Unfortunately, eating out is not an option right now, so tasty recipes to make at home are more than welcome!
In order not to miss our favourite restaurants too much, we have teamed up with a number of great restaurants and food bloggers from Rotterdam. They will share their tastiest recipes with us, especially for you! This means the healthiest juices, tasty avocado toast, cocktails from the best bar in Rotterdam and more! Maybe this is the time to discover your hidden talent for cooking?
Table of Contents
Recreate the popular Avo Smash from Breakfast in Rotterdam HQ
The girls at Breakfast in Rotterdam HQ share the secret recipe of their popular avocado toast, also called The Avo Smash. Follow their instructions step by step and you are assured of a healthy and tasty dish, simply made in your own kitchen!
Ingredients
- 1/2 avocado (ready to eat)
- 1 slice of bread
- 1/2 teaspoon of chili flakes
- 2x 1/8 lemon
- Pepper
- Salt
- Extra: soft boiled egg
- Top it off with some pomegranate seeds or anything else you prefer!
Directions
First of all: get your hands on a ripe avocado! Important, because we want it nice and creamy and green. Remove the pit and skin of the avocado and pour the contents into a bowl. Sprinkle with the chili flakes and salt & pepper. Then you sprinkle the mixture with lemon juice and you can start mashing.
In the meantime, toast a slice of bread and cook your egg for 5.5 minutes.
For extra flavour, add some chili flakes and lemon juice. Spread the avocado puree over your toast and let the egg sit on it. And voilà, your own Avo Smash is ready to be eaten!
Create your own Sappi
Sappi and healthy juices are inextricably linked. In addition to their juice bar at Beurs, they have also opened a new location in Noord, making scoring yourself a juice even easier. But until they open again, we have to get creative!
To ensure that you can give your immune system a good boost with a real Sappi, below we share what you need to create two of their juices.
Would you rather leave it to Sappi? That is also possible! In the Sappi webshop you can order their vitamin C box with a €5 discount. This box contains 10 juices and 5 shots.
Happy Sappi
To make the Happy Sappi yourself you need:
- Yellow bell pepper
- Carrot
- Lemon
- Green apple
Put the ingredients in the juicer and you’re ready to go. This juice is full of vitamin C, important minerals and antioxidants.
Natural Sappi
To make the Natural Sappi yourself you need:
- Fennel
- Turmeric
- Lemon
- Ginger
- Apple
In addition to the vitamin C (that is currently very much needed), the ingredients of the Natural Sappi help against inflammation, nausea and help cleanse the body. Healthy and tasty, exactly what we need! Just put the ingredients in the juicer and it is ready to drink :).
Get started with a Yoghurt Barn special
Treating yourself on a delicious yogurt at Yoghurt Barn is unfortunately not an option right now. But luckily, they come to the rescue! Because with a little practice and the right ingredients, we are sure that you can create a tasty special yourself at home.
Below Yoghurt Barn shares their recipe for the Crazy Cookie with us, with the main ingredients kiwi (vitamin C!) And Bastogne cookies!
Ingredients
- 1 kiwi
- Organic yogurt or another yogurt of your choice
- Optional: honey
- 1 tablespoon of cinnamon sugar. Don’t have this at home? Use regular sugar and add a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon!
- Crunched Bastogne biscuits
Directions
Let’s start; it’s super simple! Just like with Yoghurt Barn, it looks nice to stack the ingredients in a glass container. Start with the kiwis on the bottom and then spoon the yogurt on the kiwis. After this you simply top the yogurt with honey, cinnamon sugar and the Bastogne biscuits.
Would you rather use other biscuits? Experimenting with the recipe is always fun, because who knows, you might come up with a brand new special yourself!
What is Yoghurt Barn doing right now?
Despite the fact that Yoghurt Barn is now closed, they don’t sit still. They have come up with some great initiatives that we would like to highlight:
‘Gift for on the mat’
Is there someone who deserves something to look forward to in his or her agenda? Surprise that person with a ‘Gift on the mat’. You can order it very easily via the Yoghurt Barn website. That way you give someone a wonderful gift and you have something to look forward to together.
Project ‘In the spotlight’
For a lot of us, it is now a difficult period and we can use a little bit of light in our lives. For this reason, Yoghurt Barn started the project ‘In the spotlight’.
Do you know someone who now needs extra attention or just a nice gesture to brighten their day? Send Yoghurt Barn a nice photo + short story about the person on Instagram, and they will do the rest :).
#bakkenmetdebarn (meaning: baking with the barn)
Even though they are closed, Yoghurt Barn continues to inspire with and around yoghurt! How do they do that? With their project #bakkenmetdebarn they challenge you to dive into the kitchen yourself and work with them on the recipes from their book: YOGHURT. Also nice: if you participate, you can win the book! Check out their Instagram Stories for all the info!
Shake your cocktails like Dr. Rotterdam
Because Rotterdam’s nightlife is at a loss, we have to be creative. Because you know what? You can also have a party at home! To do this, we join forces with arguably the best cocktail bar in town, Dr. Rotterdam! Below, bartender Chi-Ho shares how to make the classics.
Looking for even more cocktail recipes? Read our article with different cocktail recipes by Rotterdam bartenders here!
Create the classic Negroni like Dr.
This hearty, bittersweet classic is an easy and tasty cocktail to make. Three components mixed in three equal parts. For a normal serve you can go for 25 ml of any product, but this can be increased (or decreased) as long as the ratio remains the same. For gin there is a wide choice and for vermouth he likes to go for Cocchi di Torino or Martini Riserva Rubino.
Ingredients
- 25 ml gin
- 25 ml sweet red vermouth
- 25 ml Campari
Directions
- Pour all ingredients into a tumbler filled with plenty of ice
- Stir this for about 20 seconds (stir gently)
- Garnish with the zest of an orange
Shake a Daiquiri like they do at Calaboose
Chi-Ho is the creator of the cocktails for both Dr. and Calaboose. While at Dr. you’ll find more classic and complex cocktails on the menu, Calaboose is the place for cocktails with an Indonesian touch. To keep it fresh and fruity, he shares the recipe for the perfect Daiquiri.
A refreshing classic cocktail, simple but delicious when it is balanced with a nice rum. Chi-Ho works in milliliters. Do you prefer to work in parts? Then keep 4: 2: 1; four parts rum, two parts lime and one part sugar syrup. Use a nice white rum for this, or play with your favorite rum. He prefers Don Q or Banks 5.
Ingredients
- 50 ml rum
- 25 ml freshly squeezed lime juice
- 15 ml sugar syrup (homemade: 2 parts sugar to 1 part water, heat and dissolve. Or take two bar-/teaspoons of sugar and stir with the lime juice)
Directions
- Shake all ingredients in a shaker full of ice
- Strain it into a martini glass or coupe
- Garnish with a wedge of lime if desired
The favorite of many: the Gin & Tonic
Simple, but so delicious. To make this the proper way, Chi-Ho explains what makes a G&T a success.
A lot of ice is important for a cold and fresh drink, which also stays cold for as long as possible and will dilute slowly. Choose your favorite gin or flavor profile. “We have a preference for Bombay Sapphire, Rutte, Hendricks, Nolet’s, Bobby’s or Loopuyt. These are all beautiful gins, with a range of different flavor profiles. In addition, we of course like to work a lot with local distilleries!”, Says Chi-Ho.
For tonic, they recommend a premium version, such as Fever-Tree. For the right ratio, aim for 1 part spirit on 3 parts mixer.
The garnish depends on the gin. Check out what the Gin brand recommends for the perfect serve, or look at the botanicals and flavors in the gin, then try to accent or complement them.
Ingredients
- Gin (Bombay Sapphire, Rutte, Hendrick’s, Nolet’s, Bobby’s of Loopuyt)
- Tonic (Fever-Tree)
Directions
- Take a long drink or balloon glass and fill it well with ice cubes
- Pour in 50 ml gin (or more or less is also possible)
- Top it off with about 150 ml of premium tonic (in the right proportion)
- Top it off with an appropriate garnish
You can simply order the products for the drinks at Barrelproof Boutique, so you don’t have to leave the house :). We do want to add: drink in moderation; your health is now most important! Don’t forget to share your creations with us via #WeekendsinRotterdam!
Create the simple vegetarian dishes of @veggiereceptjes
Do you already know Marjolein from @veggiereceptjes? On her Instagram she shares delicious vegetarian dishes, which are also great to look at. To make cooking fun, we share two of her dishes that are ideal for dinner. Be sure to let us know if you tried them at home!
Make the super simple vegetarian gnocchi of @veggiereceptjes
(with pesto, spinach & blue cheese – for 2/3 persons)
First of all a tip from Marjolein: “do you think,” yuck – I don’t like blue cheese “? Then just leave it out of the recipe, or replace it with another delicious cheese such as goat cheese or ricotta!”
Ingredients
- 400 / 500 gr gnocchi
- 250 g of spinach
- 60 g blue cheese
- 2 tbsp (homemade) pesto
- 2 shallots
- 200 g crème fraiche
- Optional: cherry tomatoes
Ingredients homemade pesto
Got some more time on your hands? Try making a pesto yourself! Not the case? Pesto straight from the supermarket is of course also possible.
- Fresh basil (as much as you like, but aim for 20 g)
- 20 g pine nuts
- 1 clove of garlic
- 20 g of parmesan cheese
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Pinch of salt and pepper
Directions
- Cook the gnocchi as described on the package in boiling water for 3 minutes. After draining, fry them in a pan with some oil; they will get a delicious crispy crust!
- For the pesto, grate the Parmesan cheese and cut the garlic. Then add these ingredients + the pine nuts and basil in the food processor with 3 tablespoons of oil. If you don’t have these or find this too much work, ready-made pesto works great too!
- In another frying pan, fry the shallots. Then add the crème fraiche, 2 tablespoons of pesto and the blue cheese. Gradually add hands of spinach that shrink in the sauce. Keep 50 g of the spinach.
- Mix the gnocchi, the fresh spinach and the sauce together and it’s done! Garnish with some fresh basil and possibly cherry tomatoes and you’ll be ready in no time!
Tip: when the gnocchi runs out, for example due to crowds in the supermarket, you can of course also add a different type of pasta to this sauce!
Aubergine from the oven with mint & garlic yogurt of @veggiereceptjes
Aubergines, garlic and lots of herbs: that sounds like a delicious meal! Easy to make and perfect for two persons. Below Marjolein shares her recipe with us:
Ingredients
- 2 aubergines
- 3 tablespoons of oil
- 10 mint leaves
- 150 gr Greek yogurt
- 1 garlic clove
- Almonds
- Sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon of chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon of thyme
- Pepper
- Salt
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
- Cut the aubergines in half and make a pattern of squares with a knife in the aubergines, while the skin of the aubergines remains intact.
- Make a seasoning oil from 1 tablespoon of olive oil, thyme, pepper, salt, red chili flakes. Then spread this over the aubergines and place them in the oven for 40 min.
- Mix the yogurt and chopped garlic and add some salt and pepper.
- Remove the aubergines from the oven and brush with 1 tablespoon of garlic yogurt.
- Mix 2 tablespoons of oil with the chopped mint leaves into a thick mint oil and put 1 teaspoon of this oil on the yogurt.
- Garnish the aubergines with the almonds and sesame seeds and possibly some chili flakes!
Enjoy your meal!
Which recipe(s) are you going to try? Share your creations with us on Instagram via #WeekendsinRotterdam, so that we and the creators can see what you make of it :).
