Simone's favorite cookbooks of the moment

Friends, it has finally happened. I have a new house. With a garden where I can draw with chalk and an intensely nice kitchen. How perfect is that? I actually received a bunch of new cookbooks for my birthday, so you can guess what I've been doing the past few days. These are my favorite cookbooks of the moment with already my favorite recipes.

1. Souq Tables full of mezze – Nadia Zerouali & Merijn Tol

Price: €29.95
ISBN: 978 90 5956 722 1
Publisher Fontaine

This recipe is besides my beloved hummus my favorite spread. It works wonderfully on the lunch table, but of course also on a table full of delicious mezze.

Moutabal
2 aubergines
3 tablespoons thick Greek yogurt
A quarter clove of garlic
A small handful of pomegranate seeds
A small handful of oregano leaves

1. Roast the eggplants in the flame of a gas stove until they are charred and soft. Let them cool down afterwards.
2. Peel the eggplants and remove all the black parts.
3. Puree the eggplant flesh, garlic, and yogurt and season with salt.
4. Spoon the moutabal into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, pomegranate, and oregano.

2. Home baked – Yvette van Boven

Price: €29.95
ISBN: 978 90 5956 567 8
Publisher Fontaine

You know that my roots lie far in the south, in Maastricht to be precise. The fact that I chose this recipe for you is therefore quite obvious. A rice pie with cardamom, what more can I say?

Rice pie with cardamom
For the filling:
1 vanilla pod
1 liter full milk
4 cardamom pods
5 tbsp white caster sugar
200 grams dessert rice
2 eggs, separated into yolk and white
A pinch of salt
1 tablespoon brown caster sugar for on top

For the dough:
100 ml of milk
1 packet of dry yeast
300 grams all-purpose flour
Pinch of sea salt
50 grams of butter
3 tbsp white caster sugar
1 egg beaten
Pie dish of 28-30 cm in diameter

1. Heat the milk until it is lukewarm, add the yeast and let it sit for ten minutes until the yeast is dissolved.
2. Sift the flour with the salt into a mixing bowl and add the butter, sugar, and egg.
3. Make a well in the center and pour in the lukewarm milk, stir with a spoon until all the flour is absorbed and knead with floured hands into a smooth dough.
4. Place the ball of dough back in the mixing bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Let it rise for at least an hour.
5. Roll out the dough and line the pie dish. Prick the bottom with a fork.
6. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
7. Split the vanilla pod open and scrape the seeds out with a knife. In a saucepan with a thick bottom, bring the milk with the vanilla seeds, the pod, cardamom, and sugar to a boil.
8. Add the rice and a pinch of salt and bring everything to a boil again while stirring. Then reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Keep stirring.
9. Remove the pan from the heat and remove the pod and the pods.
10. Whip the egg whites stiff with a bit of salt and whip the yolks frothy in another bowl. Mix the yolks into the rice pudding. Fold half of the egg whites into the rice.
11. Spoon the rice pudding into the pie dish and smooth it out with a spoon. Spread the top of the rice with the rest of the egg white.
12. Bake the pie for 30 minutes until done.

3. Delicious and quick and for every day – Hemsley + Hemsley

Price: €29.95
ISBN: 9789059565869
Publisher Fontaine

The girls from Hemsley are really my absolute favorites. With these breakfast muffins with cinnamon, raisins, and quinoa, your breakfast is a party!

300 grams quinoa
3 large bananas
60 grams of butter
3 beaten eggs
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2.5 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp maple syrup
8 tbsp flaxseed
160 grams raisins

1. Place the quinoa in a large bowl with double the amount of water. Let it soak for at least a day.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
3. Peel the bananas and place them in the blender, along with all the other ingredients except the raisins.
4. Combine the banana mixture with the quinoa and raisins in a large bowl and mix everything together.
5. Divide the batter among the liners and bake the muffins for 30 minutes until done.
6. Serve the muffins warm with a dab of butter and possibly a spoonful of jam.

4. The cookbook – Ottolenghi

Price: €29.95
ISBN: 978 90 5956 740 5
Publisher Fontaine

I love salads, especially in the summer. The figs and young Pecorino in this salad are a match made in heaven.

Figs with young Pecorino and honey
2 tbsp good honey
3 tbsp olive oil
600 grams purple or green figs
300 grams young Pecorino
80 arugula
Handful of basil
Salt and pepper

1. Mix the honey and olive oil together and season with pepper and salt.
2. Cut the figs into quarters and tear the cheese into pieces.
3. Layer the arugula, basil, figs, and Pecorino on the plates or place everything in a large bowl. Drizzle some honey dressing over the ingredients and grind some black pepper on top.