A good friend and foodie gave me a wonderful birthday present: the new Anova wifi sous vide cooker. Now back home from holidays in beautiful South Africa, I immediately started cooking with my new baby. Like all fish, it is very easy to overcook salmon. That’s why sous vide is such an excellent method for preparing fish. We never ever had better salmon. This flavor-packed fish with its hearty yet delicate taste is so buttery soft and moist inside, yet crisp on the outside. A real taste explosion in your mouth. Salmon works well with many different dishes. Here I served it with two different kinds of Hokkaido on the side: a creamy and slightly spicy Hokkaido puree and a nutty flavorful Hokkaido quinoa.
When thinking about Easter, I still have many childhood memories about Easter Sunday, the main celebration day. I liked how the family got together, and especially the moment when we kids were finally allowed to search for the chocolate eggs and presents the Easter bunny had hidden for us. I was reminded of this recently when I saw my kids nervously count down the days until Easter Sunday – I know exactly how it feels. With the following recipe, I tried to bring this same feeling of love and togetherness onto the plate. I prepared a trial dish recently for a Sunday family lunch, and I was really happy that everyone liked it a lot. While sitting together and talking about this new recipe, I got some great feedback from everyone, including my kids, with ideas for things to improve. For example, for the trial dish, I had added a little too much honey for the crust and it was a bit too sweet, which I then adjusted. The herbal and nutty flavor of the crust in combination with the lamb goes really well with my side dish Thyme & Garlic Baked Spiraled Potatoes.
This recipe I created as part of my Wild Christmas three course menu. As the main dish, what would fit this theme better than a venison fillet with its very mild deer flavor and soft meet? You can get very creative with accompanying side dishes. Here I tried to create the right balance of sweet, sour, and salty to bring out the full flavor of the various ingredients. The outcome is a colorful deliciousness that you should definitely give a try!
Autumn is in full swing and I like how the trees are turing red and you can find many varieties of pumpkin. My favorite is the Hokkaido Pumpkin because of its nutty taste, almost like chestnuts. You don’t have to peel off the skin, and you can use it in almost everything, in soups, salads, or purees, and it can be grilled, sautéed, or roasted. Here I created a healthy Hokkaido-Bulgur-Risotto, using bulgur instead of rice because of its health benefits. Bulgur is a good source of plant-based protein and very rich in dietary fibre, vitamins, and minerals. The risotto can be served with meat or fish, but also by itself as a meal. Here I served it with marinated lamb chops, which is one of my favorite combinations.
In this recipe I created a highly nutritious sports lunch for two, combining sweet and savory ingredients from Brazil, the host country of the 2016 Olympics. While it’s important for anyone to eat well in order to stay fit and healthy, it’s especially important to fuel your body with the right nutrition when competing or being very active.
