My culinary trip to Sicily, with Style travel  was a wonderful combination of History and Food. It was on my bucket list. Ellen my travelling friend of many years saw an advertisement from Style travel in the newspaper , for a kook reis naar Sicily and knowing my dream of Sicily we enrolled The course  was run by Nicoletta Tavella from Cucina del Sol in Amsterdam, assisted by a friend Claudio Varone     the view from our hotel It was an interesting trip and gave us a great taste of Sicily, two expeditions to interesting places Siracuse, Noto and Modica In Siracusa Ellen and I found a super place…

Last week I went to Lindenhoff in Baambrugge They had just started their Christmas Fare, I bought some venison steaks for Christmas here follows an old favourite. Venison assiette (fillet and burgers) with red wine sauce, stir fried sprouts and parsnip puree   Ingredients: 1 kilo deer filet or 1 leg of venison Marinade: 2 glasses of red wine 2 dl olive oil 10 juniper berries 1 teaspoon finely ground bay leaves salt and black pepper 50 g clarified butter   Method: Prepare the meat, remove the best pieces from the leg and keep the rest for the meatballs Cook the red wine to a glaze. Mix the olive oil…

Alice Waters winner of the Johannes van Dam Prize Tip for those of you who shop at Marqt, as I do they have a new range of chopped vegetables and lentils or chick peas and many more variations , which make a curry or whatever easy to produce, no chopping My chopping speed is 90% less these days ! Moong dal ke saag   Ingredients:   250 g green lentils 8 dl water 1 green chili pepper 1 bunch of coriander 6 tbs oil 2 tbs grated ginger 750 g roughly chopped spinach salt and pepper lime juice     Method:   Cook the lentils in plenty of salted water,…

An oyster shack near St Martin-de Re As I told you in September I went to Ile de Re an island of the west coast of France in my camper van with a very good friend Pia and of course Jolly We took 4 days on the way and back and  stayed in “France Passion “adresses in vineyards and farms on the way and of course did a tasting or two and loaded a few cases into Pattys Wagon, bearing in mind the weight.. Just empty the water tank on the way back.. Ha Ha This was in Chinon , in a vineyard where this man had dug out the cellar…

I hope you enjoy the photos and recipes I have just published Now to Ile de Rhe one last recipe an old favourite!! I am sure I gave it too you before… Salad of seared very thinly sliced Irish beef with lobster mayonnaise,crispy fried capers   Serves 4 -6   300g fillet of irish beef Salt Freshly ground pepper   Rub the fillet of beef with olive oil , season the fillet of beef lightly. Heat a frying pan, place in the beef and sear quickly on all sides . Ground more pepper over the filet and roll up in foil. Leave to cool in the fridge .   Lobster Lobster mayonnaise…

Lucas at Ballymaloe with his first ever own home made cake The young man I went to visit at Ballymaloe, his father had been one of my students years ago. STEAMED MUSSELS WITH LEMON AND SAFFRON DRESSING Serves 2   1kg mussels 100ml white wine 2 bay leaves 5ml black peppercorns 1 small onion, thinly sliced 45ml chopped parsley     Debeard, scrape and wash the mussels well, discarding any which do not close when tapped. Rinse in a colander under cold running water for 3-4 minutes. Leave to drain.   Put a large pan or pot with a close-fitting lid on the gas and allow to heat until very…

On   BLACKBERRY ETON MESS  A traditional dish normally made with strawberries , but this one is worth trying   Serves 6-8   600g blackberries 2 Tbsp castor sugar, plus extra to coat 4 Tbsp crème de cassis or kirsh 600ml cream 2 Tbsp icing sugar 2 meringue nests (homemade)   Put half the fruit in a non-stick pan with the sugar and crème de cassis or kirsh. Cook over a high heat for 1½-2 minutes until the berries soften and begin to bleed. Crush lightly with a fork and push the fruit through a sieve into a large bowl. Leave to cool completely.   Whip the cream together with…

  Bought in Ireland-crab claws Served in Oxfordshire with friends Yummy Salad of fresh lobster with vanilla dressing An old favourite Ingredients for 4 people   500g bouquet garni (leek, carrot, onion, bay leaf, pepper corn, salt) 2 lobsters of 500g each 1 frisée lettuce ½ lollo rosso ½ lollo bianco 3 egg yolks 1 glass of white wine 1 dash of white wine vinegar ½ vanilla pod 50ml olive oil     Preparation   Insert a sharp pointed knife into the head of the lobster. Boil them in water with the bouquet garni for 7 minutes. Leave them to cool; remove meat from tails and claws. Finely slice the…

Lunch with Rita at Rick Steins cafe in Padstow   Grilled red mullet with a saffron dressing   10 fresh red mullet   Ingredient dressing :   2 cloves of garlic 5 threads of saffron 1 small piece of fresh ginger ½ dl vinegar 1½ dl olive oil 2 lemon wedges 1 bay leave 1 sprig of thyme 1 sprig of rosemary fish: e.g. sardines, trout or any other small fish salt flour ½ dl olive oil for frying   Preparation:   Ground the garlic, saffron and ginger Mix the vinegar with the olive oil, lemon and all the spices Bring to a boil and add the saffron mixture to…

If I was young again this would be my life A food shack in Connemara Red mullet with saffron potatoes and anchovy dressing   Ingredients: 10 fillets of red mullet or wild dorade, scaled – approx weight per person 80 to 100 grams 1dl olive oil Salt and pepper 4 to 6 raw beetroots, according to size Sea salt Rosemary or thyme Anchovy Dressing: 6 anchovy fillets – if very salty, soak in a little milk before use 1- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 1tbsp white wine vinegar 2dl olive oil 1 tsp chopped tarragon 750g firm potatoes (Roseval,  Oppenheimers, Nicola), peeled 5 stamens of saffron soaked in a…