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Daydreaming about food, one dish at a time

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INSTANT FOOD

Miso Storm Dennis is wreaking havoc in Brussels so we are cozied up on the sofa for the day. So let’s talk about Miso. A paste typically made from fermented soybeans (although Miso made from other legumes and even grains like brown rice exist too), Miso is an umami bomb. Ranging from white or sweet Miso (with quite a delicate flavour) to dark brown (and quite salty) Miso, Miso is an amazing addition to many dishes, whether sweet or salty. In savoury dishes it adds not just salt but also seems to provide depth of flavour, especially in vegetarian dishes. And in sweet dishes it works similar to salt (think salted caramel) but less aggressively so. And when you look through my blog archives, it quickly becomes clear just how much I like playing with Miso. Here are some ideas (most of which are on the blog): You could make a Miso aioli like Kaja and I did for one of our supperclubs - e.g. to make this Schnitzel Sandwich with Japanese Cucumber Salad (it is also excellent in potato salad). You could also make a Miso custard like for these Banana Miso Gourmandise or these Miso Custard, Rhubarb and Sake Jelly tartlets, or even this Miso Banana Custard Tart. A great idea I picked up from Bon Appetit is to make a Miso Sugar - e.g. to dredge French Toast in (as shown here with an Umeboshi Plum Compote) or for Churros and Doughnuts. Your life is probably also missing Miso Butterscotch - whether to fill chocolate like these Rolo or to pour over ice cream. You could also make some Miso marshmallow fluff and use that to make some homemade Wagon Wheels or these tea cakes with Kinako Graham Crackers. And why not try a twist on Coffee and Walnut Cake using Miso? I also like making a miso butter - not just great with steak or over some cooked greens but also phenomenal on a toasted muffin or a slice of banana bread.

Between my love for cooking and experimenting with different flavours and a busy travel schedule, I don’t get to eat at restaurants all that much. But the last few weeks was a bit of an exception. We finally got to try Barge and also returned to Tero and Ötap. If you haven’t been to Barge, I can highly recommend it. The food was very very good (including their homemade sourdough bread), the atmosphere was wonderfully relaxed and the service spot on (a rarity in Brussels I find). I also took some friends from London to Ötap. Service here can be hit and miss but I simply love this place and it’s one of the few restaurants in Brussels I can recommend in a heartbeat and return to time and time again. The food is delicious but also interesting (not common in Brussels). This terrine with Korean pickled onions (Jangajji) was a case in point: something familiar paired with something unusual yet delicious. I mean, why only serve terrine with cornichons when there are so many other delicious pickles all across the globe?! On top of the delicious food (and a frequently changing menu!) there is a great wine list and the beautiful decor. What’s not to love?

Too much travel means little time to keep my starter alive and kicking so for now I will just stare longingly at pictures of loaves I baked in the past.

Let me introduce you to the Franzbrötchen - Northern Germany’s answer to cinnamon rolls. A Danish dough rolled around a cinnamon sugar filling that gets squished down in the middle before baking so the sides spill out, giving it its characteristic shape. The perfect thing to munch on while walking around rainy Hamburg trying to find your meeting location.

This grey and dreary weather calls for some sunshine! The recipe for this Sunshine Brioche is now up on the blog (link in profile). Think olive oil brioche with all the orange flavour you could possibly cram into a brioche - orange juice and zest, some orange blossom water and candied orange! Easy to prepare, delicious to eat and the perfect antidote if you are suffering from the winter blues!

Sometimes work travel involves ending the day sitting on a sun-drenched terrace overlooking the Bosphorus and celebrating productive meetings over a nice glass of Turkish wine. Sometimes it means falling asleep on the train back home after speaking at a conference with a book on your lap. So a quick trip to Cologne to yesterday was not particularly exciting. But at least I had enough foresight to pick up something for breakfast at a bakery. This little fella is a so called Nussstriezel. It’s our German equivalent of Babkas I would say - yeasted enriched dough is wrapped around different fillings - here, a hazelnut one, poppyseed is very common and delicious too - twisted, baked and then covered in a thin glaze. Unlike babkas, we don’t bake these in a tin but just on a sheetpan, hence also why they are flatter. Delicious and wonderfully moist from all the nuts.

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Dark Chocolate Brownies with Medjool Dates and Almond Butter
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Goes Well With Coffee

panna cotta

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Brussels, fruit, holidays, Recipes 5 Comments

July 16, 2018July 15, 2018

Honeyed Panna Cotta with Anise Seed and Roasted Apricots

Panna cotta is one of those desserts that are as easy to make as they are delicious. Since you

read more Honeyed Panna Cotta with Anise Seed and Roasted Apricots

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Freelance, Peppermongers, Recipes 1 Comment

February 17, 2014February 17, 2014

Panna Cotta with a Green Peppercorn and Mango Coulis

I have just come back from a weekend visiting one of my oldest friends from back home. Laura and I

read more Panna Cotta with a Green Peppercorn and Mango Coulis

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London, Recipes 2 Comments

December 10, 2012December 10, 2012

Toasted rice blancmanger

A few months ago, just before my move to Rome, my sister came over from Brussels for a final girly

read more Toasted rice blancmanger

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