Blog – Making Ravioli
It’s Monday, the weekend is over, and then our days off begin. Those days are already fully planned – a visit to the sister, picking mushrooms, taking mother to the OLVG, oh yes and something with the children… and putting something on paper for Chabrol.
“Are you going to ‘mep’ on Wednesday (short for ‘prepare the mise-en-place)?” I ask Bass. We are closed on Thursday. We open extra evenings on Sunday and Monday, so we can basically enjoy our free time until Wednesday. “Starting on Thursday should be possible. But we’re changing the menu and I want to make that ravioli for the new dish…, so I’ll start on Wednesday.” Bas runs his schedule in his head.
“Fine, I’ll stay at home to take care of the kids and then go to Amsterdam with them in the evening– then you can join us for dinner”. We eat Chinese Fondue with my sister. I’ve done the shopping. Get everything ready there and when it is 6.45 pm, Bas also arrives.
“How did the ravioli turn out?” “They haven’t been made yet, but I did make a bunch of chocolates today! Fireball with tamarind! I got fresh tamarind at EFE (our AGF-supplier) and they only charged five euros! So then I went to the old Dutch candy store to get fireballs. There weren’t any, so I cycled to the Jamin on the other side of town. Back at the restaurant, it was already 1 pm. And I had to peel the tamarind first, then boil it, then put it through a sieve, then through a fine sieve, and it was such a thick gue, with all the seeds. What a crap job, it took a lot of time!”
“But the chocolates have turned out beautiful?” “Yes, super shiny and really spicy”. says Bas proudly. “They all got out from the mold?” I asked. “Yes, well at least almost all of them…”
“Great, so at least everyone gets chocolate with their coffee this weekend… And you still have time for the ravioli on Thursday.”
In the evening we eat pasta with homemade pesto, which the children love – especially after seeing the film Luca. For Bas and myself I prepare some nori, salmon, rice, cucumber, and avocado. And the mapo tofu from the day before. When the children are in full satisfaction lounging on the couch, Bas comes home – at the stroke of 7 pm.
“Have you made any progress?” “Yes, done a lot. Five kilos of Coco beans* peeled and boiled partly turned into cream and the rest preserved in jars. Baked buckwheat tarts and dry salty cookies. Cheese puffs prepared, goat cheese cream with truffle prepared and the meat vacuumed and cooked sous-vide. So really done a lot!” “And the ravioli are ready?” “Eh, not that one yet…, but I’ll start an hour earlier tomorrow”.
*Coco de Paimol are beautiful white seasonal beans in shell from Brittany, but we also name them after Coco, our new apprentice in the kitchen