Christmas in the Daalsebuurt, Utrecht, with the best ingredients around the corner

Christmas: some people love it, others think it's all a bit of a circus. For many it can also be a rather lonely time. Last year we were in Spain. Gé and Lindy live partly in Spain. We had put up the Christmas tree. In Utrecht, that was always the starting signal for lots of lavish Christmas dinners. A big dining table and a big kitchen: that really was the heart of the home. But in Spain we didn't have many friends yet. It felt really strange. Starting over… We did know people. But, well, are they entirely your cup of tea?

Contents

• Cooking is life: I love cooking
• Choosing a theme for your Christmas dinner
• Shopping list: where to get what?
• Eating out in the neighbourhood
• You'll find everything on the Amsterdamsestraatweg
• Christmas in a new home next year?

A new home, a new place. It often calls for new traditions. This year is already different. The tree is up and we're hosting fun little dinners. That's really how I unwind. The food in Spain is good. But I really do miss all the ingredients and the different shops on the Amsterdamsestraatweg. When I'm in the Netherlands, it's so nice to pop into all these little places. A few years ago I wrote a blog with Christmas recipes. Everyone loved it so much that I thought: let's do it again this year.

Cooking is life: I love cooking

However small the kitchen, I love to cook on a grand scale. On our boat the kitchen was less than a metre wide, and still I invited people over for a complete 5-course dinner. In Utrecht it's no different. When we were renovating the office, I knew one thing for certain. There had to be a big kitchen. Where clients could come for drinks, where we could have lunch together and where everyone felt welcome. In our old house we had a huge kitchen. In Spain we had a small closed kitchen, which was immediately converted into a bigger open-plan kitchen.

On our third date, Gé and I went to Hanos (the catering wholesaler). My friends still laugh about it, but to me it says everything. The kitchen is where it all happens. Our sofa still looks almost new, because hardly anyone ever sits on it. The dining table, on the other hand, is the heart of the home.

When we moved to the Bremstraat, I was genuinely surprised. What lovely, varied shops there are on the Amsterdamsestraatweg. Everything you need for a good dinner is right here within reach. Even ingredients you'd normally only come across in an Ottolenghi cookbook, you can simply find here around the corner. Honestly, it made me so happy. And at the same time I wondered: how come I didn't know this sooner?

Want to make a Christmas dinner with a beautifully laid table, good wine and flavourful ingredients? Then you really don't need to leave the Amsterdamsestraatweg. That's why I've put together a complete Christmas dinner, with recipes and products you can buy right here.

Choosing a theme for your Christmas dinner

Do you know Pien laat haar eten zien? I absolutely love all her recipes. And especially her table styling. I also think Foodies in heels and Kirkoot are really fantastic. So I'd find it amazing if a shop like that opened on the Amsterdamsestraatweg, selling this kind of cookware.

At Christmas, Grandma's beautiful dinner service usually comes out at ours. With every move I wonder all over again why I have so much cookware. But honestly, I LOVE IT.

When you host a dinner, it's fun to choose a theme. I always really enjoy working with vintage items. Wawollie is a nice place to look. For example for pretty little glasses for dessert, lovely silver-coloured serving dishes or beautiful candlesticks. I also always love beautiful carafes. Pit Conceptstore & Cadeaus en Meer are also guaranteed to have lovely things to dress your table. And yes, really I mainly want to recommend the local shops. But I often find what I need at Action & Hema too. In Spain I genuinely miss Hema's lovely affordable dinner candles.

DIY for the table

• Menu cards: cut out sturdy cards, write the courses on them and tie them to a sprig of greenery with a ribbon. You can also use chalkboard paint on old wooden boards and write the menu on them in chalk.
• Mixing old and new: we ourselves have very cheap tableware from Ikea, but if you combine it with beautiful vintage plates and bowls it looks super chic. A cool vase also works perfectly well as a wine cooler. It's nice to have glass carafes. Don't have any? An old wine bottle works perfectly well as a carafe too. It's fun to remove the label and decorate the bottle with a chalk pen.
• Decoration: It's lovely to pick up eucalyptus branches from Florza; candles of different heights and a few old baubles add warmth. Another nice touch is to dry orange slices and scatter them in between. A small battery-powered string of lights adds extra atmosphere. If you've chosen a theme, you can also style your table to match it. Flowers always go down well. You can put pretty little flowers in small bottles (for example Crodino or coffee-creamer bottles). They don't all need to be the same size.

1. Aperitif – gluten-free bread, Monchou mousse, hummus and oeuf mayonnaise

Nothing beats warm, fresh bread with dips. But honestly, nothing makes me happier than a well-filled egg. I love the eggs at Seasalt Saloon and at Madeleine. Not in our neighbourhood. But fantastic all the same. Maybe an idea for the Hondekop and Moos to put this on the menu 😉 You bake your own gluten-free bread with seeds, kernels and psyllium fibre from Eko Plaza. You serve it with two dips: a soft Monchou mousse with dates and spring onion, and a hummus with pomegranate seeds. As a small amuse-bouche you make an egg with mayonnaise and Japanese furikake (a seasoning with nori, sesame and wasabi) from the toko (Asian grocery). The combinations are simple and flavourful, and as international as the Amsterdamsestraatweg itself.

Ingredients (serves 4)

Bread

• 175 g rolled oats (Eko Plaza or Albert Heijn)
• 150 g mixed seeds, kernels & nuts (such as sunflower, pumpkin, pine nuts, sesame seeds, walnuts, pecans – Eko Plaza or Tanger Markt)
• 25 grams psyllium fibre (Eko Plaza)
• 7 g dried yeast (I sometimes use baking powder instead)
• 300 ml lukewarm water
• 100 grams olives (Rigakis)
• 1 tbsp olive oil (or sesame oil) (Rigakis)
• Pinch of salt (I like that coarse sea salt)

Monchou mousse

• 200 g cream cheese (Monchou) (Albert Heijn)
• 4 pitted Medjool dates (Tanger Markt)
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped (Eko Plaza)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Salt and pepper

Hummus with pomegranate

• 100 g chickpeas (supermarket or Amazing Oriental)
• 2 tsp tahini (supermarket or Amazing Oriental)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic
• coriander, finely chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil
• pomegranate seeds

Oeuf mayonnaise

• 6 eggs (Eko Plaza or supermarket)
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 150 ml sunflower oil
• 1 tsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• Pinch of salt
• Furikake (Japanese seasoning mix with nori, sesame and wasabi – Amazing Oriental)

Method

1. Baking the bread: In a bowl, mix the oats, seeds, kernels, psyllium, yeast and salt. Stir in the water, honey and oil to make a batter. Leave for 10 minutes so the psyllium fibre can bind. Pour the batter into a greased loaf tin and leave to rise for 30 minutes. Bake the bread for 60 minutes at 180 °C. Leave to cool in the oven and cut into thick slices. You can also make it in the air fryer. In that case I knead it into a ball and bake it for 45 minutes on the bake setting.
2. Monchou mousse: Blend the cream cheese with the dates, spring onion and lemon juice in a blender until you have a smooth mousse. Season with salt and pepper. Keep chilled until needed. Whip it up and serve in a pretty coupe.
3. Mayonnaise: Make sure the bowl is grease-free. For the mayonnaise, whisk the egg yolk, mustard, vinegar and ginger in a bowl. Add the oil drop by drop and keep whisking until a thick mayonnaise forms. Season with vinegar and salt. Boil the eggs for 8 minutes, plunge into cold water and peel. Halve the eggs, spoon mayonnaise on top and sprinkle with furikake.
4. Hummus: soak the chickpeas in water overnight (if you're lazy, as I often am, buy a tin of chickpeas), then mix the chickpeas, paprika, cumin seeds, garlic, tahini, coriander, olive oil and lemon. Blend until smooth. Top with pomegranate seeds and the coriander.
5. Serve the sliced bread with the Monchou mousse and hummus on a nice board (they sell really beautiful serving boards at Cadeaus&Meer, or of course our own Domplank); the hummus and the mousse look lovely served in a champagne coupe or a pretty little bowl. The eggs can go on a small dish.

This little aperitif looks festive and yet is really easy to prepare. The psyllium gives the bread a lovely texture and the dates make the mousse lightly sweet. Feeling lazy? The sourdough bread from De Bakkert is heavenly too.

3. Soup – fennel and leek soup with pancetta and goat's cheese

A steaming bowl of soup belongs at Christmas. This soup is creamy and fragrant, with a crispy topping of pancetta and soft goat's cheese. The dish is inspired by the leek dishes of Pien laat je eten zien, but here we turn the leek into a soup.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2 fennel bulbs, in pieces (Eko Plaza)
• 4 leeks, in rings (Eko Plaza)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock (Albert Heijn)
• 100 ml cooking cream
• 100 g pancetta or bacon, diced (Slagerij van Es)
• 100 g soft goat's cheese (or real Greek yoghurt) (Rigakis or Albert Heijn)
• Olive oil, salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a soup pan and gently fry the onion and garlic. Add the fennel and leek and cook for 5 minutes until soft.
2. Add the stock and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Blend the soup with a stick blender until smooth. Stir in the cream and season with salt and pepper.
3. Meanwhile, fry the pancetta in a frying pan until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.
4. Divide the soup between bowls, crumble the goat's cheese on top and sprinkle with the pancetta. Serve with a piece of the gluten-free bread from the amuse-bouche.

4. Main course – roast chicken with pistachio pesto and beer gravy

Turkey is, of course, really Christmassy. But when I make it, it always ends up dry. It's awkward to eat and I just want my own piece on my plate, without having to divide everything up. The chicken is rubbed with a pistachio pesto and cooked in the oven with beer (you can use a gluten-free beer (EkoPlaza, Familie van Rijk or Buurtbier), so the skin turns crispy and the gravy gets a malty flavour.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 500 grams free-range chicken thighs from Slagerij van Es
• 1 bottle of blonde beer (for example Buurtbier 0.0 for an alcohol-free version, or gluten-free beer)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 lemon, in wedges
• Bunch of thyme
• 1 kg potatoes or parsnips, in pieces (Eko Plaza)
• 500 g winter carrots or pumpkin, in pieces (Tanger Markt or Albert Heijn)

Pistachio pesto

• 75 g pistachios (Ekoplaza)
• 1 bunch of basil
• 50 grams rocket
• 50 g Parmesan cheese
• 1 clove garlic
• 100 ml olive oil (Rigakis)
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Pistachio pesto: grind the pistachios, basil, rocket, Parmesan and garlic in a food processor. Slowly add the olive oil until a thick pesto forms. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Preheat the oven to 190 °C. Generously coat the chicken inside and out with the pistachio pesto. Place the lemon wedges, garlic cloves and thyme in the dish. Put the chicken in an ovenproof dish and pour the beer around it.
3. Arrange the potatoes and carrots around the chicken. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Put the dish in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Brush the chicken with pesto once more halfway through and turn the vegetables.
4. Take the chicken out of the oven and leave it to rest for 10 minutes under aluminium foil. Spoon the juices from the dish and serve them separately. Divide up the chicken and serve with the roasted vegetables and the beer gravy.

This chicken is juicy and full of flavour thanks to the combination of nutty pesto and beer. Serve with a fresh fennel and orange salad if you like.

5. Dessert – mini pavlovas with red fruit and pistachio

This dessert is inspired by Lynn van der Vorst's mini pavlovas. You can make the pavlovas in advance and finish them just before serving.

Ingredients (12 small pavlovas)

• 6 egg whites (Eko Plaza)
• 300 grams caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornflour
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 250 ml whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 125 grams raspberries and 125 grams redcurrants (Eko Plaza)
• 50 grams pistachios, roughly chopped (Ekoplaza)
• Grated dark chocolate (optional, from Familie van Rijk)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 100 °C (fan) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Whisk the egg whites until stiff in a grease-free bowl. Gradually add the caster sugar and whisk until the meringue is glossy. Fold in the cornflour, vinegar and vanilla.
3. Spoon 12 mounds of meringue onto the baking tray and make a small hollow in each. Bake in the oven for 90 minutes. Then switch off the oven and let the pavlovas cool completely with the door ajar.
4. Just before serving, whip the cream with the icing sugar until it holds soft peaks. Spoon the cream into the hollows of the pavlovas.
5. Scatter the red fruit over the top, then sprinkle with the pistachios and, if you like, some grated dark chocolate.

Serve the pavlovas on an old cake stand – maybe one you still have from your grandmother. This dessert looks festive and is surprisingly light after a rich dinner.

Shopping list: where to get what?

We like to say exactly where our ingredients and things come from. Below you'll find a handy overview by shop:

Eating out in the neighbourhood

Don't feel like cooking, or want to find some inspiration away from home over the Christmas holidays? On the Amsterdamsestraatweg and in the surrounding streets there are all kinds of restaurants you can go to.

MOOS – on Christmas Eve you can dine out at Moos. They've put together an extensive menu for you.

Oli Mazi – still has places available for Christmas dinner. We've written about this restaurant before. This is Greek fine dining. Super friendly people and really delicious food.

’t Dikkertje – this Greek restaurant also welcomes you for a Greek Christmas. Honestly, we love this restaurant and have written about it before.

You'll find everything on the Amsterdamsestraatweg

From presents to a Christmas outfit. From international ingredients and tableware to cheap baubles. For the tastiest wine, nibbles for your drinks board (truffle crisps, dips, hams, cheese and spreads) and 0.0 drinks, you head to Familie van Rijk, of course. While you're at it, pick up some delicious baklava at Sultan. Get advice on beer pairings at Buurtbier.nl. And above all, don't let it stress you out. Enjoy Christmas. Here's a top tip. Not a fan of cooking? At Amazing Oriental (you can see my favourites on our Insta) you'll find amazing, almost ready-made ingredients. If I'm tired and I have people coming over to eat, chances are I've picked up some tasty things there. Little effort, big result.

Christmas in a new home next year?

Do you dream of a home near the Amsterdamsestraatweg, so that next year you can pick up the tastiest ingredients within walking distance? We get it! We're happy to help you search for a home. Or keep an eye on our listings. Want to sell your home and looking for a creative estate agent? We'd love to help. Because what do you dream of? If you could really dream and choose? Where will your Christmas tree be standing next year? And will you go for an open-plan kitchen? A big dining table? Or would you rather join someone else at their table? Whatever your dream is, we'd love to search for your dream home together.