adventure with vongole clams

[one bag of vongole clams; two ways of serving]

My foray into Fishes one evening after work led me walking away with a bag of vongole clams flown in that very morning from Italy. I must say I was definitely in the mood for trying something new. With the enthusiastic assistant giving me a classic Italian recipe off the top of his head, I couldn't resist paying premium price for these tasty morsels from the sea.

I was busy thinking about how I should go about with this project -- well, following a recipe IS a project for me since I hardly ever cook with a recipe -- when T went, "don't you have to like soak those clams in salt water for a couple of hours?"

This coming from someone doesn't cook and who has yet to make me the risotto that apparently was the one star dish honed during college days. I was skeptical but dished out my collection of cookbooks right away in search for the proper way to deal with my clams. Voila, sure enough, there it was, instructions to soak clams in salt water for a few hours to naturally release the sand and impurities trapped inside the shells.

I was thinking that one big bag of clams for a simple pasta dish for two just doesn't do it. I could save one third of it for another new culinary experiment I thought. So the next day I decided to tackle the signature spanish dish -- la paella. Truth is I have been procrastinating about putting the paella pan that came with the rental apartment to good use. And with Mark Bittman a.k.a. the Minimalist at the New York Times publishing a simple paella dish that cuts the laborious steps of the traditional cooking method and ingredients used down to just one third, I couldn't help but got hooked on the idea of putting aspirations into action.

The end result was an improvised version from the combined wisdom of the Minimalist and Penelope Casa, who has a classical Paella a la Valenciana in her cookbook - the Foods and Wines of Spain. Ingredient-wise, mine has tomatoes, chicken, and clams. We had a German vistor that day from Singapore and he had the honor of being the "official taster" for my ambitious tryout. Wasn't too bad I reckon. Everyone had a nice share of the dish that evening.

If you want to try it out yourself, here are the recipes.

Tagliatelle alla Vongele

4 large garlic cloves, peeled and diced finely
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
30 vongole or little neck clams (about 3 1/2 pounds)
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper (chili) flakes, plus extra for serving
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 cup of white wine
12 ounces linguine
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
sea salt and freshly milled pepper

Soak clams in salted water for a few hours before hand.
Cook pasta in a plenty of salted water. While pasta is cooking, in a wok or large skillet add half the oil and all the butter and saute garlic till fragrant.
Add washed clams and saute on medium-high heat. Add salt and black pepper and pepper flakes. Saute for another minute. Add white wine and keep stirring and let sauce reduce. About 2 mintues later (when majority of clams are open) add chopped parsley and cooked pasta.
Serve right away garnished with more pepper flakes and salt to taste and the remaining olive oil.


Quite Easy Paella

Serves 5

4 cups chicken bouillon
Half a whole onion
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into thick wedges
4 scallions, chopped
1 medium onion, minced
3 clove garlic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp of saffron
2 teaspoons Spanish pimentón (smoked paprika), or other paprika
2 bay leaves, crumbled
Chicken (wings or legs)
30 clams
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2.5 cups Spanish or other short-grain rice
Minced parsley for garnish.
Lemon wedges for garnish

Heat broth with the saffron, pimentón and whole onion. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
Remove onion and measure broth -- you need exactly 4 cups.
Preheat oven to 420 degrees. Put tomatoes in a medium bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle them with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss to coat.
Cut chicken into small serving pieces -- Dry pieces well and sprinkle with salt. In a metal Paella pan, with about a 15 inch base, heat the oil. Add chicken pieces and fry over high heat until golden. Remove to a warm platter.
Add the chopped onion, scallions, garlic, and pimentos and saute until the onion is wilted. Stir in tomato paste, saffron if you are using it, and paprika and cook for a minute more.
Add rice to the pan and stir to coat it well with the oil. Sprinkle in the chopped parsley and the crumbled bay leaves. (You can make in advance up to this point.)
Stir in hot broth and the wine. Salt to taste. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, over medium high heat about 10 minutes.
Bury chicken in the rice. Add clams and mussels, pushing them into the rice, with the edge that will open facing up. Put tomato wedges on top of rice and drizzle with juices that accumulated in bowl. Put pan in oven and roast, undisturbed, for 15 minutes.
Check to see if rice is dry and just tender. If not, return pan to oven for another 5 minutes. If rice looks too dry but still is not quite done, add a small amount of stock or water (or wine).
When rice is ready, remove from the oven and let sit on top of the stove, lightly covered with foil, for about 10 minutes. To serve, decorate with lemon wedges and chopped parsley.

Fishes

[Fresh fish and seafood at Fishes, Amsterdam]

With a 9 to 5 work schedule, I could never indulge in the luxury of selecting the freshest seafood from one of the open-air markets in town. The neighborhood Albert Heijn (the ubiquitous Dutch supermarket) around the corner is one of the bigger stores in town but there’s no fresh meat or seafood counter in sight. Cellophane-wrapped ground round and chicken breasts abound, and so are cooked tiny shrimps and sickly colored farm-raised salmon. But other than that, I really did have a problem finding a good source for the fresh catch of the day.

That was before I stumbled on Fishes, an unusually sleek fishmonger, unbeknownst to the unsuspecting eye on Utrecthsestraat. Flanked by two facing rows of funky cafés, ethnic restaurants, quaint little shops, traditional delicatessens, hairdressers, and high-end furniture stores, the fish shop stays open 30 minutes past the 6 p.m. closing time for almost all stores in town, allowing people like me to slip in for a few fresh scallops for the evening pasta.

[A fish delicatessens on funky Utrechtsestraat ]

The minimalist and chic interior makes it an experience to select the freshest ingredient for that special homemade dinner. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful and they really know what they’re selling and what to do with them. Fresh whole dorados, deboned monkfish, marinated shelled jumbo shrimps, wild trouts, imported Spanish sepia... all these you can find alongside freshly made raw fish sushi and that emergency lemon that has yet to be checked off from the shopping list.

In my next post I’ll blog about one of my retail adventures there: a splurge that resulted in two surprise culinary creations, one of the recipes given to me on the spot by the enthusiastic assistant. Next up, I'm eyeing at the live lobsters swimming in a built-in tank in the wall. I'd have to research a little more about dealing with the king of crustaceans.

In the know:
Fishes
Utrechtsestraat 98
Amsterdam

Loading up on kitchenware in Amsterdam

[Duikelman's porcelain section]

There's one address in Amsterdam that avid bakers and passionate cooks show up for their tools and wares. I first learned about Duikelman because Talia was raving about this awesome zester/grater that gets the zest off lemon without that white pith. And she was sure that I would be able to find it at this store loaded with every kitchen gadget imaginable close to De Pijp's Albert Cuypstraat open-air market.

Sure enough, the store had the Microplane zester that I was looking for. Not only that, the person who helped me was very helpful -- gave me a whole run down of all the options I had, and he seemed extremely knowledgable of every item stocked.

With two adjoining stores and a prominent window displaying a colorful row of Kitchenaid cake mixers, the family-owned business has been around for 60 odd years. Across the street, they have another storefront for fine porcelains and a showroom for home and professional kitchens. I was so drawn to the minimalist display in the porcelain storefront, with an upstairs corner dedicated to a fine collection of cookbooks in both Dutch and English.

My sudden urge to stock up on bakeware has gotten me a 30cm Kaizer loafpan, a glass-bottomed springform pan, and a fluted tart tin. I am comtemplating going back for a paella pan sometime this week, and for your information, the search on the perfect egg cup is still on.

In the know:
Dzuikelman
Ferdinand Bolstraat 68-68A
1072 LM Amsterdam
020-671.22.30/ 671.75.69

Sleek Restaurants of Amsterdam: Brasserie Harkema

[Lunch fare at Brasserie Harkema, Amsterdam]

The last two times we dined at this sleek eatery, we found ourselves being the only guests at their premises. The reservation I made was unwarranted but the quality of service and food (rack of lamb and tuna steak) we found extremely good.

Second time around was a bit disappointing. The renovation in the main dining hall had just been completed, it was lunch time, the server noticed our presence, but went on about her business by the kitchen. It probably took us a good five minutes before we decided to seat ourselves by the huge window and at this point the server slowly strolled by. The saving grace was the food served -- best fries in town. I succumbed to my craving for a good hamburger and T had a dish made with mussels and a wine sauce.

Despite the fact that this restaurant is in the Wallpaper city guide, it's not getting a whole lot of traffic and momentum these days. And so it goes in the competitive world of setting up restaurants, the fad will aways give way to the other new kid on the block. However, if you want a decent meal in a design-conscious environment, this is a good place to go. It's very easy to get to with its location so close to Het Spui and the flower market. And you can easily take a design detour to visit Wonderwood and Droog nearby after your lunch.

In the know:
Brasserie Harkema
Nes 67
+31 (0)20 4282222

Sleek Restaurants of Amsterdam: Balthazar's Keuken

[Assorted appetizers at Balthazar's Kitchen]

A fabulous girl I know from work, an accountant by day, is a serious kickboxer. Yup, think Million Dollar Baby. When it comes time for a match, she trains hard and consumes all the calories she needs. Lunching with her makes me feel like a wimp -- portions that throw any diet out of the window.

When it comes to food, Gabi is a connoisseur in the Amsterdam foodie scene. I "interviewed" her once on her favorite eateries in town and she was kind enough to list them all out on a piece of draft paper, along with a line explaining each place's key characteristic. Once, we've gone together to one of the places she'd recommended - Pata Negra, a lively tapas bar in Utrechtsetraat that has been faithful in serving latenight bites to merrymakers in search of the scarce working kitchen past 9.

Her favorite haunt in the list was this small Meditarranean place -- Balthazar's Keuken in the Jordaan. There's no menu. Instead, you get to choose a meat, fish or vegetarian set dinner that the chef would create for the evening. It comes with an assortment of appetizers and a dessert to complete the meal.

I made my reservation (open only for dinners from Wednesday to Friday), and showed up for the second seating at 8.30. There was a gathering crowd on stand-by for their reservations. The interesting thing was how the restaurant owners were able to control the traffic. They technically have a right to request the first seating guests to leave by that time.

We were completely pleased with the entire meal. I haven't been so excited about a particular food for a long time, but I remembered savoring every bit of the fried Indian-inspired appetizer with onions in a spice-loaded fritter-coating. The goat-cheese with olives went very well with the farm bread that was served and the server was more than happy to replenish the bread basket. We each had salmon on risotto and a duck with new potatoes as the main course, and was served a delightful coconut ice-cream to end the meal on a sweet note. Plenty to fill the tummy and lots to offer for a cosy dinner for two. This is truly a gem for Amsterdam.

In the know:
Balthazar's Kitchen
Elandsgracht 108, Amsterdam
Reservations in advance: +31 (0)20 420.21.14

Bling H20

[glitzy designer water for sale]

Would you pay 49€ for a bottle of water? I suppose someone crazy about displaying an empty bottle studded with real Swarovski Crystals might...

The owners of De Waterwinkel (translated simply as the water shop) in Amsterdam certainly knows people who would pay beaucoup money for designer water, as their entire store is a retail space for beautifully packaged water from around the globe. (Though they don't carry my favorite water on earth - the Vichy Catalan.)

We were wondering if their main business is largely based on corporate water supply accounts cos we just can't seem to make out the revenue equation one can get out of a pretty shop selling pretty water. We absolutely love the Ty Nant still water's bottle design, conceived by Ross Lovegrove who used to work for Frog as a consultant to Apple.

I have asked my visiting mum to double as special delivery service to bring this bottle back to my little brother as a little gift from Amsterdam. With all the airport security measures, she insisted on knowing the contents of the parcel.

"What's in this?"
"It's a surprise."
(feeling the outline of the parcel) "It's a bottle... what's in it? A special drink?"
"Well, it's a bottle of water..."
"You mean drinking water? Is it the sparkling kind that we had in the restaurant?"
"No..."
(Unspoken expression says: You want me to bring back a bottle of plain drinking water for your brother?)

Well, of course it buffles her that I'm giving her an extra half liter of water to add to her bulging suitcase. And of course, I can't tell her how cool the thing is until she sees the thing herself. Thankfully, my brother thought this was the coolest thing ever. I can only thank my product designer of a boyfriend for coming up with this idea.

In the know:
De Waterwinkel
Amsteldijk Zuid 197
(Across from the College Hotel, near Museumplein)

Sleek Restaurants of Amsterdam: Envy

[Envy of Amsterdam]

Close to the shopping streets of Negen Straatjes (9 Streets) and not too far from the Anne Frank Museum is the strategically located Envy, the talk of the town when it first opened a few years ago. One can never fail to notice the bar-restaurant's chicness as you walk past its glass-paned premises with immediate views of its busy open kitchen and Tom Dixon's installation of mirror ball pendants. The narrow and dark space concept was developed by the creative team at Concrete, known for their astounding designs in the city for places like the funky Supperclub, the renowned caterer AMAISON's concept store and De Lairesse pharmacy.

[Intimate dining at Envy's bar]

With a changing menu based on the fresh ingredients like Italian cheeses and prosciutto di Parma air-flown daily, the food is served a-la-delicatessen in small portions with very refined ingredients. The last time we were there for lunch, I had a lobster bisque and a veal salad and they were wonderful. It's one of those places that you pay for the ambiance and the foofoo-ness of the food, but it won't necessarily fill you up. (In Spanish, you say "pica-pica" for something like that - grazing.)

In the know:
Envy
Prinsengracht 381, Amsterdam
Reservations: 020 344 64 07

Best brown cafe food in Amsterdam

[High Dutch Cuisine]

Amsterdam’s a great place to be, what with all the delightful culinary offerings I’ve been discovering. Thanks to fellow foodie Talia who sent some delectable brownies to my door in Barcelona some time ago, I was able to be in the know for some of the sure-fire finds in town.

Fluent in Dutch and blissful with her newfound role as mom, Talia has lived in Mokum (what locals call Amsterdam) for five years now. We met in person for the first time last month in a traditional brown café here in the Jordaan, De Reiger, which Talia chose for the “track record of good food” the couple of times she’s been there.

We both ordered the rack of lamb with fried gnocchis -- done to perfection, paired with a glass of red. So busy were we talking about life in Amsterdam, food, and one’s life passions that we realized that we kept missing the busy servers to place our dessert orders that we finally left without sweetening a tooth.

My second visit to De Reiger was with T cos I know how much he loves lamb. For a change, I ordered the fish of the day. It was a sea bass on a bed of mashed potatoes served with asparagus and this creamy and flavorfully complex sauce that was extremely good. Again, we didn’t get a chance to taste the chocolate mousse cos by the time we finished our main course, it’d already been a hearty-enough meal.

One of the online reviews warned about getting seats because it can get crowded at dinner time. However, my first hand experience was that reservations are not possible, so you’d have to show up either a little earlier or later than the usual dinner crowd. Be prepared though: Dutch customer service, when it comes to food, are notoriously leisurely slow. They’ll take all the time they want and you’d be lucky if your food get served within 30 minutes the moment you are seated. (That's if they take your orders within 15 minutes of you being seated.) This is just how things work. Good luck!

In the know:
De Reiger
Kitchen open from 6 p.m. to 11.30 p.m.
Nw. Leliestraat 34, Amsterdam
Tel: 020-624 74 26

Of bagels and Internet

[Chocolate chaude]

Someone significant was recently quoted saying that “it’s easier to live without a TV these days then it is to live without Internet.” Indeed! I am currently living in this kind of ordeal until work recently got me 3G broadband access on my work laptop (on the premises, of course, that it be work-related usage). Well, just over the weekend, while walking pass a bagel place, a saw those magic words beckoning at me: free internet access.

So on Sunday morning, with a laptop and power supply loaded up in a backpack, we headed to Bagels and Beans just around the corner (they’ve several outlets in the city) for a homey lox bagel and a good dose of free internet. Now what has this picture got to do with all these? Well, it’s not all irrelevant. You see, this bagel place does serve the best presented hot chocolate I’ve ever come across – a glass of hot frothy milk with a cube of pure dark chocolate on a stick.

So if you’re in Amsterdam, you’ll know where to get online for free and guaranteed comfort food. Or you can of course just pop in for these eye-candy-worthy hot chocolate… eet smakelijk!

Dutch 101
Eet Smakelijk: Bon appetite; translates to eat well and with taste

Well, well, wagamama

[Ivan & Nicolas @ Wagamama, Amsterdam]

I am so hopeless. It’s been a month and I have been making mental notes to myself about adding something new to my blog. The thing is there has been so much to do, so many friends visiting, so many new friends to meet, et cetera, et cetera…

Speaking of playing host, Ivan and Nico were in from Barcelona over the weekend. Wasn’t the best time to be though considering the crappy weather there is right now. It’s been raining and raining and the temperature dipped down to a whopping 15 degrees Celsius yesterday. No kidding, everyone on the street and in the metro was decked out in outfits made for autumn – boots and coats and all.

Nico has been raving about Amsterdam being great for its ethnic food offerings. Well, guess where we brought them? Yeah, ethnic, but not quite… Wagamama! Yup, there’s one in Amsterdam, and I can attest to the fact that it’s truly Asian, sans all those kitsch pseudo-antique paintings depicting dragon-chasing children doning tiny ponytails that defy gravity.

The duck gyozas and the coconut-milk-based sobas were the best of what was ordered that day. I had the ebi spicy men, noodles with shrimp in a spicy sauce that I didn’t think much of, primarily due to the way the carrots were cut and cooked. They’ve got excellent raw juices and the sparkling water comes in these cool glass bottles. If you need to have a quick bite in a spick and span space with a touch of class, this can be your dig.

In the Know:
Wagamama
Max Euweplein 10,
1017 MB, Amsterdam
Tel: +31 (0) 20 528 7778
http://www.wagamama.nl/

New home for the season

[City of canals and bicycles]

Work and love is bringing me back to the Old Continent for the next five months. It's convincingly probable that I will be wielding my new camera in this quaint little city of canals and bicycles. On top of that, I've got to let you know how excited I am about my new apartment and the equipped kitchen that comes with it. All I'd have to do is get flour and butter cos it is already filled to the brim with all kinds of appliances, dishes, and even spices! My workload (and funload for that matter) will pretty much determine how often I get to update you with my new life here. I will try!

Photo credit: "Amsterdam" by Fotourbana