Cooking Archives - Anne-Lieke

Cranberry harvest on Terschelling

Have you ever been to the Dutch islands in the Wadden Sea? Then please go! Fast! Strolling through vast landscapes and bicycling through winding dune roads… A few days on the island Terschelling (or one of the other four Wadden islands: Texel, Vlieland, Ameland or Schiermonnikoog) is the perfect way to start the fall season.

Soon I was wondering where all the abandoned bicycles along the side of the road came from… Turns out cranberry harvest season is in full swing. Once you start paying attention you see more and more people diligently at work picking away at those lovely berries. So hop off you bike and join!

Ughh… sour red berries!

Around 1830 cranberries were already a big thing in the United States. The red berries, real vitamin C bombs, were used by sailors during long trips to prevent scurvy. Story goes, that around 1845, a barrel fell overboard and washed on Terschelling. The barrel was found by a ‘jutter’, the Dutch name for a person who collects washed up wood and other finds on the shoreline. Very disappointed that he found no liquor in the barrel, but sour red berries, the content was dumped in a wet dune valley. There the seeds got the chance to germinate, and the bold red berry seized the opportunity to conquer the island.

Warm red color

The cranberry is a low hanging plant with small green leaves that turn into a warm deep red color in the wintertime. In June the plant is in bloom. Pink clouds of flowers adorn the dune landscape. The flowers then make room for berries that are a white-yellow color, that turn red during ripening.

Harvest season

In the first week of September professional cranberry pickers spread throughout the fields across the entire island to harvest. Their only tools are a picking bin and a couple of burlap sacks. After this, the real party begins, when the fields are opened to the public. With a bag and some greedy hands you come a long, long way :) The date varies, but usually this opening of the fields is around mid October. When you cycle through the dunes, it is hard to overlook the best cranberry fields. Just follow the locals!

Favorite shops

Terschelling Cranberry
The cranberry fields on Terschelling are used by the company Terschelling Cranberry . They make the berries into jam, juice and other products that are on sale at various places. You don’t want to miss the Bessenschuur (Berry Barn), see photos below. The cranberry harvest used to be gathered in these, barns, contructed after North American example. Enjoy a cup of cranberry tea and visit the cranberry museum on the first floor.

Places where Terschelling Cranberry products are sold :

Wuxalia – Torenstraat 18
Berry Barn – Badweg 1
Lekkernijmakerij – Mersakkersweg 5

For more information visit www.terschellingercranberry.nl.

Groenhof Cranberry
But the one and only number is definitely taken by the cranberry products of the small-scale organic farm Groenhof. From the harvest of their own cranberry fields family Zandwijk makes jam, chutney, liquor, vinegar and much more. There is less sugar added so the natural flavor of the cranberries is done justice. During summertime, their products are for sale at their garden shop Groenhof zelfpluktuin. Throughout the year you can go to Delicatessenwinkel Lokaal. You have to go there anyway before you take the boat back to buy yourself a mouthwatering piece of Terschellinger Cheese and hide it in your suitcase (they sell them sealed).

Delicatessenwinkel Lokaal – Torenstraat 3

Recipes

Cranberry sauce is delicious with a piece of Dutch game (such as dear), brusselsprouts and roasted potatoes. Put the fresh cranberries in a saucepan and let simmer, keep stirring once in a while, until the sauce has thickened (about 15 minutes). Add extra seasonings to your own taste like sugar, orange peel, cloves, cinnamon or a dash of port.

Dried cranberries give an extra boost to Frisian sugarbread or homemade winter granola.

Anne-Lieke2017-02-01T15:52:31+01:00October 12th, 2015|6 Comments

Search for sweet chestnuts

Biking to work in the Netherlands (o yes, we like to leave the car at home) can be a challenge during fall. If you’re not careful you might get hit by a tasty surprise falling from the trees. Chestnuts. I love to search for them in the woods and roast them to release all their nuttiness and earthiness. Everything about them picks me up and wraps me in a blanket of fall comfort. So go out and gather some of these sweet beauties. Let the wild ones be…

Tame or wild (sweet or horse)*

Sweet chestnuts are usually paired in three, covered with a spiky jacket. They can be recognized by their pointy shape. The bolster of the sweet chestnut has much more thin spikes than the non-edible(!) horse chestnut. Try not to break open the bolster by hand but choose the ones that already have an open shell.

*In Dutch we don’t refer to ‘sweet’ or ‘horse’ chestnuts but to ‘tame’ (tam) or ‘wild’ (wilde) chestnuts.

In shops, you can buy chestnuts that are dried, canned or cooked and vacuum packed. The latter is a good alternative to the fresh ones. You can fry them briefly in a pan or bake them in the oven, to release the flavor. But nothing compares to the smell of home roasted chestnuts. So put on your raincoat and hit the road!

On a rainy day

Feel like staying in today? During fall season you can buy fresh chestnuts on markets or in delicacy shops. French chestnuts are often best quality. Make sure that the chestnuts have some weight to them, and that the skin gives in a bit when you press it. Chestnuts are not supposed to move in their skin when you shake them, which is a sign that they are dried out.

Tip: If you want to check if the sweet chestnuts that you collected or bought are fresh? Put them in a bowl of water. If they start floating they are dried out. When they sink to the bottom they are good to go.

Roasted sweet chestnuts recipe

To roast your harvest, cut into the skin twice, creating a cross-shape, so that the steam can escape (you want to roast them, not explode them ;). The skin is tough and slippery, so watch out for your fingers! Cut right through the skin, about halfway into the chestnut. Let the chestnuts soak for a half hour in cold water.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the chestnuts out. Place in the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes, until the chestnuts are soft and the skin opens up.

Remove the chestnuts from the oven and let them rest for about 5 minutes under a tea towel. Get them from under the towel one by one so the others stay warm while you peel. Peeling chestnuts is easiest when they are still hot, but obviously not too hot to handle. Remove the tough outer shell as well as the soft inner shell.

Serve your warm home roasted chestnuts right away. Serve them natural, as a savory snack with a little butter, salt and pepper or go for a sweet version with honey.

Old fashioned Dutch recipes

Cooked chestnuts are also delicious, but peeling them is very time consuming. You can add them to Brussel sprouts with bits of bacon. Before cooking, you have to slice into the skin of the chestnuts. Put them in a saucepan with cold water and cook them 15 to 20 minutes until tender. If you want to make a chestnut puree, you can cook them for 30 minutes. Remove the chestnuts from the fire and rinse with cold water. For a savory puree you can cook the chestnuts with some stock. Are you a sweet tooth? Boil the chestnuts in milk with a vanilla pod.

Sweet chestnuts – winning combinations

Chestnuts and pumpkin just love each other. Add them to an autumn style risotto with pecorino and freshly ground black pepper. Or add them to your favorite brownie recipe.

Anne-Lieke2016-10-30T12:23:06+01:00November 6th, 2014|4 Comments

Bittersweet spring salad

I admit, I can be picky when it comes to food. Especially take-out food. Usually, I feel the price is too high for the quality and I end op thinking: “I can do this better myself”. But there are exceptions to the rule. Like the pizzeria around the corner. Because even though I wish it wasn’t so, I can’t fit a stone oven in my kitchen… And secondly Venkel, where Elnaz serves delicious salads. Like this bittersweet spring salad with grapefruit, rhubarb and grilled tuna. In this case, I probably won’t be able to do it better myself, but thanks to this recipe, I can give it a try!

The sweet rhubarb and the bitter grapefruit pair up great on your plate. You can eat this salad as a light lunch or make it a fulfilling evening meal by adding amaranth, cooked in vegetable broth. Although the seeds look like grains, amaranth does not belong to the grain family. It contains no gluten and is packed with vitamin B, vitamin E and minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc.

Raw cane sugar

To reduce the sourness of the rhubarb a bit, Elnaz adds two teaspoons of raw cane sugar to the recipe. This type of sugar, called oersuiker in the Netherlands, is made from unrefined dried sugar cane juice. The juice is filtered, evaporated, and then ground into small grains. Unlike refined sugar, it still holds all natural nutrients and minerals.

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Bittersweet spring salad

Ingredients (4 persons)

1 rhubarb stem
2 tsp raw cane sugar (or cane sugar)
1 kohlrabi
1 fennel
1 turnip
2 grapefruits
1 tbsp sesame oil
400 g grilled albacore tuna
80 g lettuce
2 tbsp black sesame seeds (roasted)
For a whole meal:
200 g amaranth
1 cube vegetable stock

Preparation

Cook the amaranth 10 minutes in plenty of water. Add, for extra flavor, a cube of vegetable stock to the boiling water. Pour the cooked amaranth into a fine sieve and leave to cool in a large bowl.

Cut the rhubarb into slices and sprinkle the raw cane sugar on top and set aside. Cut the kohlrabi and fennel into thin strips (julienne) and put in a bowl. Peel the turnip, cut into cubes, and cook for about 7 minutes in salted water. Drain and let cool. Remove the skin of 1.5 grapefruit and cut into wedges. Squeeze the juice from the remaining grapefruit half above the kohlrabi and fennel. Add the rhubarb, turnip, sesame oil, and the amaranth and stir.

Heat up a grill pan and grill the tuna 1 minute on each side. Cut into slices.

Divide the lettuce over the plates. Spread the vegetables, amaranth and tuna on top, and cover with black sesame seeds.

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Anne-Lieke2016-10-30T12:23:07+01:00March 24th, 2014|5 Comments

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