Watermelon Gazpacho
I love experimenting with soup and was excited to try the Watermelon Gazpacho from Green Kitchen Stories. It was a relatively warm summer day in Antwerp and a cold soup sounded refreshing. Although the soup tasted delicious, it was a bit much as a main course. I think it would be better as a starter – strained and served in drinking glasses for a party, perhaps with a shot of vodka.
Coconut Quinoa Spinach Salad
I love a good salad and Sprouted Kitchen’s Coconut Quinoa + Spinach Salad is delicious! So many flavors – raw spinach, quinoa cooked in coconut milk, shallots cooked in coconut oil, pistachios, pomegranate, and a lemon-thyme dressing. Fresh and perfect for the hot weather we’re having right now in Belgium! Although there aren’t too many ingredients it still takes time to make. First, I had to open all of the pistachio shells. Second, I never realized how hard it is to get all of the arils (the red drops holding the seeds) loose from the fruit. Normally I press the pomegranate for its juice and I wasn’t even sure you could eat the whole aril but luckily I have access to the internet and found out via Live Strong that not only are they edible but nutritious.
Tomate aux crevettes with baguette and garlic butter
Tomate aux crevettes is one of my favorite Belgian dishes! It is not difficult to make and the simplicity of the flavors is what makes it so great. Hollowed tomatoes are filled with a mixture of North Sea shrimp, mayonnaise, Worstershire sauce, lemon juice, and tabasco – or at least that’s how Koen and I make it. You can use store bought mayonnaise, but for last night’s dinner, Koen made it fresh from scratch and you can taste the difference! Traditionally tomate aux crevettes is paired with french fries, but we were in the mood for bread. To top the bread, I made a garlic butter made of butter, garlic, shallots, and parsley. Perfect combo!
Kofta b’siniyah
Kofta b’siniyah is hands down one of my favorite new recipes I’ve tried this year! The flavor combinations are so new and interesting – nutmeg, cinnamon, pinenuts, chilli pepper, etc. This recipe was recommended by a colleague who has been trying out recipes from the cookbook Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. I had never had Israeli/Palestinian food before, but now I want to try more! I will definitely make this dish again!
The Best Lentil Salad, Ever
I can’t get enough of My New Roots! So many new flavors and combinations I never thought to make and they’re all so healthy! To make the dressing, I had to go out and buy a lot of the dried herbs which was more difficult than I expected because I forgot to translate them first! Who knew that clove is kruidnagel in Dutch? That literally translates into herb nail (like fingernail, not hammer and nail). The dressing was delicious and spicy. The recipe is more for a lentil salad base, with a lot of freedom for what actually goes into it.
Goat cheese, spinach, and tomato quiche (with a potato crust)
While my parents were over, I wanted to make a breakfast quiche. I asked what I should make and in the end spinach and tomatoes won. I had never made a spinach and tomato quiche, so after searching through recipes, I found this one from Prevention RD which is with goat cheese and a potato crust.
There are so many ways to serve tomatoes, with so many varieties and means of preparation. With such a versatile vegetable, Koen and I are able to incorporate tomatoes in some form into our meals at least a few times a week. This week especially I’ve been enjoying them with the warm weather.
Oven baked tomatoes over linguine, tomate aux crevettes
A few nights ago Koen and I had Cobb salad for dinner. Cobb salads are typically American, so I wanted to make it for Koen – plus a lot of his favorite things are in it! In order of the rows I made, from left to right, the ingredients are: avocado, boiled egg, bacon, tomatoes, chicken, and Roquefort, all over mixed greens with a red wine vinaigrette. The salad was a success and in Koen’s top 5 of dinners I’ve ever prepared!
An American in Antwerp 