Pannekoek ... do as you wish ...

While thinking about visits to the Netherlands and eating just a few things come to my mind like eating Loempias on the market of Enschede, Kibbeling on a different market somewhere else (can’t remember the place now) and then there are Pannekoeks. Just now I realise how many Dutch words we used back then in my childhood or how similar the daily spoken language was with Dutch. Or maybe it was all because my grandmother was Dutch. I don’t know. Anyway, as it’s time to contribute to my very own challenge Bloggers Around the World: The Netherlands, I reckon I have to do as previously announced and have Pannekoeks or pancakes. We once (at least) visited a Pannekoek house in the Netherlands to have some food. You could have all sorts of pancakes, sweet or savoury, as you wished.

Then there is also a place in Germany, in Bremen, a Pannekoek restaurant on a sailing ship on the water, not far from the city centre. The place is called Admiral Nelson. Anyway, we would have had pancakes … if it would not be closed on Mondays ...

Now there you could have all kinds of pancakes as you already see. They had also for example a Mexican style and an Indian style pancake on offer.

But we want to have our own. First of all, you go for your basic pancake batter:

One cup on flour, one cup of milk, an egg and a pinch of salt. If you want more batter, just multiply the amounts.

At the time I was having pannekoeks I was limited to what kind of ingredients I had at home. Here I used chorizo and cheese.

I just gave some batter into the hot and oiled pan. After a while I added the chorizo, cheese and a bit of dried oregano. You could put a lid on, if you like or later put the pancake quickly under the grill to get the cheese a bit more melting.

Well, all this was not much, but just imagine the possibilities, you could have a pancake topped in the same way you could top a pizza. So, go for a mushrooms or tuna version.

Fine, I just added the obligatory chilli sauce, just because I wanted to. No worries.

Or simply do a triple or quadruple or even quintuple cheese one. Use your imagination, this is the only limit you have here.

If you wish you could also put some kind of salad on top. Just now I am thinking about it, how good it would have been to put Parma ham and rocket leaves on it.

Then there is also always the option to go the sweet way, if you want to. I don’t want to today.

You can always try ... Chicken Apple Soup

Goedendag! Hoe gaat het met jou? Ik wil je graag uitnodigen. Wat zegt u?
What? You didn't understand a thing? Well, it doesn't matter, my Dutch isn't that good either, anymore. In fact it never has been, although it should ... or maybe not.
Anyway, I want to invite you to have a soup together with me, a chicken apple soup. I improvised this recipe after a friend told me, he had tried something like this after having something like this in the Netherlands. Let's have a try then.

It might be Dutch, but then again, it might not be. I haven't taken the time to try. Nevertheless we leave it that way.

Ingredients:
150 g chicken breast, cut in bite-sized chunks
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp minced ginger 
1 red bell pepper, cut into stripes
1 red chili, finely chopped
750 ml water
6 tbs apple compote
100 g pasta or rice (I had rice pasta ... he he he)
Salt for seasoning
1 spring onion, chopped in rings


Method:
First fry the chicken breast pieces from all sides and put aside.
Get yourself a sufficiently sized pot and gently fry the onion in oil. After a few minutes add the garlic and the ginger and let it go for a few more minutes.
Then it's the time for the bell pepper and the chili to make it's appearance on the cooking scene. Put them in the pot and proceed with the cooking for a few more minutes ... eh ... that is until the bell pepper has softened a bit.
Pour in the water and bring to the boil. After that reduce the heat and add the chicken, the apple compote and the rice pasta. Let it all simmer for about 15 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through.
Finally add the rings of the spring onions and turn off the heat ... ready to serve.

You can always try. Normally, maybe, you wouldn't put such things together, but you never know, if you don't try. It might be the case you discover some nice flavours.
Een fijne dag nog! Tot straks!