Dutch Dinner (November 22, 2010)
On Monday 22, 2010, UW undergraduates Eva PenzeyMoog and Laura Peterson hosted Dutch Family Dinner night. The dinner was preceded with some interesting Dutch facts, as well as a short language lesson. As is customary in the Netherlands, people exchanged joyful, “Eet smaakelijke!” (“Enjoy”/ “Bon appetite”) with their neighbors before tucking into a cozy meal. A main ingredient in the Dutch cuisine is potatoes, or “earth-apples.” The main dish was stamppot, or a potato mash including sausage, carrots, and kale. The meal was accompanied with two slices of homemade bread. One piece was topped with traditional Gouda cheese (did you know Gouda cheese was invented in the Netherlands?), and the other curiously (but deliciously) topped with butter and chocolate sprinkles, called hagel slag. Green beans sautéed with garlic and toasted almonds completed the plate. After taking the time to enjoy the company of friends and neighbors, a tradition valued by the Dutch, the meal ended with miniature Dutch apple pies topped with homemade whipped cream. Considering the fairly simple ingredients, everything was very lekker (tasty)!
Recipes:
Stamppot
Ingredients
Potatoes (we used purple Viking potatoes, but you can use whatever kind you like)
Kale- strip from steams
Butter
Milk
Carrots- wash, peel, and cut into coins
Sausage (optional)- cut into thin coins)
Salt and Pepper
Instructions
-
Scrub and peel the potatoes (the purple Viking potatoes do not need to be peeled. The skins are thin enough that they are no intrusive). Boil the potatoes until they are soft enough to mash. Mash the potatoes until there are no chunks. Using a hand mixer, blend the potatoes with the milk and the butter until they are creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.
-
Blanch the kale, about 10 minutes, in boiling water. Immediately transfer to an ice bath. This keeps the color vibrant and the texture crisp. Do the same for the carrots.
-
Brown the sausage if it is raw in a pan over medium.
-
Add the sausage, carrots, and kale to the mashed potatoes. Mix until everything is evenly combined. Add more salt or pepper to taste.
Enjoy!
Norwegian Whole Wheat Bread, from Beard on Bread (makes two loaves)
Ingredients
2 packages active dry yeast
4 cups warm milk (100-115 degrees)
2 cups rye flour
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
8 cups whole wheat flour
1-2 T salt
Cornmeal
Instructions
In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in ½ cup of the warm milk. Allow to proof. Add the remaining milk, and gradually beat or stir in the three flours and the salt to make a firm dough. Remove the dough to a well-floured surface and knead 10-12 minutes (it is going to be very hard to work). When you have a satiny, elastic dough, form it into a ball. Place in a well-buttered bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover and set in a warm spot to rise until doubled in bulk (can take from 1-2 hours).
Punch the dough down, turn out on a floured board, and knead again for 2-3 minutes. Cut into two equal pieces. Sprinkle cornmeal onto one large baking sheet or two small baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in bulk (can take from 1-2 hours). Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for about an hour, or until the loaves sound hollow when you tap them with your knuckles. Cool thoroughly before slicing.
Smear with butter and chocolate sprinkles for a traditional Dutch treat.
Appletaatjes (mini apple pies)
Ingredients
Filling:
About 6 medium-sized apples (fuji are good baking apples)
Sugar
Cinnamon
Crushed, plain crackers or biscotti
Raisins- soaked in water
Streusel topping:
Butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, oats
Dough (From Joy of Cooking):
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 t salt
2/3 cup chilled vegetable shortening
2 T chilled butter
4-5 T chilled water
To make the dough:
Combine the flour and the salt. Cut half of the shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry blender. Cut in the remaining half until there are pea-sized pieces of shortening/butter. Sprinkle the dough with the water until just combined (careful not to over-work the dough). Gather the dough into a ball and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
Filling:
Peel and core the apples. Cut into small cubes. Cover with sugar and cinnamon to taste.
Remove the dough and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before rolling out. Butter a 24- cup muffin tin. Roll out the dough and cut rings out of the dough to match the size of the muffin cups (you can use a cookie cutter, a glass, or another creative tool). Place the dough rings into the muffin cups and fill with the filling. To make the streusel, combine melted butter, brown sugar, oats, and cinnamon until you have a delicious crumble. Cover the filling with streusel.
Bake in at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Pita Bread
1 package of yeast, or quick rising yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
Procedure:
- Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until water is frothy.
- Combine flour and salt in large bowl.
- Make a small depression in the middle of lour and pour yeast water in depression.
- Slowly add 1 cup of warm water, and stir with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until elastic.
- Place dough on floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. When the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic, it has been successfully kneaded.
- Coat large bowl with vegetable oil and place dough in bowl. Turn dough upside down so all of the dough is coated.
- Allow to sit in a warm place for about 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
- Once doubled, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 10-12 small pieces. Place balls on floured surface. Let sit covered for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 deg F. and make sure rack is at the very bottom of oven. Be sure to preheat your baking sheet also.
- Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 5-6 inches across and 1/4 inch thick.
- Bake each circle for 4 minutes until the bread puffs up. Turn over and bake for 2 minutes.
- Remove each pita with a spatula from the baking sheet and add additional pitas for baking.
Baba Ghanoush
yield: about 10 cups
10 eggplants
1 whole garlic, minced
5 lemons, juice only (we used ready made squeezed juice)
Tahini (sesame paste) -- about 1 to 1 ½ jars
3 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
1 bunch parsely
Procedure:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the eggplant on a baking pan and roast in the oven until cooked through, about 45-60 minutes. The eggplant should collapse when it is removed from the oven and begins to cool.
- Peel eggplant - better with hand than with a metal tool, otherwise the eggplant oxidizes. Another solution is to pour some lemon juice on the cutting board you're working on.
- Chop or dice eggplant - again, better done with a special wooden spoon, or make sure you sprinkle lemon juice on eggplant while working.
- Chop parsley and garlic.
- In a large bowl, mix the diced eggplant, chopped garlic and parsley. Add tahini, salt and pepper and leftover lemon juice - according to taste.
Veggie Salad
Cucumbers, diced
Tomatoes, diced
Parsley, chopped
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Procedure:
Mix vegetables together. Add olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper according to taste.
Couscous soup
Yield: 10 servings
1 cup celery, chopped
1 squash, peeled and sliced
3 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup dry garbanzo beans (soak overnight before using)
salt
cumin
pepper
a little nutmeg
10 cups couscous, cooked (4 cups, dry)
Procedure:
- Place celery, squash, carrots, onion, and garbanzo beans into a large pot.
- Add water in a ratio of 1/3 sliced veggies to 2/3 water and heat to boil.
- When water boils, add spices to taste. Serve on top of couscous.
Cooking Couscous:
Boil 5 to 6 cups water. Pour couscous into water, remove from heat, and cover. Let stand 5 minutes and fluff with fork.
Tahini Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar or honey (honey helps keep the cookie together)
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup tahini
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour *
½ tsp. baking powder
Procedure:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Combine flour and baking powder in a small bowl. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl, and then add the flour and baking powder mixture.
- Roll dough into 1-in. diameter balls and place on a greased pan.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until ready (they don’t necessarily turn brown, but you’ll feel if they’re dry or still gummy)
- Remove to cool on wire rack.
Pickled Diakon and Carrots
2 lbs carrot, peeled and cut into thick matchsticks
2 lbs daikons, each no larger than 2 inches in diameter, peeled and cut into thick matchsticks
1 tbsp salt
1 cup sugar plus 2 teaspoons
4 cups distilled white vinegar
3 cups lukewarm water
Procedure:
- Dissolve sugar and salt into lukewarm water.
- Pour rest of the liquids into mixture and reserve in a large container.
- After cutting carrots and daikon, pack into large container so that they're tightly submerged. Store in cool area for at least 2 hours until ready to serve.
Chicken Liver Pâté
Yield: about 2 cups
Active time: 25 min
Start to finish: 3 1/2 hr (includes chilling)
1 stick unsalted butter, divided
1 large shallot, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 lb chicken livers, separated into lobes, trimmed and rinsed
3 tablespoons Cognac
- Heat 2 Tbsp butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until foam subsides. Add shallot and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Pat livers dry and add to skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, turning once, until browned and just pink inside, about 4 minutes total. Add quatre épices, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp black pepper and cook, stirring, 30 seconds.
- Add Cognac and tilt skillet over gas burner to ignite (or ignite with a long match; use caution as flames may shoot up high). Cook, shaking skillet gently once or twice, until flames subside.
- Transfer mixture to a food processor and pulse, adding remaining 6 Tbsp butter, 1 Tbsp at a time, until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and chill, surface covered with plastic wrap, until set, about 3 hours. Let stand at room temperature about 15 minutes before serving.
Pork
4lbs Pork Shoulder sliced into 1/8 or 1/4 inch thick slices about 3 inches long, 1 inch wide.
1 Cup Sugar
4 Tbsp Salt
1 Bottle Oyster Sauce
3 stalks of lemongrass
3 cloves garlic
Procedure:
- Mix sugar, salt, and oyster sauce until dissolved.
- Finely mince lemongrass (preferably in a food processor) and garlic, stir into mixture.
- Fold pork into marinade, let sit for 3 hours in a cool area (overnight is best)
- Grill if possible; otherwise, saute on medium hot pan with lots of oil until brown.
Tempeh
1 lb tempeh
12 oz hoisin sauce
1 cup sugar
6 tbsp salt
3 stalks of lemongrass
3 cloves garlic
Procedure:
- Mix sugar, salt, and hoisin until dissolved.
- Finely mince lemongrass (preferably in a food processor) and garlic, stir into mixture.
- Fold tempeh into marinade, let sit for 3 hours in a cool area (overnight is best).
- Saute on medium hot pan with lots of oil until brown.
Bahn Mi
French Bread (important) must be crackly on outside and reletively soft on the inside *NO SOURDOUGH*
Mayonnaise
Jalepeno Peppers
Cilantro
Pate (from above)
Pork or Tempeh (from above)
Pickled daikon and carrots (from above)
Procedure:
Cut bread length-wise, layer on the bottom end: mayonnaise, pate, pork or tempeh, pickled daikon and carrot, and lastly cilantro.
Miso Congee
Miso
Ginger
Sautéed mushrooms
Onions
Tofu, cubed
Vegetable stock
Jasmine rice
Procedure:
Make miso as you would normally make miso. Add ginger, sauteed mushrooms, onions, cubed tofu and a little bit of vegetable stock.
Pour in long grain jasmine rice (generally 1 parts rice to 9 parts water), cook on medium low for 1 hour with continuous stirring to make sure you get the rice off the bottom of the pan.
Salad
1/2 cabbage, sliced thin
1 package of sprouted beans
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
3 carrots, grated
1 1/2 cups juiced limes
1/2 cup water
1-1/2 cup sugar (to taste)
3 thai chiles, minced
4 tbsp salt
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Procedure:
- Mix cabbage, carrot, beans, and onion in a large bowl.
- Mix together lime juice, water, sugar, salt until dissolved.
- Stir in garlic and peppers.
- Pour over salad and toss until well mixed.
