Autumn was in LCF the busiest time of the year it just flew by.The fantastic products. The game, the mushrooms , the pumpkins , the fish , root and special vegetables like  Cavolo Nero, Jerusalem artichokes, truffles (now and again).

Last week I had lunch at Restaurant  AS , really my favourite. Luuk Langedijk one of my ex chefs who married one of my other ex chefs my dear Tjallien, was busy in the kitchen with  Cavol Nero and pheasant and beetroots. We had a delicious lunch and a few extra tastes too! I even left with a lovely sour dough bread from Ef, he gave the bread courses here the last few years. I just love to go  there , it is near the Beatrix Park .

This made me want to cook again like boning out a pheasant . I also want to make my own bread again, as I always did at LCF

SO I Look forward to going to market tomorrow and cooking up something autumny.  Now only for friends but I am happy with it for now. They too I hope 

But first I go to the cinema Haut Cuisine and then diner afterwards.. What a life 

Monday morning , the view from my table. I had a super weekend . Haute Cuisine was fun, based on a true story. The French President Mitterand took on a female chef as he wanted to eat the food his grandmother gave him, in his private kitchen apart from the rest of the formal diners. It was charming and light hearted, the lady chef wore blouses , had a truffle field at home in France. The male chefs resented her and eventually won. However her 2 years on the Rue St Fauberge where fun to watch.

When the president was put on a diet by the doctors he came to her kitchen and she fed him Truffles on toast with butter and a glass of bordeaux . Sublime 

So I Saturday morning went to the Noordermarkt and bought a few small things , Annie had quails , which we had bought from van Meel the week before and I still had some vegetables. 

I went straight too the mushroom stall my very favourite at this time of the year.  I stood there next to a culinairy friend of mine Hilary Akkers who writes for the Financial Times, I felt I was in France . We both ended up buying a jewel, it was red and came out of an egg shaped form , The owner said "you must taste this once in your life " Me being English , half Irish have a warped sense of humour, So I said "will I die afterwards then """ great hilarity !! all around 

P.S

I have now just learnt from Tom van Leeuwen ( a forager amongst other things )that it is known as Caesers and one of a very poisoness  family Amanita 

That plus some small cepes and I could not resist the brie with truffles-just a small piece !

Then on to the goat cheeses and the boeren stall from the school inear Lelystad YES they had Cavolo Nero plus a few pastinaki and some winter postelein . Then back to the bike.  !I  had managed to walk past the oysters one can buty and eat on the market ! Tempting. The night before , after the HauteCuisine I had eaten at Van de Kaart  on the Prinsengracht near the Uitkijk. and they had given us an oyster. My friends say I always seem to get extras !! I DO . 

Now to the kitchen 

So now I am a week further got buik Griep not mushroom poisoning 

I had thought to give you Efs recipe fopr flat bread 

Flat Bread

·      15g Yeast

·      300g Fine-Ground Semolina

·      125g 45 Flour, also called Pizza Flour (if possible, use 00)

·      25g Rogge Bloem /Rye Flour

·      1 ½ tsp Salt

·      300ml Water

·      2 tbsp Olive Oil

·      75 ml Sourdough Starter, ( it can without this )

For Flat Bread

Preheat the oven to 250⁰C.

Leave your bread dough to rise for one hour. Divide the dough and form it into balls. Leave it to rise a second time; then roll it outvery thinly.

 Bake it on a flat roasting surface. If you oven seems too hot, reduce the temperature to 225⁰C.

Take out of the oven brush with olive oil and sprinkle with Dukkah and extra salt if desired

Dukkah mediterenean spice mix.

100g sesame seeds

100g blanched almonds

50g coriander seeds

10g cumin seeds

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Turkish bread or Schiacciato (italian flat bread )

olive oil

1.    Toast all the seeds and almonds together in a hot dry pan. Keep stirring until fragrant.    Cool, then coarsely grind with the salt and pepper.

2.    To serve, dip the bread into the olive oil and then into the dukkah.

Also nice served with roasted vegetables as a vegeterian meal.

Is also great sprinkled over cooked vegetables.

Risotto al Amarone

Risotto with red wine

Ingredients:

1 red onion

2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin

1  peperoncini rosso

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

350 g semi fine rice  Vialone Nano, Carnaroli

1 bottle Amarone wine or full red wine such as Barolo

1 litre chicken stock

nutmeg

50 g + 100 g parmesan cheese

50 g butter

Method :

1.    Heat the stock

2.    Bring the wine to the boil and reduce slightly

3.    Warm the olive oil in a casserole or pan with a thick bottom, add the red onion and allow to cook slowly until soft add the pepperoncini for the last few minutes

4.    Turn up the heat and add the rice. Toast the rice, stirring all the time making sure that every grain is coated with the oil  This will take a few minutes

5.    Reduce the heat add half the wine a little at a time and allow to cook until all is absorbed, add half the stock flowed by the rest of the wine and the stock(only adding this when all is absorbed) . Continue in this way until the rice is cooked but still has a bite

6.    This will take about 17 minutes

7.    Add 50 grams of the grated parmesans cheese and a little freshly grated nutmeg .

8.    Taste and add the nut of butter before serving the risotto should be creamy Serve with a piece of parmesan cheese which is then grate or cut at the table. ,

I have not made this for a long time but I can remember the taste !

Something fo a winters day.

Risotto uit de kruidentuin

Ingrediënten:

50g boter

1tbsp olijfolie

2 fijngesneden sjalotten

150g fijngesneden kool of Cavolo nero as I have just bought some 

1tl zout

350g Aborio of Carnaroli rijst

1 ½ litres  kippenbouillon

1 stuk parmezaanse kaas (korst) a poor mans crust never throw it away !

Zout en peper

50g boter

50 g geraspte parmezaanse kaas

Gehakte bladpeterselie

Bereiding:

1.     Smelt de boter en olie in een pan met een dikke bodem, voeg de sjalotten toe en bak ze een paar minuten tot ze zacht zijn maar niet gekleurd, voeg de kool toe en laat een paar minuten koken

2.     Doe de rijst in de pan en zet het vuur langzaam hoger, roer goed totdat iedere rijstkorrel is bedekt door de olie. Dit duurt een paar minuten en wordt het  “toasten” van de rijst genoemd.

3.     Verhit de bouillon en voeg deze beetje bij beetje toe, roer tot de bouillon volledig is opgenomen door de rijst en voeg de kaaskorst toe

4.     Ga hiermee door tot de rijst na ongeveer 16 minuten gaar is. Neem een rijstkorrel tussen duim en wijsvinger en druk zodat je het midden van de rijstkorrel voelt. Als je drie kleine puntjes in de korrel voelt, is de rijst klaar.

5.     Voeg als laatste een klontje boter en kaas toe en laat het geheel een paar minuten staan.

6.     Strooi op het laatste moment wat gehakte peterselie over de risotto

  Serve with sauted mushrooms or the Cepes in the picture  like I did for Sunday lunch for a friend of mine Larry last  weekend. He even helped me rake up the leaves .