Chef’s (not so) favorites with Marjolijn Rosendaal: “Chicken feet. Without bones, as if it were a little sock… Brrrr.”
That grilling isn’t just for men is proven by Marjolijn Rosendaal and Anya van de Wetering with their new cookbook: Grilled & Roasted. In it, these grill mistresses show, among other things, how to prepare a chicken bacootje on the barbecue – one of our favorite dishes this summer. Marjolijn tells us about her favorite dish in the book, and about what’s never again. “Chicken feet. Without bones, as if it were a little sock…. Brrrr.”
Always in the fridge:
“Eggs, mustard and a splash of white wine: in three seconds, you can make a delicious mayo or aioli with a stick blender and some sunflower or olive oil.”
Favorite drink:
“Bubbles! An ice-cold cava or Italian spumante. And then add homemade elderberry or jasmine syrup!”
The recipe that always works:
“In summer, a tagine of chicken thighs, aubergine, sweet potato, ginger, lemon and red onion. It goes in the oven for an hour and a half, and you don’t have to keep an eye on it.”
Favorite ingredient:
“Chili flakes in a grinder to spice things up, and cardamom to give pies and cakes that little extra.”
Favorite hangover food:
“Fresh herring, two pieces please!”
Guilty pleasure:
“Ridge-cut crisps, old-school plain with salt.”
Favorite dish from the book Grilled & Roasted:
“The ribs on page 170.”
Favorite (budget) kitchen tool:
“Satay skewers! You can use them to test whether a cake is done, and skewer elegant amounts of vegetables and meat on them for grilling.”
Favorite cooking music:
“See my (first cookbook with its own playlist) Grilled & Roasted-Spotify playlist”:
“And of course my all-time favorite: The Hustle by Van McCoy.”
I always buy this ready-made:
“Almost nothing anymore, because I’ve discovered that you can make everything yourself. Whether it’s ketchup or Bounty.”
Best supermarket product:
“Rosewater. I put it in an empty perfume atomizer and use it to spray rosewater mist over grilled fruit or a chicken thigh.”
If I could eat food from just one cuisine for the rest of my life:
“Lebanese.”
Strangest dish I’ve ever eaten:
“Once, I ordered chicken feet at a Cantonese/Chinese restaurant on the Zeedijk in Amsterdam. I got chicken feet! Without bones, as if it were a little sock…. Brrrr, I didn’t eat them; my dining companions were a little braver.”
Favorite restaurant:
“Restaurant Nour, recommended on my favorite food blog Mooncake. A grill restaurant in Amsterdam-East where they even make the flatbread themselves and bake it in a round oven (tandoor). Dishes from Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and India/Pakistan, so the cuisine of Mesopotamia. Order a hearty skewer there, such as kebab.”
Favorite bar:
“Hotel bars remain my favorite! Because everyone you meet there eventually turns out to be passing through. Just as is often the case in real life.”
Never again:
“Soft drinks, because you can easily make your own syrups and dilute them with sparkling water.“
When I don’t feel like cooking:
“Then I’ll get something.”
Favorite food film:
“The film The Cook, the Thief, his Wife & her Lover by Peter Greenaway. I do like a little ‘touch’ of drama at the table.”
The best tip I’ve ever received
“Obvious, but still: taste frequently as you go.”
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