Darina Allen: Discovering Amsterdam's food scene - and springtime recipes

Food is my subject, so everywhere I go, I’m on the lookout for new ideas, new trends, and delicious flavours, both new and traditional. 

Recently I popped over to Amsterdam, ostensibly to see the once-in-a-lifetime Vermeer exhibition, but also to get a flavour of the food scene.

We were super lucky to get a last-minute cancellation for a table for lunch at De Kas, a plant-to-plate restaurant in a series of greenhouses dating back to the 1920’s. 

The dynamic kitchen crew create a menu of delicious, small plates every day from their homegrown fresh herbs, vegetables and local seasonal produce. Everyone was all agog because Obama had eaten there on the previous day. He too loves beautiful, fresh, seasonal food.

Just around the corner from where we were staying in the Museum Quarter, we found a super chic café and shop called Edible Treasures where we met a lovely red-haired girl from Tipperary. 

The Saturday Zuider Farmers Market close by was really worth checking out for the quality of its produce. Cheese lovers shouldn’t miss Betsy Kosters shop, La Amusé and a visit to Duikelman is like a wander round Aladdin’s cave for cooks and chefs.

There’s so much to discover... Ballymaloe alumni, Florence Gramende’s bakery levain et le vin on Jan Pieter Heijestraat 168 bakes some of the very best bread and pastries in Amsterdam and there’s superb coffee and a fine selection of really interesting natural wines. 

I also loved LOOF where I happily joined a queue of 20-plus people to order a couple of their superb focaccia sandwiches. 

There was also a long queue at Brod, another notable artisan bakery. 

Don’t miss the original Holtkamp in a beautiful art deco shop for a dazzling selection of pastries and apparently the best meatballs in Amsterdam.

Zacht Staal, a properly authentic farm-to-table restaurant is a 30-minute drive out through the beautiful flat Dutch countryside. 

There we found yet another restaurant in a greenhouse in the midst of a 40-hectare organic farm with lots of cool cabins and pods constructed from mainly recycled materials to snuggle up in the midst of the long grass. 

The chef, Kees Elferink, spent a number of years at Chez Panisse in Berkeley with Alice Waters before returning to the Netherlands to open several restaurants including Marius in Amsterdam. 

This is his newest venture - the food was super delicious. 

Another of my favourite meals was at Restaurant VRR in a converted shipyard workers canteen, the owner Sandar Overeinder also spent time with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley in California which was evident in the many plates of delicious, fresh-tasting food and really impressive list of natural wines.

One doesn’t necessarily associate Amsterdam with delicious food, but I have to say that my perception has completely changed. Here are some of the delicious dishes we enjoyed and don’t forget frites and mussels…

A Little Spring Salad

recipe by:Darina Allen

Inspired by a little starter at Café Bambino in Amsterdam. The original was made with green peppers but we used red because we had no green in the pantry.

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Side

Ingredients

• 110g of feta crumbled

• 150g cream

• a tiny bit of flaky sea salt and freshly ground pepper, a tiny drizzle of runny honey if needed

• 125g red onion, diced 7mm

• 125g white radish or mooli, diced 7mm

• 125g organic green pepper, diced 7mm

• 125g blanched and peeled broad beans

• a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

• a good squeeze of freshly squeezed lemon juice

• fresh dill and flowers when available

Method

1. Place the finely crumbled feta and cream into a food processor and blitz lightly until really smooth.

2. Taste and season with a very little flaky sea salt, freshly ground pepper and a drizzle of runny honey if necessary. Mix, taste and tweak.

3. Dice the red onion, put into a sieve and rinse well in cold water, allow to drain.

4. Wash, peel and dice the white radish or mooli and green pepper, put into a bowl.

5. Add the drained red onion and broad beans, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a little flaky sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

6. Sprinkle with coarsely chopped dill. Toss, taste and correct the seasoning if necessary.

7. To serve: Spread a generous tablespoon of feta cream on the base of each plate, sprinkle a pile of the chopped salad on top, add a few more sprigs of dill and a few fresh dill flowers if available. Enjoy with good crusty bread.

Dutch Apple Cake with Cinnamon Sugar

recipe by:Darina Allen

This will become a family favourite.

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 60 mins

Course

 Dessert

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs preferably free range and organic

• 175g caster sugar

• 110g butter

• 150ml creamy milk

• 185g plain flour

• 3 tsp baking powder

• 3-4 Bramley Seedling cooking apples

• Cinnamon Sugar - mix 25g caster sugar with ¼ tsp fresh ground cinnamon, or alternatively use caster sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Grease and flour a 20 x 30cm roasting tin.

2. Whisk the eggs and the caster sugar in a bowl until the mixture is really thick and fluffy. Bring the butter and milk to the boil in a saucepan, and stir, still boiling, into the eggs and sugar.

3. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and fold carefully into the batter so that there are no lumps of flour.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared roasting tin. Peel and core the apples and cut into thin slices, arrange them overlapping on top of the batter.

5. Sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180°C/gas mark 4, for a further 15-20 minutes or until well risen and golden brown. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Cut into slices. Serve with softly whipped cream.

Hot Tips

Moss Boss Tonic

I’m a big fan of Irish Carrageen Moss, which is proudly served on the Ballymaloe House sweet trolley every evening. It’s a magical seaweed with many nutritional and medicinal benefits.

Recently I came across Moss Boss tonic, made by Edel Breslin in Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare. It’s got turmeric, root ginger, fennel and apple cider vinegar added.

Moss Boss is unfiltered and can be added to freshly made juices, smoothies or just enjoyed as it is, oirtonics.com

Local Honey

Recently, I wrote a column about the prevalence of cheap ‘faux’ honey on the shelves of many of our shops and supermarkets.

Really, there’s absolutely no excuse, there is so much pure local honey produced in virtually every parish around the country. 

I came across another delicious Cork honey recently called Ballinora Bees, from near Waterfall in Co. Cork, ballinorabees.ie 

Check out the Irish Beekeepers Association website for names of reputable beekeepers in your area, irishbeekeeping.ie