New Year's letter

Christmas and New Year... a time spent with family and friends, with your most beloved ones. A time for introspection, to think, learn and forget about the past year and to make at least a few good resolutions for the year ahead. Waw, this is 2010. Did your past ten years go as fast as mine? I can still remember the taste of the delicate Cuban Rhum I was sipping on the night of 31 December 1999 in a famous Brussels bar...  as if it were yesterday.

2010 started rather strangely for me, with the discovery of a medium sized crab in my highly-chlorinated swimming pool (see picture). Did somebody have a similar experience or can one of you tell me how this can happen? It reminds me of that one day where I saw a snow-white rabbit sitting next to a black cat in front of my gate (not joking). Well, it promises to be a special year. I can't wait for the fresh lobster and oysters to appear in my swimming pool.

As usual, it takes me at least the month of January to adapt, that is: writing 10 on all my correspondence instead of 09. And as usual, one of my New Year's resolutions is following a healthier diet, with more room for organically grown vegetables and fruits. I couldn't resist buying the book 'Sumptuous' though, a new release from the hand of Marlene Van Der Westhhuizen with unique photography by Gerda Genis. Didn't see too much focus on veggies in there yet, but let's face it, if the years are flying by as fast as they are, why don't we try to make them as enjoyable as possible? And probably that's the only resolution I'll stick to: make more time for quality moments. That started yesterday by baking a Blueberry Clafoutis (see picture) together with my love, inspired by Marlene's book.

Talking about quality, the other fantastic book new to my library is called 'Home Baking' by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. In this book about bread and pastry, Jeffrey and Naomi reveal the secrets of the traditional sourdough bread, superbly illustrated with their worldwide travel stories about bread. I started my recipe with a Poolish for the 'Portuguese Rye' on Friday and tomorrow (Tuesday) I will finally be able to bake bread. Now, where last did you read a 5-day recipe? No wonder the years fly by in my kitchen.

Well anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful time during the festivities, with plenty of new gastronomical discoveries (crab?). I hope, after this well-deserved break, to be contributing in making 2010 an even more tasteful year for you and your beloved ones.

Thank you for your support and a I wish you a happy and healthy 2010.

Love,

Jan

The Royal Green

Basil (Ocimum Basilicum (Lat.), Basilicum (Nl.), Basilic (Fr.))

Basil is often referred to as 'The king of herbs'. Whether that is because of its history or its culinary value, I know one thing for sure: I treat Sweet Basil like a queen in my kitchen. And that is exactly how one should use the delicate herb: with care and respect. There are few herbs as capable of making a simple ingredient, e.g. a tomato, shine like a star.

One can argue if Basil is worthy its title as 'King of herbs', but we cannot take away its prevalence in the herb kingdom throughout history: remains of Basil have been found in Egyptian burial chambers. In India, the sacred Basil ((Tulsi, Vrinda, Goddess Radha) still plays an important part in the Hindu religion, whilst oddly , the ancient Greek considered a symbol of Poverty and even associated it with hatred. Maybe that is because they discovered the Romans liked it so much. The famous botanist Nicholas Culpeper wrote about Basil: 'It helps the deficiency of Venus in one kind, so its spoils all her actions in another. I dare write no more of it'. Yet, he attributed a lot of medicinal and other beneficial properties to the herb that are widely accepted today; Basil aids digestion, can relieve headaches and is an excellent insect repellent.

More importantly, in Italy, Sweet Basil is associated with Love, and I was once told that on the island of Malta, single girls would put a pot of fresh Basil on the balcony to indicate that they are available. At least they have something ready to throw at the stubborn young man that insists on marrying after being rejected.

Reasons enough to love Basil. Do I still need to tell you what to do with it in the kitchen? I don't think so. We have all experienced its unique aroma and flavour on a Tomato and Mozzarella salad or in a Pasta with Pesto. Let me rather tell you what you should not do with Basil:

• do not cook it; Basil looses its fragile aroma when heated. Sprinkle fresh leaves over your dishes just before serving;
• do not cut it; rather tear the leaves by hand so the essential oils do not evaporate;
• do not add it too long in advance to sauces that are high in acidity (e.g. vinaigrette); it will turn brown;
• do not dry it. Use it fresh. I guess that's what the Greek must have hated: dried Basil leaves! 

"I will show you a philtre without potions, without herbs, without any witch's incantation--if you wish to be loved, love."

Seneca

Pork and Wine

Last weekend, I visited a coffee roastery. Nothing better than the sweet smell of freshly roasted Arabica beans. When I asked the shop owner where the organic beans originated from, he proudly announced they were from the region of the Kivu lake in Rwanda.

Now, this made my heart beat faster (it was probably already doing a few extra beats after my caffeine intake), since my Mother lived the 12 first years of her life at lake Kivu in Congo (the other side of the lake). My beloved grandfather August Pas owned a coffee plantation in the subtropical hills about a day's drive from Bukavu.

Waking up in the morning is something really special now; when I am grinding the coffee beans, the perfume carries me away to the footsteps of my mother's childhood at the shores of the Kivu lake. I think of the  youth memories she shared with us about mangoes she picked from the trees at the age of six. I think about my truly missed grandfather, the great mathematician and teacher, who used to tell us riddles and stories about the Wild Africa (like the one where  they nearly got killed by a Hippopotamus). I am far away from home, yet I am closer then ever to my roots.

On special request, I have published my famous 'Fillet of Pork in red wine' recipe as recipe of the week. See 'Recipe of the week' in the sidebar.

Dear Michelle, you understand like nobody else what the business is asking from us; there hasn't been much room for experimenting with plum tomatoes. And let's be honest, the past weeks haven't really been tomato wheather. But I promise that I will spend some time to try out your submission and publish it with your approval. You are hereby invited to join me in my kitchen and we can even organize a small Tomatina (1 tomato each because the last thing I would do is play with food).

The smoking kitten

I was planning to write a weekly article about herbs, but I decided to dedicate my time to another, rather unexpected topic: cats. Well, I could write about the culinary use of Catnip, but its use is rather uncommon and limited to soups, sauces and salads. But don't worry; as you will see, this article will contain a culinary term here and there, and I promise: we're not making 'Cat à la King'

One night, I came home from work and it had been one of those days where everything that possibly could have gone wrong had gone terribly wrong. I had been living in South Africa for just over a year, and one of the things enjoy about South Africa is its biodiversity. So, as usual, upon coming home, I would go straight to my garden and inhale the fresh air and the perfumes of indigenous plants and herbs. Having had such a bad day at work, I looked up at the sky and said: "God, give me one good reason to stay in this place". When I lowered my head, my attention was immediately drawn to a whitish, mouse-like creature. After closer inspection, it turned out to be a just-born kitten, apparently abandoned by its mother.

I immediately kept it warm au bain-marie and in a panic, searched the Internet on 'what to do with abandoned kittens?'. So, if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, here is a website that tells you all you need to know: Kitten Rescue. This website saved the life of Gorby. Yes, since it had a little rusty spot on its head we named it after Michael Gorbatchev. While Gorby was happily sleeping on the stove, we went outside, thinking: "Only one kitten in a nest, that is impossible". A thorough search brought us to a second screaming kitten: Ninja (you can see Ninja fully grown in the sidebar of this blog).

We took our two orphans to the Vet the next day, and he claimed never to have seen such a small kittens. Their eyes were still closed. After two weeks of bottle-feeding the youngsters, he ensured us that their chances of survival were very realistic, and that we had made a miracle happen. About five months later only, we encountered the mother and two other kittens of the nest in our garden. The similarities in their appearance were amazing, but one could clearly see the results of the struggle for life in the wild in comparison to the Whiskas treatment at home; we called them Nanji and Gyrbo. Last week, Gyrbo, our feral friend, died.

But the mourning didn't last long. The day after Gyrbo's departure, we found a nest of five kittens in our garden. One of them was smoking a Havana cigar (see picture). You can have a look at their adventures in my Photo Gallery.

The art of preparing a choke

If you tried out my last recipe Toucinho do céu, you might need something to assist your liver in recovering from it.

Some vegetables, spices and herbs are known to assist the liver and bile function. In my opinion, there is one particular ingredient that deserves much more attention than it currently gets: the artichoke. Artichokes are not only very healthy, they are a true delicacy.

In Italy, Carciofi serve as a very important ingredient in many typical dishes. Also in Southern France, people know what to do with the thistle flower. The more Northly we travel, people seem to be scared of this strange-looking 'vegetable'. Some have undoubtedly encountered the beautiful artichokes on the vegetable market, but simply don't know how to prepare them, whilst others kept wandering what the dull green-yellow slice was that made the Quattro Stagioni pizza so special. So let's bring an end to this mystery of how to cook artichokes and let's hope they may soon bring more variety to your diet. I'll give you my quick version:

Preparation

1 Cut away the stem as close as possible to the flower

2 Remove all outside leaves that are hard, small or have opened

3 Cut away the tips with a strong pair of scissors (you can use garden pruning scissors)

4 Wash thoroughly

Cooking

1 Mix a teaspoon of white flour per artichoke with enough water to cover the artichokes

2 Add 4 tablespoons of white wine vinegar, half a lemon and a bayleaf

3 Bring to the boil and let cook for 20 minutes

4 Let the artichokes cool down in the liquid

Eating

Peel away the outer layer of leaves. The rest of the leaves can be eaten; well, that is: the wider section can be pulled of when squeezed between the teeth. Very nice with a garlic dip sauce. The most valued part of the artichoke is the heart.  Once all the leaves are removed (they become smaller and smaller towards the inside, but more and more edible), gently pull off the 'hair' (the choke, still edible in smaller specimen). You are now left with a round base, the artichoke heart.

Hints and tips

• Raw Artichoke leaves can be very sharp, use protective gloves if needed.
• The flour, vinegar and lemon serve to prevent the artichokes from turning brown while cooking. The fresher the artichokes, the less acid will be needed to prevent oxidation.
  
• Artichoke leaves are very decorative and can be used to garnish a plate.
• You can add parsley stems to the boiling water to add more taste.
• Cut a few artichoke hearts on a slice of bread and season with salt and pepper; Simple but delicious!
  

Recipe: marinated artichoke hearts

Ingredients

• Freshly cooked artichoke hearts
• a handful of fresh coriander
• a handful of fresh parsley
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 cup of Extra virgin Olive oil
• a teaspoon of White wine vinegar
• a squeeze of Lemon juice
• Salt, Pepper

Preparation

Blend all the ingredients (first start with the garlic, add the fresh herbs in the end) in a blender. Marinate the artichokes in the dressing overnight.

Hints and Tips

• Add some freshly roasted sesame seeds to create a surprising taste.
• Bring to room temerature prior to serving.

'Bacon from heaven' (Toucinho do céu)

Ladies (and gentlemen), this is what you have all been waiting for. No, don't be mislead by the title of this recipe; this is one of the nicest sweets I know and it comes from the traditional Portuguese cuisine.

Portugal has very strong culinary traditions, and every region or city in the country has its own typical pastries and sweets. Very often, these culinary delights originated in the monasteries and have sound names like: Fatias de Tomar; Palha de Abrantes; Bolos de Dom Rodrigo; Nozes de Cascais; Brisas do Lis; Pudim do abade de Priscos; Queijadas de Sintra... a single trip to Portugal is probably not enough to taste a tenth of the variety of sweets the country has to offer. One thing they usually have in common: they contain plenty of egg yolks and sugar.

In the early 8th century, Portugal was invaded by Moorish conquerors. Apart from beautiful building styles and traditions, the Moors left the Portuguese with something else: a taste for sweets. The most famous Portuguese pastry is undoubtedly the Pastel de Belém, of which the original recipe is confected at the Fábrica dos Pastéis de Bélem near the capital of Lisbon, at an average of twenty thousand little tarts a day!

A few years ago, I was attending a concert of one of my favourite Portuguese music bands, Madredeus. I had noticed a beautiful long dining table at a remote corner of the theater bar where we ended up after the concert. From the way the table was dressed up, I could only guess that the band had been invited to have dinner at the theater. It happened to be a Portuguese theme evening and typical Portuguese dishes were being served. One thing struck me: there was no dessert on the menu. Well, a Portuguese meal without a dessert, that is unacceptable! I immediately called the restaurant manager, and proposed to make a typical Portuguese dessert for the music band. He agreed. A restaurant worker took his bycicle and I balanced on the back  luggage holder to the closest nightshop in Antwerp, where I bought the necessary ingredients to make Toucinho do céu, served on a layer of custard cream. An hour later, I was sitting alongside and chatting with Teresa Salgueiro, the beautiful lead singer of the band.

That was a night to remember, and now you understand even better why Toucinho do céu is one of my favourite desserts, and its name already suggests why: it comes from heaven. Literally translated, it reads: 'bacon from heaven'. The original recipe from the monastery at Odivelas (near Lisbon), was extremely rich, and might even have contained bacon, hence its name. There are many varieties of this recipe, some contain flour and others don't. I created my own version, and adapted it a little bit to be closer to its origins: I made it very rich (much more egg yolks). If you indulge yourself, you better do it right:

Toucinho do céu 'Madredeus':

Ingredients

• 200 g sugar
• 100 g freshly ground almond powder
• 10 egg yolks and 3 entire eggs
• a tablespoon of ground cinnamon
• vanilla

Tools

 

A low round cake form (18cm)

Preparation

Beat the eggs end yolks and butter the cake form.

Baking

Put the sugar on a medium hot stove with 3 tablespoons of water. Let it simmer until the moment where another 2 minutes would turn the sugar  into caramel (before it starts colouring).Add the almond powder and let it simmer for 2 minutes under continuous stirring. Turn of the heat and incorporate the eggs, cinnamon and vanilla. Turn the heat back on and let it simmer until it thickens. Keep stirring so its does not burn. Poor the batter in the cake form and bake for 15 minutes at approximately 190 degrees.

Serving

Leave to cool and decorate with icing sugar. Serve just like that or with ice-cream, custard, chocolate...

Hints and Tips

• Use freshly ground almonds.
• Never touch the sugar while it is on the stove. It is extremely hot. (in case you are tempted)
• Add a pinch of salt. Salt will make many desserts, including chocolate desserts, taste better.
  
• It is better to remove the Toucinho from the oven to early  than too late. Extended baking will result in a dry pastry. Leave it a little moist at the center.
  
• Although this recipe is heavenly as it is, you can experiment: replace some of the almonds by coconut or add a little lemon peel; decorate with flaked almonds and sugar before baking in order to create a unique caramelized almond taste...
  

Time for Thyme

Common Thyme (Thymus Vulgaris (Lat.), Tijm (Nl.), Thym (Fr.))

When I smell the sweet aroma of Thyme, my thoughts are immediately carried away to the mountains in the Provence: that is where, probably at the age of 7 or 8, I had my first encounter with this amazing herb, in its best form: in the wild. We could find Wild Thyme after a beautiful hike to La Chapelle de St.-Médard. There, many years before I would become interested in its Latin name, the harsh habitat and unusual growing habit of the plant was most surprising to me; it looked like the herb was simply growing on the rocks, without any soil. Indeed, Thyme is a very hardy plant and enjoys a well drained soil in a very sunny position.

I use Thyme practically every day. It accompanies any soup or stew I make and is happily releasing it's aroma whenever I need to glaze some onions or braise some vegetables. And if I am not using it in the kitchen, it serves as a powerful tonic or my number one medicine: Thyme has very effective anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and its infusion, if drunk a few times a day, will cure colds, respiratory disorders and relieve digestive problems. A strong infusion of wild Thyme will increase athletes' performance.

Thyme is one of the predominant herbs in the famous Herbes de Provence mixture. I gave this mixture my own name: 'Neighbour herbs'. Yes, next time when you are having that poolside barbecue ('braai' for the South-Africans), generously poor some of the mixture over the meat or fish you are grilling - and you will understand why.

There are many varieties of Thyme, of which some are purely decorative and have a lesser culinary value. But Lemon Thyme undoubtedly deserves a special place in your herb garden; next time you feel like offering your guests a special treat, try making Lemon Thyme sorbet or simply have Bacon and Thyme:

"Those herbs which perfume the air most delightfully, not passed by as the rest, but, being trodden upon and crushed, are three; that is, burnet, wild thyme and watermints. Therefore, you are to set whole alleys of them, to have the pleasure when you walk or tread."

Francis Bacon