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Asian recipes/ Dinner/ European recipes/ Lamb/ Soups & Stews
Pappardelle with Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks & Spicy Lamb Broth

27 January 2022
Asian recipes/ Dinner/ Lunch/ One-pot recipes/ Quick & Easy/ Stir-fry/ Vegan/ Vegetarian
Miso Glazed Aubergine with Soba Noodles & Crispy Fried Smoked Tofu

5 October 2021
Asian recipes/ Dinner/ Lunch/ Oven dishes/ Quick & Easy/ Sauces, dressings & condiments/ Side Dishes/ Starters/ Vegan/ Vegetarian
Miso Glazed Aubergine (Nasu Dengaku)

19 May 2021

About Me

Welcome to my page! My name is Saffron, I'm a freelance photographer living in Amsterdam. I’m not a chef but a passionate cook and lover of all things food. With this site I'd like to share my passion and knowledge and maybe even inspire you to go on an adventurous food journey as well.

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Latest Posts

White Asparagus Pie with Warm Smoked Salmon

22 May 2022

Sticky Garlic Honey Soy Meatballs with Charred Bimi

18 April 2022

Velvety White Asparagus Soup

15 April 2022

Harissa Baked Baby Potatoes, Cod, Cherry Tomatoes and White Asparagus with Mint Salsa

11 April 2022

Easy Chinese Chicken & Vegetable Stir Fry

19 March 2022

apinchofsaffron_amsterdam

Easy Chinese Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry I lov

Easy Chinese Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry

I love being able to whip up a stir fry from leftovers lying around in the fridge. For this dish I used a basic Chinese stir fry sauce which I use quite a lot and never fails to impress: soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, sugar or honeycornstarch, water and some stock.

For the full recipe see the link in my bio!

#easyrecipes #simplerecipes #homecooking #homecook #homechef #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #healthydinner #dinnerrecipes #stirfry #chinesefood #wok #szechuanfood

15 Minutes Pesto Pasta with Garlic Prawns I’ve

15 Minutes Pesto Pasta with Garlic Prawns

I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather this last week, so I’ve been in the need of simple, easy and quick dishes. It doesn’t get much simpler, easier or quicker than this!

I used ready made pesto for this dish, not the jarred kind, but a tub from the market. You can of course make your own, but that kind of defeated the point.

Ingredients for 2 people
150 - 200 g spaghetti or pasta of choice
1- 2 garlic cloves, grated
1 tsp paprika powder (smoked is also nice)
Pinch cayenne pepper
5-6 tomatoes, quartered
1 tub pesto (± 1 cup)

1. Bring a big pot of salted water to the boil.
2. In the meantime grate 1-2 cloves of garlic and add these to the prawns together with olive oil, paprika powder and cayenne pepper, set aside.
3. When the water is boiling add the pasta and cook for ±8 minutes until al dente (or longer if you prefer).
4. For the last 5 minutes of cooking the pasta heat a frying pan and add the garlic mix, fry until fragrant and crispy, turn off the heat. Add the tomatoes to the pan, mix well and set the pan aside.
5. Drain the pasta, making sure you set aside a cup of the pasta water.
6. Add the pesto to the pasta and mix well, on a low heat. Add some pasta water and keep stirring until the pasta is covered in a creamy sauce.
7. Turn of the heat and add the prawn & tomato mixture, mix well and dinner is served!

Serving tip: even better with garlicky toasted bread crumbs over the top, but I was out.

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Easy Chicken Laksa I absolutely love laksa! There

Easy Chicken Laksa

I absolutely love laksa! There are a few kinds, some more sweet and sour, some more spicy and some more coconutty and creamy. Yesterday I made the creamy one. What I love about this recipe is that it’s super easy and great for a lazy night of cooking.

Start off by frying off some laksa paste, top it off with chicken stock, add some flavour elements like lime leaves, ginger and lemon grass (great ingredients to have at hand in the freezer) and bring to a simmer. Add some chicken pieces (legs, thighs and or breasts) and slowly let simmer of ± 45 minutes until the meat falls off the bone.

Remove the chicken and the flavouring ingredients, shred the chicken and add back to the pan. Add a can of coconut milk and bring back to the boil. Taste and season with sugar, fish sauce, lime juice and some extra salt if needed.

If you like add some vegetables to cook along for the last 5 minutes, like broccoli, mushrooms and tomatoes. Serve with some noodles, spring onions, chili oil and a boiled egg. Easy!

#easyrecipes #simplerecipes #homecooking #homecook #homechef #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #healthydinner #dinnerrecipes #laksa #malaysianfood #soup #weeknightdinner

Ottolenghi’s Blood Orange & Fennel Salad with Bu

Ottolenghi’s Blood Orange & Fennel Salad with Burrata

Blood orange season is here! They’re only available a short period, from March till April. So when you see them at the market or store, now is your chance!

I ordered mine from @sicitrus and they were delicious. Small in size, but big in flavour! Not to mention the colours, wow, like a deed red sunset.

I decided to make this recipe from Ottolenghi’s cookbook NOPI, and it didn’t disappoint. It was meant as side to go with oven baked trout, but to be honest it stole the show. The fennel was an addition not mentioned in his recipe but I felt it really worked well together.

Especially the dressing was a winner: sweet, savoury and herby, a great combo with the rest of the ingredients. The dressing calls for lavender but I didn’t have that lying around so replaced it with rosemary, it worked a charm!

This recipe also works great with regular oranges, so no worries if you can’t get your hands on blood oranges.

Recipe from @ottolenghi
For the recipe see link in bio!

#easyrecipes #simplerecipes #homecooking #homecook #homechef #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #healthydinner #dinnerrecipes #ottolenghi #salad #burrata #bloodorange #fennel #healthyrecipes #easyrecipes #nopi

No Food Waste Thai Green Curry with a Twist Ok gr

No Food Waste Thai Green Curry with a Twist

Ok granted, this might not be a 100% authentic Thai Green Curry, but it sure tasted like one. The curry paste I made from scratch by blitzing a whole bunch of ingredients I had in my freezer and in my pantry: green chilis, ginger, lemon grass, lime leaves, kurkuma, cumin, koriander, shallots, shrimp paste and garlic. So actually pretty authentic!

My twist? I used up some leftover broccoli and courgette soup to make the sauce. Together with some coconut cream and seasoned with fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar this was a delicious veggie packed curry!

#easyrecipes #simplerecipes #homecooking #homecook #homechef #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #healthydinner #dinnerrecipes #nofoodwaste #thaifood #thaigreencurry #curry #currypaste #fridgeraid

Classic Red Cabbage with Apples, Crispy Smashed Po

Classic Red Cabbage with Apples, Crispy Smashed Potatoes, Pan Seared Duck Breast & Red Onion Balsamic Gravy

Stewed red cabbage and apples is a true Dutch classic recipe, one that I've actually only ever eaten out of a jar. Like most dishes, sooooo much better made from scratch.

The cabbage is finely chopped and then slowly stewed for an hour with some water, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves and a drop of balsamic reduction.

After stewed down till softened, add a knob of butter and season with pepper and salt. For the last 5 minutes stew along the apples until just starting to soften. And done! So it takes a bit of time, but hardly any work at all. Also yummy with crispy bacon bits mixed through at the end ;-)

#easyrecipes #simplerecipes #homecooking #homecook #homechef #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #healthydinner #dinnerrecipes #simplerecipes #weeknightdinner #classicrecipes #dutchrecipes

Brie,Ham & Basil Quesadilla’s with Curried Brocc

Brie,Ham & Basil Quesadilla’s with Curried Broccoli, Courgette & Leek Soup

While cycling home from work calling Rob:
Me: “What shall we eat tonight?”
Rob: “Something Simple? Soup? Something with vegetables? Broccoli Soup? ”
Me: “Ok!”

Me trying to keep it simple in the supermarket: Broccoli…. Let’s add leek. Let’s add Courgette. Let’s add celery. Let’s add curry powder. Bread? Nah. Quesedillas! With cheese? With brie! Oooh, ham would be nice. Oh and I still have basil.

Me at home: soup done in 20 minutes, quesadillas done in 5 minutes. A super simple, healthy, vegetable packed, weeknight dinner!

#easyrecipes #simplerecipes #homecooking #homecook #homechef #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #healthydinner #dinnerrecipes #soup #quesedilla #simplerecipes #weeknightdinner

Burrito’s with Slow Cooked Chili con Carne In m

Burrito’s with Slow Cooked Chili con Carne

In my opinion there are a few dishes that you have to make a day in advance: Pasta sauces, curries, stews and of course chili con carne. Of course, if you’re strapped for time you could eat them the same day, but the flavours get sooooo much better if all the ingredients get to hang out together overnight or longer. And an added bonus, your food is ready super quick on the day you want to eat it!

I opted for a simple Burrito this week with just some lettuce, whole wheat tortillas and sour cream, mainly because I wasn’t in the mood to actually cook yesterday, but also because I wanted something light and fresh and I really wanted to taste the chili con carne. But if you’re up for it, adding cheese, cooked rice, guacamole and a tomato salsa would be great additions!

The chili con carne I cooked on Sunday, loooooong and slooooow (I let it simmer at the lowest heat possible for ± 4 hours).

#easyrecipes #simplerecipes #homecooking #homecook #homechef #homecooking #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #dinnerathome #healthydinner #dinnerrecipes #chiliconcarne #chili #mexicanfood #slowcook #slowfood #burrito #burritos

Charred Red Bell Pepper Lentil Soup SOUP WEATHER

Charred Red Bell Pepper Lentil Soup

SOUP WEATHER ALERT!!

Hmmmmm, roasted peppers. Amazing how much the flavour and texture changes of a bell pepper by charring it on a flame. And it could’t be easier, just turn up the gas flame to high and lay the pepper on the flame. When one side has charred, rotate it with a pair of tongs, until all sides have charred.

When done, seal it in a tupperware box and let is steam. (It's often also steamed in a plastic zip lock bag but I find this such a waste of plastic). After ± 5 minutes the blackened skin will just fall off easily. Sooooo good! Add this to a soup or leave it as is, and marinade in olive oil, red wine vinegar and some torn basil leaves. Hmmm, good idea, I might actually make that this week!

#homecooking #foodblog #instafood #foodphotography #foodie #foodiesofinstagram #homecook #homechef #homecooking #foodblogger #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #foodstyling #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #dinnerathome #foodphotographer #dinnerrecipes #soup #roasted #vegan #vegetarian #soupweather

Red Cabbage, Blood Orange and Date Bulgur Salad wi

Red Cabbage, Blood Orange and Date Bulgur Salad with Whipped Feta Lemon Dressing, Roasted Honey & Cumin Carrots and Grilled Merguez Sausages

A long description for a very simple meal. I was inspired by watching @dagelijksekostbe late at night. Most of the ingredients I already had at home, except the red cabbage. So the next day I got the cabbage and made this dish. By grating just 1/4 cabbage you already have enough for a meal for 2. The rest I’ll use later this week. Such an easy way to eat all your needed daily vegetables.

#easyrecipes #simplerecipes #homecooking #homecook #homechef #homecooking #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #dinnerathome #healthydinner #dinnerrecipes #bulgur #salad #vegetables #healthy #easyrecipes

Pappardelle with Madeira Mushroom Ragout and Burra

Pappardelle with Madeira Mushroom Ragout and Burrata

This is one hell of a vegetarian dish: the Madeira mushroom sauce is rich and full of flavour, the mushrooms are caramelised and juicy, the burrata adds an extra creamy layer and the little cress leaves are peppery and fresh. So good!

For vegan just leave out the burrata, super tasty as well!

For the recipe see the link in my bio!

#easyrecipes #simplerecipes #homecooking #homecook #homechef #homecooking #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #dinnerathome #healthydinner #dinnerrecipes #madeira #pappardelle #pasta #vegetarian #vegan #ragout #burrata #weekenddinner #portuguesefood #italianfood

Puttanesca with Aubergine Loaded with veggies and

Puttanesca with Aubergine

Loaded with veggies and flavour, this puttanesca is super healthy yet indulgent at the same time. Everything is stewed for about an hour on low heat until the anchovis have dissolved in the sauce, the aubergines are soft and silky, the onions are soft and sweet and the tomatoes have reduced to rich sauce. Studded with pockets of salty goodness from the black olives and capers and topped off with some shredded basil and toasted pine nuts. Soooo good!

(Leave ansjovis out to keep it vegan)

#homecooking #foodphotography #foodie #homecookf #homecooking #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #dinnerathome #dinnerrecipes #puttanesca #vegetarian #vegan #healthyfood #italianfood #spaghetti #vegetarianrecipes #veganrecipes #aubergine #slowcooking #pasta #italianfood #aubergine

Roasted Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs The marinade

Roasted Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs

The marinade for this chicken was truly finger licking good. It’s a mix of soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and the flavour changing ingredient: Rice wine vinegar. The vinegar adds an amazing tang to the sweet and salty sauce, soooo good! You could also make it with lime juice to get that same umami flavour.

I marinated skinless and boneless chicken thighs in half of the the marinade for 30 minutes (longer would be better but I was impatient and hungry). While the chicken was marinating I cooked the rest of the sauce down for ± 5 minutes until a thick caramel sauce.

Roast the chicken thighs at 220°C for 30 minutes, basting in the reduced sauce every 10 minutes or so, until starting to char and cooked through.

The only thing I would change next time is make more sauce!

#easyrecipes #simplerecipes #homecooking #homecook #homechef #homecooking #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #dinnerathome #healthydinner #dinnerrecipes #asianfood #glazedchicken #chickenrecipes #honeyglazed

Surinamese Bakkeljauw (Salted Cod) with String Bea

Surinamese Bakkeljauw (Salted Cod) with String Beans & Mme. Jeanette and Cucumber Pickle

Wow, this turned out soooo good! I love it when recipes seem difficult in advance but when you actually look into it you realise they’re super simple and wonder why you haven’t made it before! This is definitely one to keep and make more often.

Surinamese bakkeljauw (bacalao or salted cod fish) is often eaten on a white bread roll with spicy pickle, but it’s just as good as a main meal with stringbeans (kouseband in Dutch) and a home made spicy pickle.

Important for this dish is to de-salt the fish well before using, but keep in mind, it will always be a salty dish. The pickle I simply made with cucumber, Mme. Jeanettes, white vinegar, water and sugar. Couldn’t be simpeler.

The strignbeans I sautéed with garlic, onions, coriander powder and ginger powder. You could also just use regular green beans but I love the crunchy texture of strignbeans when cooking Surinamese food.

#easyrecipes #simplerecipes #homecooking #homecook #homechef #homecooking #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #dinnerathome #healthydinner #dinnerrecipes #suriname #surinaamseten #surinamese #bakkeljauw #bacalao

Beer Braised Chicken with Lemony White Bean Purée

Beer Braised Chicken with Lemony White Bean Purée and a Simple Salad

Juicy crispy skin chicken in a dark, rich beer & mushroom gravy served on a bed of garlicky, lemony white bean purée. Yes! Let the weekend begin! This is such an easy recipe, it just needs some time. First fry off the chicken on both sides until crispy, ± 10 minutes on each side. Set aside the chicken while you make the mushroomy beer gravy. Nestle the chicken n top of the grave, skin side up and bake in the oven for another 20 minutes until the meat falls off the bone, the skin is crispy and the gravy is just perfect.

Recipe inspired by @anna_s_table

See the link in my bio for the recipe!

#easyrecipes #simplerecipes #homecooking #homecook #homechef #homecooking #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #dinnerathome #healthydinner #dinnerrecipes #skillet #onepotmeal #beer #chicken

Singapore Noodles Curried rice noodles with prawn

Singapore Noodles

Curried rice noodles with prawns, homemade char siu, stir fried veggies, omelette and of course Shiraza sauce. One of my favourite to order at a Chinese restaurant. Although the name might make you think this is a classic Singaporese dish, I believe it’s origins are in Hong Kong. But wherever they’re from, they’re gooooood.

Thanks @

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Spinach & Basil Risotto with Pan Seared Mushrooms

Spinach & Basil Risotto with Pan Seared Mushrooms and Chicken Thighs

If there’s one dish I can make without a recipe it’s risotto. I remember I used to be in awe of people who could whip up a smooth silky risotto, it looked like a lot of work and a lot of skill is needed. But in reality this is not the case at all. If you get the order right then you can make a great risotto every time, all you need is a bit of patience.

Amounts:
100 g risotto rice pp
300 ml stock per 100 g rice
All the other ingredients don’t have to be too precise.

Here the steps for a basic risotto:
- Start by heating up a stock so it’s piping hot when you add it to the risotto. You can use any stock you prefer.
- In a good glug of olive oil or butter, or a mix of both gently sauté some finely chopped onions and garlic until translucent and fragrant.
- Add the risotto to the onion and garlic and stir well so it’s all coated with the oily substance.
- Turn up the heat.
- Deglaze the pan with a good splash of sherry or white wine and scrape down all the goodness from the pan. Start and cook until the juices have been absorbed by the rice grains a the alcohol has evaporated, ± 2 minutes.
- Add a ladle of hot stock to the risotto and stir well, ± 2 minutes
- When the stock is absorbed by the rice add the next ladle, repeat until all the stock has been used up. It will take about 16-18 minutes to get to an al dente consistency
- When happy with the consistency add a good handful of finely grated parmesan cheese and mix through well.

#easyrecipes #simplerecipes #homecooking #homecook #homechef #homecooking #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #dinnerathome #healthydinner #dinnerrecipes #risotto #norecipe

Roasted Beetroot Soup with Pistachio & Dill Pesto,

Roasted Beetroot Soup with Pistachio & Dill Pesto, Hazelnuts and Sour Cream

WOWIE look at these vibrant colours! A month ago I roasted some beets and had a few leftover. Perfect for in the freezer for a rainy day, which was yesterday. I started of by sautéing some onions and garlic, then I added a can of tomatoes and let it bubble away for ± 15 minutes (for extra depth of flavour you can also roast tomatoes in the oven beforehand, but I was in a lazy mood). Then I added the beets, 0.75 liters of water and a stock cube. Let simmer away for 20 minutes and then you’re ready to blend into a smooth soup.

For the pesto I blanched a bunch of dill and parsley for 30 seconds in boiling water, then blended together with some olive oil, pepper, salt, a teaspoon of vinegar, a pinch of sugar and a small handful of pistachio nuts into a smooth paste. Yum!

#easyrecipes #simplerecipes #homecooking #homecook #homechef #homecooking #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #dinnerathome #healthydinner #dinnerrecipes #vegetarian #vegan #soup #healthyfood #healthyrecipes #roastedveggies #roasted #beetroot #pesto

French Toast with Cinnamon Sugar Stale bread lyin

French Toast with Cinnamon Sugar

Stale bread lying around? Make French toast! Man oh man, these were good. It was actually whole wheat bread with a seed crust and to be honest I like that better than with white bread. I served it with a dollop of sour cream and a drizzle of honey. It would have been even better with some fresh fruit but I was too lazy to go out to get it ;-)

#easyrecipes #simplerecipes #homecooking #homecook #homechef #homecooking #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #breakfast #breakfastideas #frenchtoast #nofoodwaste #brunch

Sauerkraut with Baby Potatoes, Pan Seared Chicken

Sauerkraut with Baby Potatoes, Pan Seared Chicken Breasts and Creamy White Wine, Mustard and Bacon Gravy

Wow what a mouthful, but this was such an easy dish to make! Another plus, my kitchen stayed super clean ;-). Although this may look like a rich dish, it was all pretty light and healthy.

Instead of sausage I used chicken breast, instead of butter in the gravy I used olive oil, instead of cream I used light crème fraiche. And sauerkraut, well that’s just super healthy by itself!

Tips for juicy pan seared chicken:
1. Keep the chicken pieces quite big (± 3 pieces from 1 chicken breast) and slice after cooking, this way the chicken won’t dry out.
2. Season the chicken well with pepper and salt!
3. After pan searing the chicken pieces until just cooked through (±2 minutes on each side on high heat) wrap the pieces in aluminium foil and let it rest while you prepare the rest of the dish. Let it rest for at least 5 minutes, the resting juices you can add to the gravy or pour over the chicken on the plate, so much flavour!

Tips for gravy:
1. Add some Finley chopped onion to the same pan you made the chicken in with a little extra olive oil. Sauté for ± 2 minutes until fragrant and softened.
2. Sprinkle over a tablespoon of flour and coat all the onions with the flour. Cook for ± 2 minutes without letting it burn.
3. Deglaze the pan with a drop of wine, or just some water, and scape the bits off the bottom of the pan.
4. Add ± and additional cup of water and whisk until smooth and no lumps are left.
5. Sprinkle in a 1/4 of a vegetable or chicken stock cube.
6. Taste and season to your liking, for example add creme fraiche, mustard, crispy bacon bits, whatever you like!

#easyrecipes #simplerecipes #homecooking #homecook #homechef #homecooking #homemade #homemadefood #recipes #fromscratch #delicious #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #dinnerathome #healthydinner #dinnerrecipes #zuurkool #sauerkraut #gravy #healthyfood #healthycooking

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