Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
The dress code was a “touch of green” and not without reason. This time we were warmly welcomed in a green piece of paradise in Rotterdam, near Parkheuvel. We came together to get a preview of the festivities of March 17, which is St Patrick's Day. The holiday of the Irish that is widely celebrated nationally but also internationally. It is the festival of fraternization and connection, which is once again not always self-evident in these times. For the occasion, the two Michelin star restaurant of Erik van Loo and his son Juliën van Loo was transformed into an “Irish Beef lab”. With a select group of press we jointly celebrated a Two Star St Patrick's Day.
Classics in a new jacket
As a challenge for this event, a number of food bloggers, including myself, were asked to submit a recipe. Juliën van Loo would then take parts from the various recipes and then make a star-worthy dish with them. (My entry was a classic, a Irish Stew with soda bread.) Leave it to the professionals to get that done! All parts of the various recipes were already prepared and together with Julien in the kitchen we were given an explanation of his choices.
Followed by a live mini masterclass by Erik van Loo. The latter has been a member of the Chef's Irish beef Club for years and prefers to cook with Irish beef. The cows are 100% grass-fed and are often outside for much longer due to the mild climate. It is a piece of quality that this Chef likes to cook with.
The perfectly cooked piece of Irish beef
A frequently asked question to star chefs like this is what they like to eat. More than once I have heard “citron” as an answer, and so has Erik. That meat is often stewed and needs a longer preparation time, so the masterclass focused on preparing a tournedos. As Erik explained: “turning!”. We got some very nice tips that I'm going to share with you here, so take advantage of them!
top tips:
- To start with: a good piece of meat! Irish beef is of course preferred.
- Heat your pan well, pour in some sunflower oil, and if it starts to smoke, that's okay. (turn on your extractor hood)
- Do not be too stingy with salt and pepper, and preferably coarse salt so that you can dose properly.
- Sear in the pan, then turn the meat each time!
- When the meat is nicely seared on all sides, add butter and lower the heat so that the butter does not burn.
- Check the doneness of the meat, if you push in with your finger and it springs back then you are good. And that 100% well-done meat, you just shouldn't do that… that's a real shame.
Then let your meat rest for a while before serving. Van Loo is known as a sauce man. He has already written cookie books about it and he considers it an essential part of the meal. After the tournedos were baked, he made a perfect meat gravy in no time. How? Deglaze the fat from the pan with some red wine, a little butter and reduced veal gravy. Luckily I already have a good recipe for you on my website. And as the Chef himself said: make sure you always have a stock of it in your freezer! Just use ice cube bags and you'll be master of your kitchen! All of these tips, of course, contributed to a perfect Two Star St Patricksday.
Star dishes that were served:
Eating together, that was also the message of the Irish ambassador Brendan Rogers, who has taken over from Kevin Kelly. At the table he emphasized that the bond between the Netherlands and Ireland is very strong and that he is also very curious about Dutch cuisine.
Together we ate some very nice dishes such as Irish oysters with Whiskey and caviar, Irish beef steak with sour meat bitterbal and a tiramisu with Baileys for dessert. And so, after a few pleasant hours, this Two Star St Patricksday came to an end! As the Irish say themselves “join the party, and be Irish for a day”!
Inspired by what you've read? Then here are some great suggestions for real Irish recipes and Irish blogs:
Irish beef stew with neck steaks and pumpkin.
Read this nice blog about the stew festival in Amsterdam
I cooked with Erik before, we made this “Succa de Boca”, a fine citron stew.
Make a delicious and easy Irish soda bread!
Delicious Happen is a multi-media company, so you can also find me on various social media. follow me on Facebook, 📌 Pinterest: en Instagram under @delicioushappen. If you make this recipe I would love it if you tagged me #delicioushappen. A comment below in the comments is also nice of course!
Looks cozy!