100 ml cream.
Boil some samphire for 3 mins.
Use a mandoline to make very thin shavings the other halve of the fennel bulb.
Now whip some cream. Add a tbsp Pernod and whip again.

Start plating:
Put some fennelshavings in the middle of the plate.
Then some samphire
Now the smoked halibut
Finally a quenelle of cream

Hold the stick blender just above the soup and create a nice foam.
Then pour the soup around the little tower

(Inspired by Angelique Schmeinck, 24Kitchen. Here's a video )

Start a day in advance with making lemon jelly from 60 cl lemon juice, 20 cl sugar water, 20 cl water and 1 leaf of gelatine. 
For the tuiles: mix 160 gr boiled potatoes with 5 tbsp of grated Parmesan, 20 gr butter, 1 tsp Curry Madras till you have a smooth substance. Preheat the oven on 160C, put baking paper on an oven tray and put 4 heaps of the potato mix on it. Flatten with a spoon. Bake till golden brown and crisp, do the same with the other side after turning. Take out to cool.
In the meantime make the guacamole from 1 avocado, 1 tbsp coriander, 1 tsp limejuice, the zest of the lime and a knifepoint of piment espelette.

Put a tbsp guacamole on each tuile, then some smoked halibut and finally some lumpfish roe. (unless you prefer caviar).

(my interpretation of a recipe from Belgian chef Peter Goosens)

For the sauce reduce 400 cl fresh orange juice till 150 cl is left. Add 50 cl chicken stock. Then whisk in 50 gr cold salted butter.
Fry the scallops in a dry pan.
Serve with orange parts.

Not one of the best looking dishes on this blog, but very, very simple and very tasty. Stir fry 300 gr shredded carrots for a minute or 2. Add 1 tsp cumin powder and half a tsp coriander powder.  Then 400 gr of red lentils (from a can), 750 cl vegetable stock and 125 cl coconut milk. Bring gently to the boil

After 15 minutes you can use a stick blender to puree the soup.
Roast 2 tsp fennel seeds in a dey pan.

Serve with fresh coriander, Turkish yoghurt and the toasted seeds. Plus some warm naan or pita bread.

(A Janny van der Heijden recipe)

Peel and boil 4 small potatoes pp. (first cut off the bottom so they can stand).
Make a sauce of 2/3 mayo and 1/3 horseradish (from a jar). Add some capers and finely cut dill.
Coat the cooked potatoes lightly with the sauce.
Put them (lukewarm) on a a plate and drape smoked salmon over them. Finish with some more sauce and some dill.

The problem with rettich is that they are so big. The other day I used 5 cm and was stuck with the rest.
Today I thought of this solution and cut off another 12 cm. Peeled it and used the mandoline to make very thin slices. Put them in boiling water for 90 sec. to make them soft.

Fried some leftover gamba's from the freezer.

Wanted to use basil but didn't have any so used the blender and mesclun salad (plus some olive oil and salt) to make the green dressing that would go nicely with the mango.

The cut offs from the mango were used to make mango mayo (just some Hellmans mayo with the mango and a stick blender).

I made a cross of two rettich slices, put a gamba in the middle, a teaspoon of mangomayo on top and folded into a square little package. Bob's your uncle and he would love it.

Mix 100 gr coarse salt (the cheap rock version, not the expensive sea salt) with 2 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp dill.
Ask you fishmonger for a salmon fillet of 400 gr (without the skin and the grey fatty stuff)

Cover the fillet on each side lightly with horseradish from a jar.

Put 2 sheets of clingfilm crosswise on a dish.
Put half the salt mix on it. then grated beetroot on top of it.
Then the salmon fillet.
Followed by more beetroot and finally the rest of the salt mix.

Pack tightly with the clingfilm.
Put something have on top and put in the fridge for 2 hours.

In the meantime mix 2 heaped tsp horseradish with 1/2 tsp Japanese rice vinegar, 2 tbsp olive oil and some pepper and salt.

Cut a fennel bulb very thin and mix with the horseradish dressing.

Two hours later cut the salmon into thin strips. I used broccoli sprouts as finishing touch.

(Inspiration: Donna Hay)

Boil some rice. In the meantime remove the skin of the salmon filets if the fishmonger hasn't done that. If he did, but left the grey fat remove that with a sharp knife. Oil the filets and fry in a (dry but very hot) pan for just 1 min on each side. Turn off the heat and pour some ketjap or soy sauce on the fish. Shake and turn the filets quickly till covered with sauce. Then transfer them to a cutting board.

     Time to cut the avocado into cubes, dribble with lemon juice to avoid them turning brown.
Open a pot of Japanese Sushi ginger and use a tea sieve to catch the liquid.
      Mix 1 tbsp black sesame seed with 1 tsp of chili flakes and 1 tsp of coarse sea salt.

Start plating with the rice. Cut the salmon. Finish with the avocado, sea weed and ginger. Sprinkle with the sesame mix and spoon over the ginger liquid.

Inspiration: Donna Hay

Start with the sauce: 1/3 gin (or sake), 1/3 Mirin and 1/3 soy sauce. Bring to the boil and reduce till half is left.
In the meantime put the griddle pan on.
First some thin slices of fennel go in, about 1 min. on each side, till nice and just soft enough.
Then the lightly oiled tuna for 2 mins.
Serve with a spoonful of hummus and some leek shoots.

May is the time for broad beans.
Ideal for a simple dish, although you should double pod them for the best result. But then the work is done.
Except whisking a light dressing of Dyon mustard, parsley, sherry vinegar and a good quality olive oil

(Thanks Mike for the photo)

Making this dish I remembered my lovely wife putting food on the table, muttering "Enjoy it, this will be the last day in my life I will cook!'. We did not believe her, but the next day the kids and I learned she was dead serious. I had to gather recipes and shop and start cooking the rest of my life. At one point I kindly asked here where I could find veal stock in the larder. Her answer: "If you did not make it yesterday there isn't any!'. Right. Years later, earlier this week, she surprised me by ordering fantastic veal stock, or Jus de Veau, from www.joostenpaul.nl. I decided to use this excellent product for the firs time with scallops.

First I made the mash and by adding lots of butter and milk turned it into a smoot mousseline. Then I cut a piece of leek into small strips and sweated them in butter. The Jus de Veau was easy as I only had to warm it up.

Then fried some good Serano ham in a dry pan, then using the same pan to fry the scallops.

Heaven!