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Sunday, April 17, 2011

Fish from Landmarkt

Yesterday I decided to check out a newly opened market/supermarket in North Amsterdam. They call it a covered market, but it is more like a supermarket that tries to concentrate on local produce, fish, and meat. At this time of year there is not that much local  produce yet, but the fish and meat counters were very well stocked and attractive, the bakery had great bread, and the service was super friendly.

I bought an ugly fish (zeeduivel a.k.a. sea devil, monkfish, angler fish) and had them clean it and give me the head and bones so I could make some fish stock (a.k.a. fumet). They asked if I wanted some more fish carcases, so I came away with a couple of small turbots at no extra cost. Like I said, nice service.

After checking out some recipes and advice on the internet, this is the fumet I made. It turned out very flavourful, perfect for a lovely Italian fish soup that I plan to make soon. And that fish pie recipe I still need to perfect.

Fish Fumet

  • 1.5 - 2 kilos fish heads and bones of white-fleshed fish, such as founder, turbot, halibut, or cod
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 leek
  • 1 stalk celery
  • 1/2 fennel bulb
  • 3-4 mushrooms
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 12 white pepper corns
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cup white wine
  • 6 cups water

  1. Remove the eyes from the fish heads (I know, not one the nicer tasks). Apparently, they can cause the stock to become bitter if they burst. I also removed the rather slimy, dark skin from the angler fish, as one bit of advice said that fish skin can also make the stock dark and cloudy. So can blood left in large veins in the heads, so soak the fish carcases in cold water for some hours, and then discard the water.
  2. Finely dice the onions, celery, leek, fennel, and mushrooms.
  3. Heat the oil and butter over medium high heat and when the foam from the butter subsides, add the vegetables,bay leaf, parsley, salt and pepper and give a stir.
  4. Add the fish carcases and cover for 5-7 minutes, until the flesh on on fish flakes. Basically the fish steams in its own moisture, along with the vegetable aromatics.
  5. Now add the wine a cook for a few minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate.
  6. Then add the water. Bring to a gentle simmer and simmer for 20-30 minutes, skimming off the foam that rises to the surface.
  7. Place some muslin or several layers of cheese cloth in a sieve and strain the stock into another pot. Press down on the fish an vegetables to extract all the moisture and flavour.
  8. At this point, you can adjust the seasonings and use the stock in a fish soup or sauce, or freeze it. I decided to reduce it further to concentrate the flavour more (and reduce the amount I'd have to store in the freezer!)

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Kitchen Gadgets

You would think I have everything my little heart desires in the way of kitchen paraphernalia but I have found room for 2 new acquisitions that I have sort of been wanting—a mandolin and a small slow cooker.

I think the mandolin is my favourite of the two. Instead of being a full-fledged job with multiple blades and a box, and something to protect your fingers, and that costs almost a hundred euros (like the OXO deluxe mandolin), and which claims more space that I don't have in a kitchen cupboard, this is a simple hand-held plastic number with a ceramic blade that cost under 10 euros. And it just hangs on a rack when not in use. Since its acquisition I have been making thinly shaved salads almost everyday. My favourite is a fennel-cucumber salad.


As for the slow cooker, I have been sort of wanting one because they are great for cooking beans and stews unattended overnight or during the day while I am at work. The disadvantage seems to be that most of them are enormous. So when I recently saw a small one, I snapped it up. It was quite inexpensive, probably because it is missing the more sophisticated controls that you let set how many hours it should go for before going into keep-warm mode. Of course I only realized this when I got home. Nevertheless, I am finding it useful. In the photo, it has just finished cooking chickpeas (without soaking), which is pretty well my favourite legume.

Back to the fennel-cucumber salad, it's my own invention, inspired by Japanese sunomono salad. It is light and fresh, sweet and sour, and I eat for lunch several days a week. Anyone coming to dinner in the next couple of months is likely to be eating it. It may even win over people who don't like fennel!

Fennel-Cucumber Salad

  • 1 small fennel
  • 1/2 English (seedless) cucumber
  • 2 teaspoons fresh dill, finely chopped
  • 1-2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
  • 1-2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/4 cup apple vinegar

Thinly slice the fennel and cucumber. (I think having the vegetables thinly shaved, which is easiest to do with a mandolin, is really important in this salad.)
Toss together, add the herbs, sugar, and apple vinegar. (I am using a light apple vinegar, but apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar would also be suitable)

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Busy Sunday

Yesterday morning, a glorious sunny day, the first true spring day (20 degrees!), I found myself sauntering along the Albert Cuyp Markt—3 or 4 blocks of vegie/fruit, cheese, charcuterie, cheese, poultry, fish, and clothing vendors. Part of the pleasure of the market is the people watching, and the snatches of overheard conversations in that awful Amsterdam working class accent, lunch a sandwich from Tjin's Exotic Broodjes, poking into the Pittenkoning (one of my favourite kitchenware stores), and just reveling in the sun.

Needless to say, I came home with some goodies and today I spent the day cooking. I've cooked for the week and that has included:

  • Fish Pie, based on several recipes and trying to scale it down to a two-serving version. Not entirely successful, but there's a lot of promise and I want to work it out into something that really works.
  • Apple-Cranberry-Custard pudding. What would I get if I topped apple and cranberries, plus brown sugar, lemon, orange peel, cinnamon and black pepper (!), poured a sauce of egg, milk and some Birds Eye custard powder over it, and baked for half an hour? This was an attempt to cut some fat by using a custard instead of a crisp topping. It proved to be quite tasty, but may need even more custard. 
  • Osso Bucco, from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Similar to one in our family cookbook, but without the porcini. 
  • Hummus, based on Jane Brody's version in Good Food Book. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough lemon juice, so I used apple vinegar, lemon peel, and sumac to get the balance right. I'm really liking what sumac does to it.
  • Red Pepper and Bean Spread, based on one from Smitten Kitchen, but with more garlic, quark instead of cream cheese, and red pepper flakes and sumac (instead of lemon juice) to punch it up a bit.
  • Moroccan Roasted Vegetables from Moosewood New Classics for a couple of lunches this week.
It was a lovely day!