Cod with parsnip mash

For ➍
600 g cod fillets (when frozen, thaw for 20 m & pat dry)
500 g parsnips, cut into pieces
500 g oyster mushrooms, torn
juice ½ lemon
1 box of garden cress, picked
2 cloves garlic, chopped
50 g pecorino, grated
3 dl of milk
2 tbs butter
50 g almond flakes
black pepper & salt

Season fish with black pepper and salt.
Boil the pieces of parsnip and half of the garlic for 15 m in the milk. Drain.
Meanwhile, melt 1 tbs butter in a pan and fry the oyster mushrooms together with the rest of the garlic until golden brown. Season with black pepper and salt.
Meanwhile, toast the almond flakes in a non-stick pan with no fat. Remove from the pan.
Melt 1 tbs butter in the same pan and fry the fish on both sides for 3 to 4 m golden brown.
Mix the parsnip and season with black pepper and salt. Add the lemon juice and the grated pecorino.
Spread the parsnip mash over the plates and put the oyster mushrooms and fried cod on top. Sprinkle with the toasted almond flakes and finish with some cress. Serve with boiled potatoes or croquettes.

Naked** lemon & olive oil layer cake

For ➊➏ cm cake
350 g all-purpose flour*
1½ ts baking powder*
1 ts baking soda*
1 ts salt*
3 large eggs*
300 g granulated sugar*
37 cl extra-virgin olive oil*
37 cl buttermilk*
2 tbs lemon zest*
¼ ts lemon extract (optional)*
2 ts vanilla extract*
frosting:
250 g unsalted butter, at room temperature*
900 g sugar*
zest of 1 lemon*
1 ts pure vanilla extract*
12 cl whole milk*
lemon zest, as needed for garnish
blueberries, as needed for garnish

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Grease and flour two 16 cmh cake pans.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt to combine.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs and sugar until pale yellow and thick, 2 to 3 m.
Add the olive oil, buttermilk, lemon zest, lemon extract (if using) and vanilla extract to the egg mixture and mix well to combine, 1 m more.
Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined, 45 s to 1 m.
Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 m.
Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 15 minutes and then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
-
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter while gradually adding the confectioners’ sugar gradually. Mix until light and fluffy.
Beat in the lemon zest, vanilla extract and milk. Mix well to combine.
-
When the cakes are cool, use a serrated knife to cut the domed top off of each cake and then cut each cake into two layers. (You’ll have four layers total.)
Place one cake layer on a platter or cake stand and scoop 1 heaping of frosting on top of it. Using the spatula, spread the frosting into an even layer, all the way to the edge. Place another cake layer on top. Repeat until you’ve used all four cake layers.
Spread the remaining frosting in a thin coat on the top ( and side of the cake*). Run your spatula around the edge of the cake to scrape away any excess frosting. (You should be able to clearly see the cake through the thin layer of frosting.)
Sprinkle with lemon zest and garnish with berries. Slice and serve the cake at room temperature.

*Use half the quantities to bake a 2 layer cake for 4-6 people.
**Naked as in not overfrosted layers. You can eliminatie all outer frosting except the top.

Japanese cotton soft cheesecake

For ➑
225 cream cheese (room temperature)*
10 cl milk
5 large eggs (room temperature)
¼ tbs cream of tartar (or baking soda)
60 g sugar + 60 g sugar
60 g unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 tbs lemon juice
30 g all-purpose flour
2 tbs cornstarch
20 cm round springform pan

Line the bottom and sides of the springform pan with parchment paper. Wrap the springform pan with several sheets of foil, sealing it completely.
Fill a large baking pan halfway with water. Place it in the oven on the lowest rack. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
Separate the eggs and place the egg whites into a mixing bowl and the yolks into a measuring cup.
Beat egg whites on low speed for 30 s. Increase the speed to medium low and beat for another 30 s or until foamy. Add the cream of tartar. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until the egg whites just start to thicken. Add 60 g of sugar gradually. Continue beating until the egg whites reach the soft peaks stage, approximately 3 m.
In a separate bowl, add the cream cheese and milk. Mix on low speed until creamy and smooth (approximately 2-3 m). Add the butter, 60 g sugar and lemon juice and beat for 1 m. Add the flour and cornstarch and mix for another m. Finally add the egg yolks and mix for 1 more m. Strain the batter using a sieve.
Add ⅓ of the egg whites and gently fold into the batter until mostly incorporated. Add another ⅓ and gently fold. Add the remaining ⅓ and gently fold.
Pour the batter into the lined springform pan. Spread the batter evenly into the pan and smooth out the top using a spatula. Holding the sides of the pan, gently lift and drop the pan on the counter about 6 times to remove any big air bubbles.
Place the springform pan into the water bath and bake the cake for 1 h and 10 m. Check the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. It should come out clean. Bake the cake for an additional 10-15 m to brown up the top.
Turn off oven, open the oven the door slightly and let the cake cool in the oven for 1 h.
Remove cake from the pan. Place on a plate and refrigerator for at least 4 h.
Serve with fresh fruit, fruit puree, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, etc.

*Use mascarpone instead.

See a similar video recipe.
Read about Japanese fluffy pancakes.

Chicken in milk & lemon

For ➍
1.5 kg chicken***
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
olive oil*
½ stick cinnamon
1 good handful fresh sage, leaves picked
zest of 2 lemons**
10 cloves garlic, skin left on
50 cl milk

Preheat the oven to 190°C.***
In a fitting pot for the chicken, season it generously all over, and fry it in a little olive oil, turning the chicken to get an even colour all over, until golden.
Remove from the heat, put the chicken on a plate, and throw away the oil left in the pot. This will leave you with tasty sticky goodness at the bottom of the pan which will give you a lovely caramel flavour later on.
Put the chicken back in the pot with the rest of the ingredients, and cook, lid on, in the preheated oven for 1½ hours. Baste with the cooking juice when you remember. The lemon zest will sort of split the milk.
To serve, pull the meat off the bones and divide it onto your plates. Spoon over plenty of juice and the little curds.
Serve with wilted spinach or greens and some mashed potato.
Squeeze the cloves of garlic onto the chicken (or on slices of thick country bread).

*Use butter for better resistance to high temperature.
**Use 1-2 chopped preserved lemons (citrons confits) instead (cut down on the salt, as the lemons are pickled). Wash them with cold water to remove some salt, remove seeds as well.
***Smaller quantities, like 4-600 g chicken thigh fillets without bone, can be prepared at stove-top. Adapt quantities of other ingredients. Brown the chicken, add the other ingredients, cover and cook on medium fire for about 30 m.

Boulets liègeoises Lequet (Liège meatballs)

For ➓ meatballs
1 kg of minced pork & beef [avoid to mince the meat too finely].
2 eggs
15 cl milk
½ onion
300 g bread crumbs (or chapelure)
beef fat

1 liter of sauce:
100 g onions
100 g sugar
10 cl white vinegar
400 g Sirop de Liège [*never use a syrup with other ingredients than apples and/or pears]
salt & pepper
½ bay leaf
1 l water
200 g of white roux

Mix the ingredients for the balls. Roll balls with your hands. Dip the balls in beef fat at 160°C for about 15 m. [Caution: do not use the same grease for the frites].
For the sauce, mix all ingredients. Cook 45 m. When the sauce comes to a boil, lower the heat and wait 10 m. Remove the sauce from the heat, and bind with the roux. Pour the balls into the sauce. [The sauce is less liquid on the second day and often better].
Serve with real frites, fresh mayonnaise and a blond Belgian beer.

This is the way Café Lequet serves its famous boulets. Some cooks prefer to cook the balls in the oven. Try this with this sauce with some flour added.

No-churn coffee ice cream

For ➓ dl
30 cl heavy or double cream, well-chilled*
175 g sweetened condensed milk
2 tbs instant espresso powder
2 tbs espresso liqueur

Whisk all the ingredients together just until the whisk leaves trails of soft peaks in the bowl, and you have a gorgeous, caffe-latte-colored airy mixture. Fill two 50 cl airtight containers, and freeze for 6 hs or overnight. Serve straight from the freezer.
Serve with a chocolate sauce or with little brioches.

*Or use mascarpone.
**Variations:
-vanilla flavour: 1 ts vanilla extract
-ginger flavour: 100 g stem ginger, chopped, plus 4 tbs syrup from the jar
-coffee & brandy flavour: 2-3 tbs coffee essence, 2 tbs brandy
-raspberry flavour: 15 cl sieved raspberry purée (you could also use strawberry)
-rum & raisin flavour: 100 g raisins soaked in 4 tbs rum for 2 h

Cod & fennel mash

For ➍
650 g mushy potatoes, peeled, cubed
1 nut butter
4 tbs dry white wine
a few sprigs fresh thyme
600 g cod fillet
1 clove garlic, crushed
5 cl milk
1 medium fennel bulb, chopped
salt & pepper
3 tomatoes, peeled & seeded, cubed

Put the potatoes and fennel in a pan. Add the crushed garlic clove, put under cold water and bring to the boil. Cook for 20 m.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Remove the oven plate. Take 4 large rectangles of aluminum foil or parchment paper and fold them in 2 to get 4 squares. Put in the center of each square a portion of cod and 1 tbs wine, season with salt and pepper and add the thyme. Close the papillote and bake for 15 m.
Drain the cooked potatoes and fennel. 
Heat milk and butter in the pan, add the tomatoes, potatoes and fennel. Mash everything with the pestle and season with salt and pepper.

Remove the fish from the papillote and serve with mashed potatoes. Decorate with green fennel herb. *Alternatively put the fish parcels in microwave. For about 5 m.

Montezuma chocolate cocktail

For ➋ (large)- ➍(medium)
60 cl milk
75 g plain chocolate
pinch allspice
pinch powdered ginger
1 tbs honey
7.5 cl rum
5 cl eau de vie de marc or brandy
rind ½ lemon, grated

Heat the milk gently with the chocolate, spices and honey.  When the chocolate has melted, leave to cool. Pour the milk into a cocktail shaker, add rum and brandy/eau de vie de marc, and grated lemon rind. Shake well.
Refrigerate.*
Shake again before serving.

*Serve it warm, without cooling. Don't shake,but blend.

A cold grog variation on Mexican spiced hot cocoa.

Mexican hot chocolate with tequila & cayenne

For ➋ servings
70 cl milk
125 g premium dark chocolate, broken into chunks
6 tbs cocoa
2 tbs cane sugar
⅛-¼ ts cayenne (or paprika)
12 cl tequila (or white rum)
10 cl heavy whipping cream
ground cinnamon for garnish

Warm the milk in a medium size heavy saucepan on medium heat, watching carefully.
Add the chocolate, the cocoa and the sugar.
Heat until the chocolate dissolves, whisking to combine all ingredients.
Season with the cayenne pepper. Start with ⅛ teaspoon and season to your taste.
Pour the warm milk into 2 large mugs and add 2 oz of tequila.
Top with whipped cream. Sprinkle whipping cream with cinnamon.

The Roux mystery: Mayan hot chocolate

For ➋
50 cl boiling water
1 chilli pepper, cut in half, seeds removed
125 cl light cream (or non-skimmed milk)
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 to 2 cinnamon sticks
250 g bittersweet chocolate, crushed
2 tbs sugar (or honey)
1 tbs ground almonds
whipped cream*

Boil water in a large saucepan. Add pepper and cook until reduced to 25 cl. Remove pepper. Strain water.
In a saucepan heat cream over medium heat. Add vanilla bean and cinnamon stick. When bubbling, lower the heat. Add chocolate and sugar. Whisk until melted. Take of heat. Remove vanilla bean and cinnamon. Add chilli flavoured water to taste.
Serve in small cups, with (crushed) almonds or hazelnuts and a dot of whipped cream.

*Optional.
**Replace half of the cream with strong coffee to change the taste to mocha.

When the gypsy Roux, played by Johnny Depp, receives his favourite kind of chocolate from Juliette Binoche in 'Chocolat', it's a kind of chocolat chaud, reminiscent of the original Maya chocolate drink. This brew was suggested at What's Cooking.

Witte rijstpap (White rice pudding)

For ➏
6 dl milk
110 g risotto rice
cinnamon stick
1 ts vanilla extract
20 g sugar
peel of 1 (non-treated) lemon
2 gelatin sheets
1.5 dl cream
1 tbs butter
1 tbs sugar
juice of 3 oranges
200 g strawberries
a shot of Pernod
2 star anise

Bring milk to a boil. Add the rice, sugar, lemon peel and cinnamon. Cook on mild heat for 30-35 m until the rice is soft.

Melt the gelatin in the mix.

Pour in a baking tin and cool in the refrigerator for 30 m.

Beat the cream and fold in the mix.

Lightly oil 6 serving cups. Pour rice in. Cool for 2 h in the refrigerator.

Caramelize 1 tbs of sugar in 1 tbs of butter. Add the orange juice. Thicken for a few m. Add 200 g strawberries, a shot of Pernod and 2 star anise. Cook mildly until mushy. Push through a fine sieve. Serve the remaining strawberry mash as a sauce.

Originally an Arab recipe, and spread from Baghdad to Spain, the mix of rice and sweetness was probably imported in the Low Countries during the Spanish rule in the 16th century. Rice still being an expensive product, it was reserved for feasts, as shown in the paintings of Brueghel.
The classic Flemish 'rijstpap' is made with rice and sugar, and saffron to add colour. It is served with brown sugar. This white fusion recipe is modern.
Read the related 'rijsttaart' (Belgian rice tart) recipe.

Zuppa Inglese (Italian trifle)

For ➍-➏
200 g Savoiardi or ladyfingers biscuits
75 cl milk
50 g flour
100 g sugar
30 g bitter cocoa powder
4 egg yolks
10 cl of rum
10 cl Alkermes or other aromatic liqueur, for example Strega or Amaretto (or use a self-made quick coffee liquor)
whipped cream & maraschino cherries for decoration

Have ready a deep, smooth-sided mold, lined with aluminum foil or oiled paper.

Put all but 10 cl of the milk in a pot. Heat over a very gentle flame.

Beat the yolks in a deep bowl with 75 g sugar, then sift in the flour, beating steadily.

Put the remaining sugar in another pot,d mix the cocoa into it, stir 2 tbs of cold milk into the mixture. Heat it over a low flame, avoiding lumps.

Gently stir the remaining cold milk into the egg mixture. Stirring constantly, add the hot milk to the cream. When the cream is well mixed, gently pour it back into the pot. Return it to the slow burner. Heat, stirring, until it barely reaches a boil, and cook for 2 m, stirring gently. Remove the pot from the fire, pour half the cream into a bowl, and gently stir the chocolate into the remaining half to obtain both pastry cream and chocolate cream.

Mix the rum and liquor with 5 cl of water in a bowl, brush the Savoiardi lightly with the mixture, and use them to line the pudding mold.

Pour the pastry cream over the Savoiardi. Cover it with a layer of brushed Savoiardi, and finish with the chocolate cream, followed by a final layer of brushed Savoiardi. Cover the pudding with aluminum foil and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 12 h.

Remove the foil, cover the mold with a serving dish and upend it, so the pudding comes to rest upon the serving dish. Remove the aluminum or oiled paper of the mold.

Serve it either chilled, or partially frozen. Decorate with dollops of whipped cream, and maraschino cherries cut in half.

'Zuppa Inglese' (meaning: English soup) is a close variant of an English trifle, especially common in Tuscany, because the English tourists who lived in the region a century ago often asked for it. Recipes first appeared in the towns of the Emilia-Romagna region, in the late 19th century. Some date it back to the 16th century kitchens of the Ferrara Dukes of Este, who asked their cooks to recreate English trifle.

Rijsttaart (Belgian rice tart)

For ➑
flaky pie crust dough (pâte brisée) or pâte levée*
75 cl milk
100 g (dessert) rice
75 g sugar (with 2 small bags of vanilla sugar when vanilla bean is not available)
vanilla bean
10 g butter
2 eggs
100 g almonds**
saffron***
powder sugar

Melt the butter in a pan. Add the rice and mix. Scrape the vanilla bean. Add with the sugar and milk, and stir well. Slowly simmer over low heat until the milk is almost completely absorbed. Remove from heat. Butter a pie form. Line the pan with the dough.
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Mix the almond powder and the 2 eggs with the rice. (Add saffron for a yellow colour.***) Pour the rice into the shape, and bake for 30 to 40 m.
When cold, sprinkle the tart with powder sugar and serve.

*Or the crustier pâte feuilleté. You could use ready-made dough.
**Replace the almonds with crushed macarons for the Verviers version. (Belgian macaroons differ from the colourful French, being a nutty cookie, it is a speciality of Verviers.)
***Optional.

Rijsttaart or tarte au riz is a traditional Belgian tart, always made with a rice & milk mixture and some dough (a pâte brisée, or a pâte feuilletée, puff pastry dough, will do).
The base is the sweet rice & milk mixture, already known in Baghdad, and probably brought to the Low Lands by the Spanish in the 16th century. The rather firm rice pudding features on the 1567 Pieter Brueghel painting of a wedding as a not very common treat, with expensive products such as saffron, rice and sugar. In popular lore, heaven was depicted as a place where one would eat rice pudding every day. The rice pie was probably invented by bakers as an easier to handle variant to the rice pudding in plates. It was called 'blanke doreye', meaning 'gilded white', as the pie turned golden in the oven, with the rice being white. 'Doreye' is still the name of the Liège and the Verviers rice pies.

Read the related 'witte rijstpap' (white rice pudding) recipe.

Salsa con le noci per ravioli (walnuts sauce for ravioli)

For ➍
75 g walnut meats, peeled & minced
30 cl milk
3 tbs butter
4 tbs flour
salt & white pepper
700 g meat-free ravioli

Shell the walnuts, scald the nutmeats in boiling water for a few s, then peel and mince them.

Make a béchamel sauce by melting the butter in a small pot and carefully stirring in the flour. Continue cooking over low heat till the flour is lightly browned. Slowly add the milk in a thin stream, stirring briskly to keep lumps from forming.* When you’ve added all the milk, season with salt and pepper and continue cooking, stirring gently, till the sauce thickens (this will take several m). Then add the walnuts.

Meanwhile, cook the ravioli in boiling salted water, drain them, and carefully stir the sauce into them.

*If they do, stop adding milk, remove the pan from the fire, and stir the mixture till the lumps are gone before adding more milk. You can also make the béchamel sauce in a microwave oven: melt the butter and stir in the flour, then stir in the milk and the salt and pepper. Heat the sauce over high heat for 2 m and stir it briskly till most of the lumps are gone. Heat it for 4 more m at medium power, stirring after 2 m, then stir in the walnuts and heat 1 more m. Let it sit for a couple of m.

Read another Ligurian recipe, the related pine nut battuto recipe.

Le cocktail Lumumba

For ➊
6 cl dark Cuban rum*
12 cl milk**
5 ts cocoa powder**
whipped cream*
chocolate shavings*

For the warm version, heat the milk to drinking temperature.

Add rum and cocoa. Stir.

Top with whipped cream and add chocolate shavings.

For the cold version, mix milk and cocoa (or use chocolate milk**). Add rum*. Pour on ice cubes.

*For the original version, use vodka. Omit cream and chocolate shavings. Use brandy instead, or an equal mix of brandy and coffee liquor.
**For the original version, use dark chocolate milk.

When after the Congolese independence in 1960, Patrice Lumumba became prime minister and declared himself a partisan of mild communism, his fate was sealed by murder. In the former motherland Belgium, his name was used to mix a quite racist, but delicious cocktail of chocolate milk and vodka (the Russian influence). After his death, he was considered a martyr by African nations and by the USSR who honored his legacy with a stamp.
The cocktail disappeared in Belgium but lived on in several versions, hot and cold, with rum substituting the vodka (suitable enough, as Cuban fighters were involved in the Congo wars). (Sometimes it is replaced with brandy and/or coffee liquor, omitting the milk).
The warm version comes close to a simple version of the mighty Mexican serpent's chocolate.

Green eggs & ham

Makes ❺
75 g (fresh) pesto*
1 egg
75 g flour
15 cl semi-skimmed milk
oil for frying
5 large thin slices ham

Whisk together the pesto, egg, flour and milk to make a batter.
Oil a heavy-based frying pan, wipe away excess oil with kitchen paper. Place over a medium heat.
Ladle in approximately 10 cl of batter, swirling instantly to gain a paper-thin pancake.
Once the top becomes dry and the edges lift away, turn it over with a thin spatula to cook the other side for about 30 s.
Layer the pancakes between pieces of baking parchment or greaseproof paper as you go, and when you have finished making them, lay a slice of ham on each one.
Roll up or fold into triangles for breakfast.
Serve with a green salad, potatoes, or coleslaw for a light lunch.

*Use a mix of 1 tbs chopped chives, and ½ tbs of chopped fresh parsley instead.
**Make broiled eggs of the mixture (without flour) instead of pancakes and serve with ham.

Aam ki lassi (mango lassi)

For ➍
75 cl plain yogurt
25 cl milk
25 cl water
pulp of 2 mangoes
100 g sugar
25 g pistachios, ground*

In a pitcher, combine yogurt, milk, water, pulp, and sugar. Whisk briskly until completely mixed. Chill.

To serve, pour over crushed ice. Sprinkle the ground pistachios over the top.

*Use ground cumin instead.
For a quick version for 1 serving: use the pulp of 1 mango, freeze it; mix it in a blender with 15 cl of yogurt.

Lassi is a Indian beverage, originating in the northern state of Punjab. It is generally made by blending yogurt with water, salt, and spices until frothy. Traditional lassi is sometimes flavored with ground roasted cumin. It is sweetened with honey for rituals. Lassi with a little turmeric powder mixed in is used as a folk remedy for gastroenteritis.
The cooling drink has spread all over South East Asia. The combination with mango, the national fruit of India, is extremely popular. You can make a less elaborate quick mango lassi.
The illustration shows the surroundings of the Punjab city of Amritsar, beginning 19th century.

Frosty cappucino

For ➋
24 cl low-fatmilk
1 tbs chocolate syrup
1 ts instant espresso coffee powder
2 ice cubes
sugar *
¼ ts ground cinnamon

Use an electrical blender to combine milk, chocolate syrup, espresso powder and ice until the mixture is smooth and frothy. Add sugar to taste.

Pour into 2 chilled glasses. Sprinkle with cinnamon for garnish.

*Optional.

Schiacciata alla Fiorentina (Florentine orange cake)

For ➏
250 g flour
200 g sugar
4 tbs sunflower seed or corn oil
7 tbs warm milk
2 eggs
juice & zest of 1 orange
1 tbs baking powder
confectioner's sugar

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Beat the eggs, and mix all the ingredients together except the confectioner's sugar. Sift in the baking powder and pour the batter into a baking pan (something like 20x24 cm).

Bake the schiacciata for 20 to 30 m, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry.

Let cool it, then remove it from the pan. Dust with the confectioner's sugar.

Serve or stuff it with a generous layer of lightly sweetened whipped cream, or with crema pasticcera. In either case, slice the cake open as if it were a book, spread a layer of filling over the bottom half, and replace the upper half.

This traditional Easter cake is an (even) sweeter variation on Tuscan flatbread which goes by the same name: schiacciata con l'uva. Adding to the confusion, a schiacciata can also be salted: see the recipe of pizza bianco.
Image shows the ancient Via degli Strozzi in Firenze.

Baby Eskimo

For ➋ drinks
4 tbs coffee liquor*
2 scoops rich vanilla ice cream, out for 10 m**
20 cl milk

Pour liquor* in shaker. Add slightly melted ice-cream**. Add milk. Stir with chop stick. Pour into suitable glass, like a coupette.

*Use the quick coffee liquor method instead.
**Use a thick condensed variety, like Ben & Jerry's.

Illustration from Belgian underwear Eskimo...