Struffoli is the name of one of the most ancient recipes in the rich repertoire of Neapolitan cuisine. The word indicates the tiny balls of deep-fried dough coated in honey and decorated with candied fruit and spiced hard-candies that you will find on every pastry shop window in Naples in the weeks around Christmas and New Years Eve.
Sourdough bread: the perfect demonstration that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. A staple for billions of people across the world, bread is in fact a complex product that entails a wealth of knowledge in a 3-ingredient recipe.
This ravioli recipe is brought to you by a scientist and bunch of strangers who teamed up to make pasta on an Autumn Sunday.
The weather calls for some treats, here in Amsterdam, so I made myself and my occasional guests some crunchy, rich hazelnut cookies with Marsala wine.
Zucchine alla scapece is a classic Neapolitan recipe. I’ve been cooking a lot of them for the guests of As Soup As Possible events this summer. I even included zucchine alla scapece in a wedding catering in June, so I can safely say this is the courgette dish I’ve cooked most during summer 2017 – if not my entire life.
A warm slice of high apple pie – or, as the natives call it – appeltaart, is one of the first distinctively Dutch things I came to appreciate when I moved to Amsterdam, back in 2012. It’s also the easiest to love about the somewhat austere Dutch cuisine. I must confess I’ll always point guests visiting from abroad in the direction of my favourite appeltaart place, rather than sending them off to nearest herring stall.
Sustainability in the kitchen makes for a fantastic excuse to indulge in the crunchy potato pancakes in this Kitchen Story. A classic in many cuisines, potato pancakes recipes often feature flour and eggs as binders. This version, instead, from the family repertoire of our guest cook Carmen, has no flour. Stale bread is one of the main components instead.
For one reason or another – trust me – one day you will find yourself looking for a lactose-free, gluten-free cake recipe. If you’d rather try one with a story, then save this.
Soup is the icon dish of this blog. It represents many things we like: genuine food, traditional knowledge, care, warmth. Not all the soups are made alike, however, and there’s one particular version we’d never want on our plate. Believe it or not, you’re one of the cooks.
Summer: fresh beans season, time to sit on a porch overlooking the sea with a bag of full pods on one side and a bowl on your knees. If you (like me) don’t have a sea view nor a porch on hand, go buy some fresh beans and find some consolation in fagioli alla maruzzara, a very simple and fulfilling recipe from the most traditional repertoire of Neapolitan cuisine.
