Piccalilly or Belgian pickles
Piccalilli (also called pickles in Belgium) is a pickled mixture of vegetables, such as gherkins, silver onions, cauliflower, carrots or celeriac. The acid used is a mixture of vinegar and mustard, which gives it a fresh taste.
Piccalilli is originally an English product, which is eaten with beans and stews, but also on bread. It is also used as French fries sauce. The bright yellow color usually comes from turmeric root.
In Belgium, ready-to-eat pickles in glass jars were introduced around 1886 by Devos Lemmens. Source: Wikipedia
Xavier Van Hecke
Chef Xavier Van Hecke describes his kitchen as a fairly classic kitchen with which variants of vegetarian dishes are prepared. It processes 70% vegetables and 30% fish or meat. He works very closely with his greengrocer.
He also obtains the other products locally within a maximum radius of 50 km, with the exception of the fish he searches for in the rivers or in the North Sea as far as Denmark.
Chef Xavier Van Hecke gets his inspiration mainly from classic cuisine. He has his own version of chicory with ham and cheese in the oven. He replaces the ham with finely chopped pumpkin in which he turns the chicory and instead of a bechamel sauce he makes an espuma of bechamel over which he sprinkles abbey cheese. Source: The Mastercooks of Belgium
Carrots with 'Belgian pickles' and kale foam
Print RecipeIngredients
- 4 orange carrots
- 3 yellow carrots
- 1 purple carrot
- 1 kale
- 200gr butter
- 1 bunch of thyme
- 100gr ginger
- 1 bunch of parsley
- 1 bunch coriander
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons Belgian pickles
- 10cl olive oil
- some lemon zest
- a few leaves of coriander and sorrel
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 195°C. (383°F)
2. Roast the orange carrots in aluminum foil with thyme, ginger, garlic, pepper and salt for 40 minutes.
3. Then make a cream from the roasted carrots.
4. Cut the purple carrot into super fine slices and poach them until al dente.
5. Also poach the yellow carrots until they are al dente. Blend them into a smooth cream in the blender and mix in the pickles.
6. Mix the parsley, coriander, olive oil and lemon zest.
7. Juice the kale in a juicer. Bring the juice to a boil. Add the butter like for a ‘beurre blanc’ and froth with a mixer.
8. Pipe the orange and yellow carrot creams onto the plate.
9. Divide the purple carrots over it.
10. Spoon in some of the airy kale foam.
11. Finish with some coriander leaves and sorrel.
