Creamy Mustard & Onion Soup

I have a thing for creamy mustard soup. Is that a typically Dutch thing to eat? I don’t even know. Oh, trust me when I say I have no delusions about the nutritional value, but I really can’t help myself when I’m being served a huge bowl of this creamy goodness. It’s so delicious, especially when you dip crusty bread in it.
Now you have to admit that I’ve been really good about not using loads of cream in my recipes or sauces. Yes, I’ve been good! Admit it! Unfortunately this is and will always be one of my weaknesses and now I’ll tempt you with it, too. I’m evil like that.
But get this: I’m also addicted to onion soup. Choices. Choices. Life always boils down to choices. But does it really have to be a choice?
Of course not. Let’s combine the two!

Ingredients:
3 small (or 1 big) onion
2 garlic cloves
1 oz butter (25gr)
3 tbsp flour
3 cups water
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 tbsp coarse mustard
2 tbsp cream
worcestershire sauce
pepper
salt
Optional: white wine vinegar
Directions:
It’s really quite simple. This is the basis: 3 small onions, 2 garlic cloves and 3 tbsp flour.
Slice the onion. I usually opt for half-quarts. I’m not a big fan of onion soup with rings—it makes it so clumsy to eat. Also grate or chop the garlic.

Heat the butter and cook the onions until soft, in about 5 minutes. I choose not to let them brown but it’s okay for them to brown a little, if you’re so inclined. Add the garlic and give everything 1 more minute.
Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes to neutralize the rawness.
Pour in the water, crumble in the chicken bouillon cube and bring it to a boil.

Simmer the soup, over low to medium heat, for 15 to 20 minutes. Until the onions are nice and soft.

Season with salt, pepper and a tiny splash of worcestershire sauce. I also like to add a little white wine vinegar for a bit of a kick, about a tbsp or so, but this is optional. Stir in the coarse mustard. And let’s not forget to pour in 2 tbsp cream. Look! I have a special 1/8 cup!

I don’t use anymore than 2 tbsp cream. It really is enough, anymore will simply end up in places where I don’t want heavy cream to end up, my butt for instance. Don’t let the soup boil after you’ve added the cream, though.
Serve with an indecent amount of warm garlic bread. If this won’t make your taste buds happy, give it up, nothing will!

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Chicken Stroganoff

Chicken Stroganoff

This simple but stylish variation of the more classic Russian Beef Stroganoff has proved itself time and time again since the first time I cooked it in the tiny kitchen of my first apartment.
That seems so long ago now and boy, was I young! If only I had known then what I know now. Sound familiar? It’s fun to look back on those days when we were so giddy with life, though. But I digress…
You’re talking basic ingredients here. Real quick preparation with magical results. People will think you’ve spent hours slaving over a hot stove!

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken
5 oz mushrooms
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves
1 green bell pepper
1/2 tsp paprika powder
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp butter
pepper
salt
For the heck of it:
Seeing this old and bad scan of the living room of my first tiny apartment in Gouda is what triggered the chicken stroganoff thing! I must have been 19 or barely 20 when I moved in there. It looks so delightfully girly and well, way too full of furniture.

*sigh*
Directions:
 Cut the chicken in strips or pieces.

Cut one medium bell pepper in pieces as well.

And cut a large onion in quartered rings.

I’ve used a soft tea towel to brush off roughly 8 mushrooms, removed the stems and sliced them.

Grate or mince two medium-sized garlic cloves or a large one.

Mix up 1 slightly heaping tbsp all-purpose flour and 1/2 tsp mustard powder.

Heat 1 tbsp butter and cook the chicken until tender. The chicken shouldn’t brown. Remove the chicken strips from the pan.
Heat one more tbsp butter and sauté the bell pepper and onion for 2 minutes before adding the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms have softened, then add the garlic. Give it 30 more seconds.

Add the flour, stir and cook for a minute to neutralize the rawness.

Pour in 1 cup chicken broth, stir well, add the chicken strips and bring it all to a boil.

Season with 1/2 tsp salt—though this depends on how salty your broth is—and a good bit of pepper. Simmer without the lid on for 5 minutes.

Add 1/2 tsp sweet paprika powder, 1/2 a cup sour cream (I’ve used a low-fat crème fraiche), stir and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Serve over rice or noodles to get the full effect.

You literally whip this up in 20 minutes, but it’s such a magical dinner! Friends who ate it said in one long breath: “This is soooooo good“, after they took their first bite. Try it today, you won’t believe your taste buds.

Potato, Cauliflower & Pea Curry

You can never have enough cauliflower recipes, right?
Here’s an easy, vegetable and potato curry that was born out of necessity when I wanted to make a cauliflower casserole one day and found myself having to cut away most of it because there were some serious brown spots only 2 days after I had bought it. Thanks a lot, Albert Heijn.
I looked online for recipes and found an idea for a potato and pea curry by Madhur Jaffrey that I used for inspiration. It resulted in a delicious, simple, and not too spicy curry that will appeal to a lot of children as well.
Never used yoghurt like this before. It added freshness and tanginess. Serve with Naan for a vegetarian meal. Or serve with fish or grilled chicken for a not-so vegetarian meal.

Ingredients:
1 pound potatoes
1 small cauliflower
1 1/2 cup peas (defrosted)
1 1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 garlic clove
1 small onion
1/4 tsp dried chili flakes
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tbsp ground coriander
7 tbsp yoghurt
2 tbsp peanut oil
salt to taste

Directions:
Peel, cube and parboil the potatoes for about 7 to 8 minutes in lightly salted water, until fork tender.

Break the cauliflower into not so small florets and parboil them for 5 minutes in salted water as well. Longer if you like them softer.

Finely mince the onion.

Drain the potatoes and cauliflower and let them cool off.

Grate the garlic and ginger.

The scent that fills your nose once you open all those fragrant spices. Ahhh.. it’s wonderful.

Heat the oil and when hot add the cumin seeds. Cook for 30 seconds and add the onion.

Stir in the dried chili flakes. You can play with the quantity, of course.

This changes everything: 1/4 tsp turmeric. Beautiful, rich color. Cook for about 30 seconds.

Add the garlic and cook it along with the onions for a minute as well.

Add the potatoes and cauliflower and give them a minute or 5 over medium heat. It’s okay for them to brown slightly.

Pour in 3 tbsp yoghurt, add the ground coriander and ginger. Stir well and when absorbed you add the remaining yoghurt.

Stir in the peas.

Let everything heat through for a few more minutes and season with salt to taste.

There was a perfect balance between spice and tang. Definite do-again.

Potato, Corn & Chicken Soup

Just as things started to warm up around here, another round of cold winter weather set in putting us back at square one. Not a place I really enjoy dealing with again.
Time for soup. Soul-warming soup. One of my favorite soups in the world is potato soup (with onion and garlic. Surprise!).
But to be honest, anything containing even the slightest hint of potato is favorite in my book. This unhealthy relationship I have with potatoes? Yup, it’s a Dutch thing.
Vincent van Gogh had me in mind when he painted his ‘Potato Eaters’. I’ll probably need behavioral therapy to overcome it but for now I’ll stick to making  yummy things using potatoes.
Like this potato, corn and chicken soup. Simple and hearty. My kinda food.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
1 pound potatoes (starchy)
2 ears of corn
1 large onion
1 large garlic clove
8 cups water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
pepper & salt
2 tbsp butter

Directions:
* This soup is creamy without being really thick and dense. If you want to turn it into a thicker, richer, soup you can either use more potatoes or less water. Your call.
Like I’d really shoot a recipe without onions! Chop it (or them) and grate the garlic.

Remove the corn from the husk and clean it up under rinsing water making sure you remove all the silk. Clean corn is happy corn! Yes, it’s true. Slice off the kernels.

Peel the potatoes, slice them into tiny cubes and store them in cold water until we’ll use them.

Here I was thawing out a chicken breast that I cut up in four pieces. You could also use a fryer for this, but you’d have to let it simmer longer.

Heat a little butter.



Just kidding, guys! Oh come on, let have my kicks.


Heat about 2 tbsp butter and sauté the onion until translucent, 5 minutes or so. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Pour in the water, add the bouillon cubes (yes, these are MSG free), the chicken and a pinch of salt. bring it to a boil and simmer for 25 minutes, until the chicken is tender.

Remove the chicken from the pan and let them cool off a bit.

Add the potatoes to the broth, bring it to a boil, pop the lid on and let it cook for 10 minutes.

Then it’s time for your corn. Cook it for another 10 minutes again (with lid). We want the potatoes and corn to be really soft.

Gives you time to shred the chicken. Try not to eat too much, okay!



If you want to take out some corn and or potatoes for garnish, now is the time to do that.


After those 10 minutes it’s time to do some blitzing. Use your immersion blender, food processor or blender.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Feel free to add some fresh or dried herbs. I tend to like this soup ‘pure’.

Add the chicken and give the soup another 5 to 10 minutes without the lid.

I would be lying if I said a nice dollop sour cream didn’t finish this soup beautifully. So you have my blessing!

Not that you need my blessing or anything. What you do need is crusty bread. Lots of it!