FavorFlav favorites: Marcus Polman’s picks
Marcus Polman, a FavorFlav’er from the very beginning, can still taste his mother’s balkenbrij, the old-fashioned ‘nose-to-tail’ dish that’s now completely en vogue. The dish is rich and traditional—and that’s exactly his favorite cooking style. Hence his love of Lyon, because oh man, can you eat wonderfully there! Want to see Marcus not beaming with pleasure for once? Put a piece of durian in front of him.
Always in the fridge
“A roll of butter with sea salt. The Normandy Beurre d’Isigny is highly recommended. Butter as butter was meant to be. This world-famous butter is now also widely available in the Netherlands (including online). Demi-sel is my favorite. It doesn’t splatter in the pan either, as supermarket butter does. Made from the milk and cream of grass-eating French cows living in the Isigny region. Oh man, so delicious! On a fresh baguette. The best way is to shave off a thin slice of butter (with a cheese slicer, don’t spread it!). Top with, for example, mature farmhouse cheese or good jam. Or perhaps just plain… only the crusty baguette with a slice of this divine butter.”
Favorite drink
“Coffee. Cappuccino. Made the right way. And the right ratio of espresso, steamed milk, and milk foam. With cow’s milk, please? So no oat, no almond, no soy, or other plant-based fake milk.”
Favorite family recipe
“Balkenbrij. My mother always made it. From memory, without a recipe. Basically, it’s nothing more than pork offal such as liver, head, and other less desirable parts of the pig. Mixed with (buckwheat) flour and stock, and seasoned with typical balkenbrij spices. You cut the set balkenbrij into thick slices. Fry until golden brown and crisp in a frying pan. Delicious on white bread with butter. My mother is no longer alive, but I can still taste her version whenever I think of it. When I’m at a good butcher’s, for example in the east of the country, and I see balkenbrij, I immediately buy a few packs. A wonderful retro dish that, as far as I’m concerned, should not be missing from the list of Intangible Culinary Heritage. And, amusingly enough, completely contemporary again, because of nose-to-tail cooking and no waste.”
Favorite ingredient
“Anchovies. I always keep a few jars of anchovy fillets in oil in stock. They make everything taste better. Salads, pasta, and sauces. Or on a plain Melba toast at drinks.”
Favorite hangover meal
“Classic: fried eggs with a whole lot of bacon and a whole lot of melted cheese. Crispy bacon and crunchy egg edges. So much cheese that you can barely see the egg anymore. With a spoonful of tasty sambal. Not too bad a hangover? Then in second place: eggs benedict, with lightly fried ham, a quick hollandaise sauce, and a muffin (for which I first walk to my baker with my hungover head).”
Guilty pleasure
“Peanut flips and cheese flips. Those brittle snacks with chemical flavorings. Cheetos. But there are also acceptable store-brand versions. I can easily finish an entire bag of them. Irresistible. And they always stick a little to your teeth and palate. That’s part of this indulgent eating experience. Peanut and cheese battle for first place as my favorite flavor, but if I really have to choose, peanut comes first.”
Favorite (budget) kitchen tool
“Not budget, but the very best tool: the potato ricer. A must-have for making delicious, velvety-smooth, creamy mashed potatoes.”
I always buy this ready-made
“Handmade ravioli from my Italian delicatessen. From the freezer. With every fantastic fresh filling imaginable. Five minutes in boiling water, a generous handful of Parmesan, and you have a feast fit for a king in no time after a day of work and little time to cook.”
If I could eat only one cuisine for the rest of my life
“Impossible question. But if I had a gun to my head: classic French Lyonnaise cuisine. Food like you eat in the famous bouchons, the authentic little restaurants with red-and-white checked tablecloths in Lyon. Pâtés made from poultry, veal, or fish. Vol-au-vent. The cuisine documented by French chef Stéphane Reynaud in his fantastic cookbooks.”
Never again
“Durian. The notorious stinky fruit from Asia. The smell is so overwhelmingly pungent and indescribably disgusting. To be honest, I didn’t dare eat it. Once in Singapore, I stood in front of a street stall, with tables full of Chinese people eating durian. I stood there with a piece in my hand, determined to have my first durian experience. But gagging, I couldn’t take the step toward a bite. As culinary hero Anthony Bourdain once aptly described it: ‘Your breath will smell as if you’d been French-kissing your dead grandmother’. I’ll pass.”
When I don’t feel like cooking
“Order Thai.”
The best cooking tip I’ve ever received
“Everyone knows you have to cook pasta in salted water. For me, it was a mind-blowing eye-opener to learn that you need to add so much salt to the boiling water that it should literally taste like the sea. So taste the water before adding your pasta.”
My last supper
“Steak tartare, with good fries and mayonnaise. And a nice glass of light Beaujolais from a good producer. Am I allowed dessert too? Then crema Catalana to finish.”
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