Grilled fennel with citrus dressing & goat cheese

For ➍
2 fennel bulbs
4 clementines
50 g walnuts
120 g soft goat cheese
1 tbs olive oil
pepper & salt
dressing:
2 dl clementine juice
1 dl lime juice
2 tbs sugar
1 cardamom pod (or try ginger)
2 star anise
3 cloves

Make the dressing: mix the spices & sugar with the juice of clementines and lemons. Heat the seasoned juice and reduce to ½.
Cut the fennel bulbs lengthwise in (not too) thin slices, and drizzle with olive oil. Keep some fennel leaves on the side for finishing.
Heat a grill pan. Grill the slices of fennel and season with salt and pepper.
Divide the grilled fennel on plates, drizzle with the citrus vinaigrette and crumble the goat cheese on top. Peel the clementines and cut into thin slices.
Put slices on top. Add the coarsely chopped walnuts and a few tufts of fennel leaves far.

Marinated orange carpaccio & Aperol granita

For ➍
8 oranges, 4 for serving
2 tbs pistachios, minced
fresh mint
granita:
2.5 dl Aperol
2.5 dl water
200 g sugar
zest of 1 orange
marinade:
2 dl fresh orange juice
50 g sugar
½ vanilla pod
½ ts pink peppercorns
1 quill cinnamon
1 star anise
lemon peel & orange zest for decoration

Prepare the granita the day before. Bring the water and sugar to a boil. Let this syrup cool. Dilute 2.5 dl Aperol and add 2.5 dl syrup. Finish with orange peel and mix carefully. Pour into the ice cube tray and freeze for 12 h.*
For the marinade: bring all ingredients to a boil and let cool in the fridge.
Peel 1 orange per person, cut into thin slices and arrange on a freezer cooled deep plate.
Pour a little marinade over it. Decorate with mint and minced pistachios.
Just before serving, place a scoop (or a nice ball) of granita* over it.

*To make the granita ready for serving, mix lightly in a food processor. Continue with a fork.
The traditional method is to freeze the liquid for 2 h, or until the mixture is frozen around the edges. With a fork, draw ice from the edges towards the centre. Return to the freezer, and then repeat this process about 3-4 times, every 30 m, or until all of the granita mixture is formed of ice crystals. Serve immediately.

Cinnamon-braised lamb shanks

For ➍
4 cm piece of ginger
4 garlic cloves
100 g golden raisins
1 tbs ground cinnamon
2 red chillies
2 ts ground coriander
20 cl natural yogurt
6 lamb shanks
groundnut or vegetable oil
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
1 bay leaf
8 shallots
50 cl chicken stock
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Peel and roughly chop the garlic and ginger. Blitz along with the raisins, ground cinnamon, chillies and ground coriander in a food processor. Add the yogurt, and a good pinch of salt and pepper and pulse until just mixed. Make incisions in the lamb shanks and place in a bowl. Rub the marinade into the meat, cover and marinate for a few h or even for a day if possible.
When you are ready to cook the meat, peel and finely slice the shallots. Add a drizzle of groundnut oil to a deep, heavy-based casserole - large enough to hold all the shanks, and fry the cinnamon stick, star anise and bay leaf for a minute. Add the shallots, then turn the heat right down and sauté for 10 m until soft and sticky. Spoon the mixture into a bowl and leave to one side.
Drizzle in a little more oil and turn up the heat. Brown the lamb shanks in batches, reserving any marinade left in the bowl. When the meat is brown on all sides, return it all to the pan with the softened shallots and any reserved marinade. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Carefully cover with foil, then cook over a low heat for 3 h, turning the shanks regularly and adding more stock if it gets too dry. The lamb should be tender and falling off the bone.
Remove the shanks from the pan and cover with tinfoil to keep warm. Turn up the heat and let the sauce bubble away for around 10 m until you have a lovely, thick sauce.
Return the lamb shanks to the pot and serve. Perfect with mashed potato or creamed cauliflower and greens, or even steaming basmati rice.

Jerusalem artichoke in skin

For ➍
8 large Jerusalem artichokes
sunflower oil
2 cloves garlic
2 juniper berries
2 bay leaves
4 branches thyme
2 cloves
2 star anise
young thyme branches

Scrub the artichokes well with a vegetable brush and cut them lengthwise in half.
Pour a lot of oil in a large metal baking dish and top with the artichokes with the cut side down.
Crush the garlic with the flat side of a knife. Crush the juniper in the mortar. Add the garlic, juniper berries, bay leaf, thyme, cloves and star anise in the artichokes and simmer over low heat.
Turn the artichokes after 10 m and simmer another 15 m.
Remove the herbs from the pan, except for the garlic.
Garnish with young thyme branches.

Vlaamse kippensoep (Flemish chicken soup)

For ➏
3 chicken thighs
2 onions, chopped coarsely
2 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
3 carrots
2 leeks, chopped coarsely (keep 1 stem apart)
1 celery, chopped coarsely (keep a few stalks apart)
2 sprigs of thyme
3 bay leaves
5 crushed peppercorns
2 cloves
1 piece star anise
3 l water
50 g alphabet or vermicelli pasta or rice
200 g minced meat*
flour*

Clean the celery and leeks under running water.
Peel the carrots and cut ⅔ of them coarsely. Keep the rest aside.
Pour cold water into the soup pot. Add the vegetables along with the thyme and bay leaves . Bring the soup to a boil.
Crush the peppercorns in a mortar and put them in the pot, along with a pinch of salt .
Add the cloves and star anise.
Add the chicken thighs when the soup is boiling.
Let the soup simmer for 30-45 m.
Meanwhile cut the left carrots, leek and celery in brunoise , tiny cubes of approximately 2 x 2 mm.
Put the diced vegetables in a bowl.
Strain the chicken soup, to have a clear chicken broth. Let the thighs cool.
Sprinkle the brunoise vegetables in the chicken stock. Let the vegetables yarn briefly. Avoid overcooking.
Add the letter pasta. (Check the packaging for correct cooking time.)
Tear the meat  from the thighs. Cut into small pieces of equal size.
Add the chicken to the soup. Season the soup.
Serve with brown bread or toast.

*Optional.

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.