The 11 dishes you need to know before you turn 40

Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: the 11 dishes you need to know before you turn 40.

You might not want to get married before you turn forty, but cooking is a different story. Earlier we wrote about which recipes you should know by your thirties, so you still have a whole decade to master these dishes…

And otherwise just speed things up a bit, because you will be glad when you have these classics in your repertoire. From vegan to barbecue; this will make everyone happy. Starting with yourself!

Sole meunière (fried sole)
Soft and subtle, this fish preparation. But it takes some attention to not let the fish stick to the pan, and of course, only choose sole in the right season. So deliciously buttery: with the right ingredients, you can achieve the most flavor with a simple dish like this. New harvest potatoes, real butter, a sprinkle of Maldon salt, and a bit of parsley. Simplicity at its best!

Tabouleh
Whether it’s true or not that you have to put in a bit more effort after your forties to work off those cheese toasties and glasses of red wine from the night before, the fact remains that a healthy recipe always comes in handy. But it should still be fun, so if you eat light, make sure to indulge in plenty of fresh herbs and strong flavors. And the eye wants something too; you’re all set with a colorful bowl of fresh tabouleh. Add baked halloumi or another cheese to taste for some extra kick.

Madeleines with Gruyère
Madeleines are amazing anyway, and I wholeheartedly welcomed their comeback as a cookie with coffee in restaurants (Scheepskameel in Amsterdam, Madeleine in Utrecht) pre-corona. For a very grown-up savory version, you can get started with this recipe for madeleines with lavender and cheese.

French Onion Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Got onion soup down? Mac ‘n’ Cheese is a breeze for you? Then this is the next logical vegetarian step: dark caramelized onions in a ramekin with delicious melted cheese and creamy pasta. With every bite, you’re glad you’re no longer sixteen, because back then you probably didn’t have the patience to stir in that pan with fragrant sweet onions for half an hour…

Vegan gyros flatbreads
Do you, like our colleague Adeline, throw all caution to the wind when vegans come over for dinner to prove that you can cook not just anything but truly EVERYTHING, including plant-based? Or are you vegan yourself or simply choosing not to eat meat or dairy every day in a completely natural way? That’s becoming easier these days. And it certainly doesn’t have to be boring, as these wraps with well-seasoned gyros jackfruit and (coconut yogurt) tzatziki prove..

Mega loaded nachos
When you were twenty, you might have thrown a plate of tortilla chips with a few slices of cheese in the microwave in your student house and opened a jar of salsa on the side, and we think that’s quite something. With a bit more attention and time, you’ll be rewarded with the ultimate comfort food of these incredibly delicious nachos with smoky pork carnitas and fresh pico de gallo tomato sauce..

Homemade sambal with the dumplings
Dumplings are great; I always have a bag of frozen gyozas or other dim sum in the freezer as a quick steamable snack. But take the time to fold them yourself; it’s really fun, especially if you also make the sambal to go with it. This recipe for rendang dumplings with sambal is perfect, but making some jars of, for example, sambal oelek to give away is also a great idea. And very grown-up, in our eyes.

A really good pasta salad
You’ve probably been making pasta salad for years, but with a few handy tips, you can really elevate it from a wet, soggy mayo mess to a balanced, ideal picnic meal. Or just for the garden, now that we’re still going to social distance for a while. Nothing childish about it, such a richly filled bowl with, for example, tasted burrata, zucchini ribbons, olives, and anchovies.

Meat that requires a bit of effort
Mainly for bringing it home, because once in the pan, the oven often does most of the work if you want to make delicious braised meat. But suppose you want to make a pan of amazing slow-cooked short ribs then a trip to a good butcher is in order. From there, you can go in all sorts of directions; think of ragu, or tacos, or Korean kimchi short ribs… Yum!

A boozy cake
Feeling like making a clear distinction between you and the kids? Keep them sweet with a Oreo cheesecake while you indulge in the hard liquor cake. Why not! Tequila, condensed milk, limes, cookies – forty or not, you want to make this right away! Quickly get started with this recipe for Frozen Margarita cake.

And of course, a signature cocktail
We highly recommend that by the time you turn forty, you have claimed a house cocktail: among my friends, that’s gin and tonics and dark & stormy’s, with us you’ll always get a whiskey sour thrust into your hands. Oh my Lordy, look who’s forty… Well, with a cocktail in hand, we find everything just fine.