The French Connection

Hey everyone! For today's recipe I'm combining two classic French dishes with bread : The mushroom toast and the baguette with Brie and honey. On y va!

Ingredients

Ingredients
- Brie de Meaux
- French bread
- white mushrooms ( champignon de Paris )
- 2 eschalots
- 1/2 glass white wine
- 1 tbs honey
- fresh parsley
- a handful of walnuts
- olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic
- coarse sea salt
- black pepper





Preparation

Finely slice the eschalots in rings. Heat up some oil in a pan and cook the onions. Add a tbs of honey and let the eschalots caramelise. When they start to turn brown take them of the fire. Put a piece of baking paper on a baking tray and put the eschalots under a grill until they are crispy.

In the meantime cut the mushrooms in slices and chop the clove of garlic, the parsley and the walnuts. Heat up some oil and cook the mushrooms. Make sure your oil is hot enough and leave the mushrooms. They need to colour, so don't be to quick to turn them over. Add the white wine and let all the fluid cook out. Season with salt and pepper and add the chopped parsley.

Cut the bread in two parts, add slices of Brie, top with the mushrooms, walnuts and honey glazed onions.

The French Connection

Music

Chainsmoker, womaniser and musical innovator : Serge Gainsbourg. The song is from the filmscore of the movie " Cannabis ", composed by Serge Gainsbourg with the help of arranger Jean Claude Vannier with whom Gainsbourg would again collaborate the following year on  "Histoire de Melody Nelson". Bon appétit!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gGXZ_wo9lg

Neapolitan Breakfast Bomb

Today's dish is made with some typical Neapolitan ingredients. The Neapolitan cuisine was influenced by the different cultures that controlled Naples. Some ingredients used in this recipe are very typical for the region. We're going to make a fresh, raw zucchini salad which works extremely well with the hearty, smokey flavour of the scamorza and the eggs. 
This is some excellent hangover food : quick, easy and greasy. ( Your liver probably won't think the same about it.)

Some ingredients

Ingredients

- 4 eggs
- scamorza ( smoked mozzarella, you can find this at an Italian delicacy store )
- fresh basil
- 1/2 zucchini
- ciabatta bread
- seasalt
- black pepper
- juice from 1 lime
- finely chopped fresh parsley
- extra virgin olive oil



Preparation

Finely shred the zucchini ( I used a cheese grater ), and toss it in a bowl together with the lime juice, parsley and season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Whisk the eggs, season with salt and pepper. Finely slice the basil ( julienne ). Heat up a tsp of oil in a non-stick pan and add half of the eggs and half of the basil. When the omelet is done, do the same with the rest of the eggs and basil. 
Grill the ciabatta until crispy. Cut it in half. Cover the bottom half of the ciabatta with the zucchini salad, add the basil omelettes, and end with the scamorza.

Neapolitan Breakfast Bomb

Music

Some fine relaxing music this week to get over that hangover. Harlem River Drive by American jazz flautist Bobbi Humphrey. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oxrWgmWmG4

Beginner's Falafel

Happy World Vegetarian Day! A perfect day to post a classic vegetarian recipe. Probably one of the oldest replacements for meat. Today's recipe is a homemade falafel with a spicy dill and yoghurt dressing. 

Some of the ingredients

Ingredients ( Falafel )
-400 gr chick peas ( I used canned ones, if you use dried ones you need to soak them overnight )
- 3 spring onions
- 2 cloves of garlic
- salt
- black pepper
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tbs chopped parsley
- 1 tbs chopped coriander
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 50 gr white bread crumbs
- flour
- 2 tbs sesame seeds
- peanut oil for frying
- pita bread
- lettuce
- tomato
- red onion
( You can make 3 big falafel's with these ingredients )

Ingredients ( dressing )
- 125 gr Greek yoghurt
- 1 tbs chopped dill
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 chili pepper


Preparation ( Spicy Dill & Yoghurt Dressing )

Add the yoghurt to a bowl. Finely chop up 1 clove of garlic and the chili pepper ( if you don't like it too spicy remove the seeds). Add the dill, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper to the yoghurt. Put it in the fridge until needed.

Preparation ( Falafel )  

Finely chop the spring onions, crush 1 clove of garlic and add all the rest of the ingredients ( except sesame seeds and flour ) to a food processor. Add a little bit of water and mix it. If the mixture is to dry add some water. Roll balls with a handful of the mixture, and then flatten them so they have a hamburgerlike shape. Dip in the sesame seeds and flour. Fry in hot oil until crispy. 
Put the pita bread in the oven, cut it open and add the falafel. Top it with the dressing, onion rings, tomato and lettuce.

Beginner's Falafel

Music

This week's music is by one of my favourite contemporary electronic producers : Flying Lotus. The song Beginner's Falafel inspired me to do this easy falafel recipe. The song is from his first full album : "Los Angeles". Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBvOKbXEXJk