Food is huge reason why people travel, but what can they do if they have a craving for the luscious combination of flatbread, sour cream, melted onions and chunks of crispy, fatty bacon of a classic Alsatian Tarte Flambee and you can’t get to Alsace? Or the sweet and chewy indulgence of a Stroopwafel cookie, found all over Amsterdam? Luckily, these dishes were among all of the wonderful, regional dishes that chef and culinary personality Joanne Weir enjoyed traveling aboard AmaWaterways luxury river cruise.
As seen on PBS, Joanne enjoyed eating all of these dishes during her trip on the AmaKristina down the “Enchanting Rhine” – in case you missed it, you can look for more episodes of her exciting travel and cooking show, “Joanne Weir’s Plates & Plates.” And there is always the option of just booking this getaway and eating all of these local and regional specialties (soft and salty pretzels with mustard and choucroute (pork and sauerkraut) among the highlights) on an AmaWaterways cruise. In addition to the “Enchanting Rhine,” there are so many sailings that take food and wine lovers to some of the most celebrated culinary and viticultural destinations in the world… including Paris, Normandy, Porto, Lyon, Vienna and many more. We thank Joanne for sharing a few of these favorite recipes with us for you to make in your own home.
Recipes
STROOPWAFEL COOKIES
3 large eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups Pastry Flour Blend or King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, brown sugar and salt.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon and baking powder. Stir these dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Fold in the vanilla and melted butter with a rubber spatula. The batter will be thick and gooey.
Heat a min-pizelle iron for 15 minutes. Coat with vegetable shortening and place a medium ice cream scoop full of batter onto the pizelle iron. Close iron and cook for 30-40 seconds. Lift iron and remove cookies with tongs. Place cookies on a wire rack. Continue to cook cookies, coating the iron with shortening as needed.
Cool cookies on wire racks. Place a scoop of slightly softend Burnt Caramel Ice Cream in the center of one waffle, top with another and form an ice cream sandwich. Repeat and eat!
MALDON SALT PRETZELS
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 ¼ cups warm water (110 F)
5 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cups water
½ cup baking soda
Maldon or flake salt
Dissolve the yeast in warm water and let stand until frothy, 10 minutes.
In a stand mixer, fit with the dough hook, mix the flour, sugar and 1 ½ teaspoons salt. With the machine on medium speed, add the butter and yeast mixture to form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add water, a tablespoon at a time to form a ball. If it is sticky, add a tablespoon or two of flour. Knead with the dough hook for 5 to 8 minutes.
Add 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil to a clean large bowl. Remove the ball of dough from the stand mixer and place in the clean bowl with oil. Turn the dough over so it is coated with oil. Cover with plastic and let rise until double in volume, about 1 hour.
Preheat an oven to 450 F. Oil two baking sheets with the remaining vegetable oil.
Place the water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the baking soda and whisk together. Remove from the heat.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. After you have shaped all of the pretzels, dip each pretzel into the hot water solution and let sit for 5 to 10 seconds. Place on paper towels to drain. Place the pretzels on a baking sheet with space between each one. Sprinkle generously with flake salt.
Bake in until browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
TARTE FLAMBEE OR FLAMMKUCHE
Serve with a dry Riesling.
¼ cup crème fraîche
1 cup fromage blanc
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 recipe Weir Dough
8 ounces smoked bacon, thinly sliced across the strip
1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
Set a pizza steel in the upper third of the oven. Heat an oven to 500 F.
Mix the crème fraîche, fromage blanc, nutmeg, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
Divide dough into 3 pieces. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll the dough into a large oval shape about 10 X 5-inches and place on a floured wooden pizza peel. Spread 1⁄2 cup of the cheese mixture over circle, leaving a 1⁄2-inch border around edge. Sprinkle with one-third of the bacon and onions.
Transfer dough to the baking steel and bake until golden brown and crispy, 6 to 8 minutes. Serve immediately.
Repeat with the remaining 2 pieces of dough and toppings.
Makes 3 tarts
Learn More: Joanne Weir | AmaWaterways
