Super fast IKEAnized Salmon

Dear Peeps,

I can officially say: I am back!!!! It has been a crazy month as I mentioned before. I was so extremely busy with moving at first and then recuperating from it. I needed a little holiday from everything so I went to my parents house, or as I call it: Spa Hamilton! The only thing I do there is sleep, run and cook! This time was no different except that I still had so many things on my mind that I still had to do for the move and the start of my new job....

After my Spa treatment I finally finished my room, and it looks amazing! I feel super duper at home. The kitchen is really nice too and my dear roomies gave me a green card in the decoration so that I can cook the way I want to cook. Guess it is also in their benefit eh...;) The only left to complete is the living room but that will come with time.

Today I also started my new job, and even though it will be super busy there too I decided I needed to pick up blogging again as it gives me so much joy. So I am just going to try to keep it up but don't expect daily things. I will continue cooking daily though so at least I will have continuous material to post!

First things first: my first dish made for my dearest friends Julia & Stef cooked in my brand new kitchen and served on my little balcony.
Moving means going to IKEA right? And what else is there at IKEA besides furniture? The IKEA food section with the most famous swedish meatballs and the Gravlax sauce based on mustard and dill which is exactly what I got and that I served my friends.

Ingredients:

• 700 gr salmon steak
• salt and pepper
• Broccoli cut in florets
• Parmigiano 
• Gravlax sauce

How to make it:

You heat up your grilling pan to a sizzling heat while you salt and pepper your salmon steak to taste. When the pan is nice and hot, you start grilling the salmon. Depending on the thickness of the salmon and your personal taste you grill the fish 3-4 minutes on each side. I like my salmon nice and crispy on the outside and still a tad raw on the inside.

While grilling the salmon you cook the broccoli in boiling salted water. This doesn't take longer than 5 minutes but again this depends on the size of the pieces you cut the broccoli into. Sieve the broccoli once it's done.

Serve the salmon and broccoli on a plate and add the parmigiano on top of the broccoli and the gravlax sauce on top of the salmon.

Voila you're done in less that half an hour! 

Output:

Super good healthy dinner that will fill you right up after a day of moving and a visit to IKEA!

IKEAnized Salmon

Buon Appetito

Chef Steph

Lunch: Tuna Salad Sandwich

Problems with inspiration for your lunchbox?? No particular idea on what you feel like having, and no desire to work your kitchen for hours today? My lunchbox today might inspire you a bit...

My seaside weekend inspired me to make a healthy 'seaside lunch'.
The salty water still in my nostrils reminded my brain of the existence of a tuna can in my cupboard and the sight of bread in my other cupboard then created the idea to make a fresh home made tuna salad!

Ingredients:

• tuna can (water based)
• 2 tablespoons of yoghurt
• 1 teaspoon mayonaise
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• pinch of salt
• pinch of dried origano
• two slices of whole weat bread

How to make it:

Mix the tuna, with the yoghurt, mayonaise, mustard and herbs.

Keep it in a separate container until you serve it, because otherwise your bread will soak up and it ain't particularly nice!

Once it was lunchtime I spread the tuna salad on my slices of bread and served it with a classic green salad with some balsamic vinaigrette and tomatoes.

Outcome: a very satisfying lunch if I may say so... next time I am going to add some fresh capers to give it a little hmpf extra!

Homemade Tuna Salad

Buon Appetito

Chef Steph

Crispy Catfish & Sweet Chicory

Many people don't like a lot of foods and to be honest, I don't like those people very much! Seriously didn't your momma teach you how to eat and try everything in front of you??

Adults that don't like certain foods act like kids. Because kids tantrum in order not to eat something they don't like, and if you, as a parent, give in to those tantrums it will result that once grown up, those kids will still not like the food! Instead, if you make sure your kid eats the food he/she doesn't like, they will most likely be cured from their aversion. Obviously you are not going to serve caviar or foie-gras to a 6 year old, as there are things that simply have too strong tastes for their young tastebuds to accept, but I do think you must slowly teach your kid to eat more and more vegetables and try new flavours in order for their pallet to develop itself. How else are you going to create foodies?! ;)

My memory about an episode like this is when my mom made this spinach casserole... I don't remember what exactly was in it, but I remember it had spinach!! And I DID NOT like spinach. I also remember that my parents had to leave that night, probably going out for a dinner or a party and that we were left with the sitter. My evil little mind thought 'briljant!! Def getting out of this one!' EEEEEEEHHHH WRONG! I was not allowed to leave the table unless I had finished my spinach, and I think I was still sitting there when my parents came back! In the end I ate the damn green things and obviously they weren't as bad as I thought but hell had to freeze over before admitting that to my parents, otherwise my tantrums wouldn't be as effective anymore - and I think my mom will confirm that they were quite embarrassing at times. Ops... I am sure there are several more episodes like this with chicory and fish!

Outcome of my parents insisting on me eating spinach, chicory and fish: I definitely like them much more now. Spinach and fish are a stable factor on my menu, however chicory is still not one of my favourites. But I can not preach what I don't believe so I looked and found a way to eat and like chicory: by adding sugar or at least something sweet in order to balance out the bitter taste.

Voila a magic recipe:

Ingredients: serves 2

•  300 gr catfish
• 3 slices of whole weat bread crumbles
• 3 teaspoons mustard
• 4 chicory
• juice of an orange
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper
• pinch of sugar

How to make it:

Heat the oven on 180 degrees.

Crumble the bread with a kitchenaid. Prepare the fish by seasoning it with the salt and pepper and place it in an oven tray. Spread the mustard on top (if you use spicy mustard, then be careful with the quantity you use) and sprinkle the crumbles on top of the fish. The mustard will make sure the crumbs stick to it. 

Put the fish in the oven for circa 20-25 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish.

In the meanwhile you clean the chicory by removing the ends and tearing the leaves apart. You can chop them in big pieces but I kept the leaves whole. 

Heat up the olive oil in a non-sticking pan and add the chicory. Bake for a couple of minutes until they get softer. Add the pinch of sugar and the orange juice and let them simmer for another 5-10 minutes. The sugar will caramelize the bitter taste of the chicory and will make them irresistible!  

Outcome: Place the chicory next to the fish, and serve with a fresh green salad or some bread, a potato... whatever you like! Or have it like that as a proteined dinner after a good workout! 

Crispy Catfish
&

Sweet Chicory

Buon Appetito

Chef Steph

Italian Fish

I am about to reveal something that is going to make a nation jump up and down and yell: TOLD YOU SO! This month's 'La Cucina Italiana'  publishes the announcement that the mediterranean diet/pyramid is the most healthy and most aspired diet everyone should be following. 


The diet became a fact when an English writer and chef Elizabeth David published a book in 1950 about the mediterranean diet explaining the sobriety and simpleness of the food the Italian people were consuming after the war. The sobriety was of course due to the fact that people didn't have the resources to feed themselves like rich men anymore, because let's be honest, I am sure the Giuseppes and Marias at the time were craving some more meat and fish during the week, but they simply couldn't. So they reached out to vegetables and legumes that they could grow in their own backyard, combined with their beloved pasta made out of flour and eggs and some olive oil extracted from the olives of the neighbours. Unnoticed and definitely unintentional, they created the perfectly balanced meals.


This pyramid is no surprise to anyone who is into food, or who watches the fat percentage on their bodies. But the real surprise in my revealing all these little facts to you, is that UNESCO has included the diet in their Humanitary Heritage list. So there, it is a fact: Italian food IS the best in the world!


Hold your horses Italian friends: this doesn't mean that other foods aren't good or just as pleasurable to make or eat! Plus, I am a firm believer of variety.. NAH! :) But on your behalf, here's a good oven baked Orata fish with some healthy salad to go with.


Ingredients: serves 1

• 1 whole sea bream (Orata) - cleaned
• 1 scallion sliced
• 0,5 lemon sliced
• little handful of parsley
• olive oil
• salt
• lettuce
• tomatoes chopped
• snowpeas 
• vinaigrette: olive oil, balsamico vinegar, 1 teaspoon mustard, 1 teaspoon honey

How to make it:

Heat the oven at 180 degrees Celcius. 

Prepare the fish in an oven tray: put a couple of lemon slices, salt and parsley in the belly of the fish. Place it in the tray. Then you pute the scallion on top of the fish and sprinkle the whole with some olive oil. Voila, you're done! You can now put it in the oven for 20-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.

While the fish is cooking, prepare the salad and the vinaigrette in a bowl.

Outcome: easy, fast and super healthy dinner! I usually have this one after a good run because it is the perfect dinner after a good workout session! For your male friends: add some potatoes with the fish or simply have some bread with it.

Italian Fish & Healthy Salad

Buon Appetito

Chef Steph

Fusion: Chickpea puree with grilled asparagus & tuna

Bonjour from rainy Milan!!

Must be honest that the rain is bringing a breath of fresh air, so it's not too bad...Because it has been quiet hot & steamy around here the last couple of days!

Don't have a lot of time because I am crazy busy with a million things but wanted to give you a treat of my cuisine happenings lately. I got the inspiration for this one, out of May's issue of the dutch delicious! Instead of combining the vegetables with meat, I went for tuna.

Ingredients: serves 2

• can of chickpeas 
• salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon kurkuma
• 250 gr asperges
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tuna steaks

How to make it:

boil the chickpeas for 5-10 minutes in a bit of salted water. Drain them and puree 3/4 of them with a blender or whatever you have at hand. Add the spices and mix some more. At the end you add the whole chickpeas you kept aside, to give the puree an extra bite.

In the meanwhile you cut the asperges in 5cm pieces and grill/ bake them in a heated skillet. It takes around 7 minutes to cook. But it depends on your taste, I like them crunchy.

Last but not least, grill the tuna that you salted and peppered, for a couple of minutes. Again, this depends on your taste. I like my tuna pink on the inside!

Outcome: easy fast, midweek or busy weekend dinner. But good and special enough to make your day end well! 

Chickpea Puree with grilled Asperges & Tuna

Buon Appetito

Chef Steph

Asian Cravings: Silky Soya Marinated Salmon

What do you do, to make, a what usually is a normal day, into a special one?

My way of making my day special is by cooking something extraordinary. Something that I don't cook every week, and/ or something that takes just that little extra effort that will make my dinner special. After a cooking session like that, my normal day doesn't seem so normal anymore. If on top of that, I manage to share that delicious recipe in the company of someone special and a nice glass of wine my day can't be ruined - yes even though there's not much left anyways! :)

Last week I made Chef Cathinka's and mine famous Panang Curry with some green peppers and paksoi, that resulted in some paksoi leftovers. So thinking of paksoi, and thai food, it made me crave for more.... I came up with Soya Marinated Salmon with some stirfried veggies!

Ingredients: serves 2

• 2 salmon steaks of circa 150 gr each
• 1 clove garlic chopped
• 15gr fresh ginger grated
• juice of half a lemon
• 10 ml sesame oil (or almond oil)
• 50 ml soya sauce
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 red pepper chopped
• 1 small paksoi chopped

How to make it:

Heat the oven at 170 degrees Celcius.

Prepare the marinade by mixing the garlic, ginger, lemonjuice, sesame oil and soya sauce. Add the salmon and set for 30 - 40 minutes.

After having marinated the salmon, take it out and remove most of the garlic and ginger - not all because you want to maintain their flavours.

Heat a skillet (or even better is to use a wok) and fry the salmon for a minute on both sides - just to make the outside golden brown and crispy. Then you put the salmon in an ovenproof dish and put it in the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes.

Sieve the sauce so that you get rid of the pieces of garlic and ginger - and catch the soya liquid in a little pan. Reduce the soya sauce by heating it up and add the butter once it has been reduced. Stir until you get a silky thick soya sauce and turn off the heat.

While the sauce is reducing - you start by stir-frying the vegetables in the same skillet you used to fry the salmon so that the flavours mix. Stir-fry them on a high temperature for 5 minutes keeping them crisp and fresh. 

Once it's all done, take out the salmon and place it on a plate together with the vegetables and pour over the silky soya sauce. Don't add any salt because it's really not needed!

Outcome: Putting humbleness aside here... it rocked my day :)

You can add some brown or white rice to make it man-proof (they do need their carbs!)

Buon Appetito

Chef Steph

Happy Easter Everyone: Classic Buttery Asparagus, Eggs & Salmon

Happy Easter to all of you!
It's friday which means it's almost weekend, thank god! And it's a long weekend... one that we haven't had in a while now. So while everyone is going home to their families and is gaining at least a couple of kilo's worth of chocolate, eggs and lamb, I will be home alone! :( Eh, that's the downside of living abroad I guess. But it's fine, my weekend will be full of cooking, running, watching movies and some dancing! Doesn't sound all too bad to me.

Do you already know what to make this weekend? If not, let me help you with that by giving the easiest recipe ever. What is more easterly than asparagus?? Ok lamb and artichokes... but you will have to wait another day for those recipes. Last night I had an easter dinner with my dear roommate Chiara and we had the traditional (in my family it's considered traditional anyways) green asparagus, eggs, salmon and a butter vinaigrette; it turned out simple & super tasteful.

Ingredients: serving 2

• 400 gr green asparagus
• 200 gr smoked salmon
• 2 eggs
• 50 gr butter
• chive

How to make it:

Get two pans with water boiling. One should be really tall in order that the asparagus fit in, and the other one is for the eggs so a smaller one is fine. Once the water gets boiling, add the asparagus and eggs to cook.

Asparagus take circa 10 minutes.

Eggs to your choice:

- soft = 5-6 minutes

- medium = 7-9 minutes

- hard = 9-10 minutes

While they are cooking, melt the butter in a little pan and add the chive once it's all liquid.

Now all your ingredients are ready to place them on a plate. Drizzle the butter sauce over the eggs and asparagus and you're done.

Outcome: HAPPY & DELICIOUS EASTER!!!!!!! 

Easter Dinner: Asparagus, Eggs & Salmon

Buon Appetito

Chef Steph

Cook to Impress: 'Perfect First Date Dish' Sea Burger alla Stefano

Chef Stefano is my fellow cook and friend in Milan. He is the one I call whenever I (think) have made something awesome because he gets the actual awesomeness of standing in the kitchen with a glass of wine, music and letting go of your creativity through cooking.
Besides getting the awesomeness, he is also a very good cook! One day he will open his own restaurant, you wait and see. So you can understand I could not let him get away with not sharing his recipes with this lovely little community. His first recipe is a perfect first date recipe ladies... your man to be will be thrilled with the idea of having a burger and you are thrilled because the burger won't end up on your hips. WIN WIN situation!

Ps: Chef Stefano gets the colour grey for his recipes! So whenever you want one of his recipes just check the colour of the 'ingredients', 'how to make it' and 'outcome' and you will see in a blink that it's his.

Ingredients: for one burger

• salmon or grouper filet of 200/250 gr
• one tablespoon olive oil
• 5/6 anchovies
• 1 tablespoon chopped up chive
• cherry tomatoes
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

How to make it:

Clean the fish: take off the skin, the spines and the greasy parts. 

Once the fish is clean, chop the fish up in tiny pieces, to which you add the freshly chopped chive. From this mixture you make the burgers.

Heat up the oil in a pan and fry the anchovies. Add the burger and fry it for 3 to 4 minutes.

In the meantime you cut up the cherry tomatoes in halves and make a little salad seasoning them with some olive oil, salt and pepper. You can add some basel if you wish.

Outcome: A beautiful impressing plate that will steal hearts! Note: important to have the tomatoes with the burgers as the acid of the tomatoes accompanies and compensates the taste of the grease of the fish really well. 

Sea Burger

Con Piacere

Chef Stefano

Yummy Marinated Shrimp and Avocado Salad

One of my favorite dinners is salad. It is not only healthy and quick to make but there are a million different variations. This one is with marinate shrimp, avocado and mache lettuce (the type that looks like a little bunch of leaves pulled from the ground.

Ingredients:

• Salad of your choice (here; Mache)
• Fresh cherry tomatoes
• Sundried tomatoes
• 1 avocado
• Shrimps
• Marinad (see below)
• Balsamic Vinegar (I found that it is worth paying a little extra to get a really good one. The taste becomes much more sweet and round)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

How to make it:

I started with frozen, uncooked shrimps (if they are already cooked they do not take in as much flavor from the marinade); I unfroze them (if you have little time rinse them with luke-warm water for a minute) and cut the backs. Then I mixed the marinade (see ingredients below) and mixed it with the shrimps;

- Sweet & sour chili sauce

- Oyster sauce

- Fish sauce

- Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce)

- Soy sauce

- Fresh Chili

If you have it at home you can also add finely chopped garlic and ginger. This marinate is also delicious with chicken (the longer you let it marinade the better the taste). 

I let the shrimps stay in the marinade for about an hour, and right before mixing the salad I lightly fried them on high temperature. Be carful not to overcook the shrimps as they will become dried and chewy. Cut the avocado and tomatoes into pieces, and in a bowl mix all the ingredients together. This will be your end result :)

Outcome:

Bon Appetit!

Chef Cathinka

Midweek Zucchini & Salmon Soup

Even though summer is almost here.... it's still ok to have a nice warm home made soup for dinner.
My favourite one: Zucchini & Salmon Soup

Ingredients:
- 3 zucchini
- 1 shallot
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- one broth cube
- 200gr smoked salmon
- 3 slices of whole weat bread cut in big cubes

How to make it:
Slice all veggies in cubes.
Heat up the oil in a high pan and fry the shallot and zucchini until they let go of their perfumes.
Add water until veggies are nearly all under water - don't drown them as your soup will be too watery.
Add broth cube and stir.
Bring to a boil and boil until veggies are soft.
Mix the soup with a blender, or smoothie maker... and that's that for a Zucchini Soup.

To add a little crunch and make it a real dinner soup....

Grill the pieces of bread until nice and crispy.

Pour in cups and add the smoked salmon shred in pieces and the bread.

Outcome: Midweek dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes!

Zucchini & Salmon Soup

Buon Appetito

Chef Steph

Asian Cravings: Green Shrimp Curry with Noodles

In doubt what to make tonight?? Done with the usual Monday Meatballs...??
Why keep special recipes for the weekends only?!
Surprise your husband, wife, kids or housemates with this exotic asian Green Shrimp Curry with Noodles coming out of March's dutch Delicious issue.

Ingredients: for 3 servings

• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil 
• one shallot
• 1cm ginger grated
• one garlic chopped up
• one red pepperoni chopped without the seeds
• 1 teaspoon kurkuma
• 2 tablespoons green curry paste (to taste)
• salt 
• one can of coconut milk
• 250 ml chicken broth
• 450 gr of big shrimps (peeled)
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
• 250 gr of asian wok vegetables 
• 100gr snow peas
• 250 gr of noodles (I used egg noodles)

How to make it:

Bring a large pan of water to a boil with a fist of salt.

Heat up the sesame oil in a wok - or a deep frying pan - until well heated.

Add the shallot, garlic, ginger, pepperoni and fry until they release their perfumes. Add the kurkuma, green curry paste and salt to taste. Stir for a minute.

Add the can of coconut milk and the chicken broth. Stir and heat until the sauce is boiling.

Add the shrimps and bring down the heat in order for the shrimps to boil in a simmering sauce.

Heat up the second spoon of oil in another pan and fry the vegetables shortly in order for them to remain firm and crispy.

Once you get to this step, your water must be boiling. Cook the noodles in 3-4 minutes. Rinse them once their done.

Serve the noodles with the shrimp curry - and the vegetables aside. 

Green Shrimp Curry

Asian Vegetables

Outcome: Could this be your first baby step into Asian cooking?!!

Enjoy!!

Chef Robert

Pasta alla Jules

Yesterday was my dearest friend Julia's birthday! It's not everyday a woman turns 25 again... so that calls for a little celebration.  Seen the fact that she lives in Amsterdam and I live in Milan, the actual present has to wait until we see each other, but in the meantime I am dedicating one of her bestest recipes for today's post.
(Also secretely hoping you guys will love it, and then she will feel OBLIGED - yes you know you are - to post some of her recipes; fish&mozza...lemon pangasius...tuna/cottagecheese sandwich...and many more...)

This recipe is a super duper simple and cheap recipe and is  also the perfect 'storage cupboard' recipe! Here we go..

Ingredients: 4 servings

• 500 gr of pasta - any kind will do - I used whole weat spaghetti
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• one shallot - chopped up
• one garlic - chopped up
• 750 ml tomato sugo
• 2 cans of tuna (water)
• 2 tablespoons of dried or fresh rosemary
• salt, pepper to taste
• 100gr parmiggiano or pecorino

How to make it:

Bring a big pan of water to a boil and add a fist and a half of salt.

In the meantime heat up the olive oil and bake the shallot and garlic until they become 'trasparent'. Afterwhich you add the sugo and tuna. Stir until the tuna is evenly divided in the sauce. Add the rosemary, salt and pepper.

Pour the spaghetti in the boiling water and cook according to what the pack says.

When the pasta is done - so should be your sauce, nicely boiled down to a thick tomato sauce.

Drain the pasta and divide onto 4 plates - serving the sauce on top.

Add the cheese and top of that, and voila.... Dinner is readyyyyyyy!!!

Outcome: A good and healthy dinner in arms-reach at any time!

Pasta alla Jules

Buon Appetito

Chef Steph