Flatbread with kohlrabi + review of Trek ⋆ SOULFOOD.nl

Share this recipe:

pull! That's what people have on their way somewhere. And let that be exactly the title of my new favorite history slash cookbook. Charlotte Kleyn has once again succeeded in making a book that immediately belongs among my favourites. Because history and cooking… those are two things that I really like. terribly. nice. find.

Trek, eat on the go, then and now

In 'Travel, Food on the go, then and now' Charlotte Kleyn describes the food people eat while they travel. And you can interpret both the former and the latter very broadly. We start on a cog ship in the Middle Ages, join pilgrimages and the voyage of the VOC, past picnics and campers to arrive at the infamous 'aircraft food'.

The army, navy and boy scouts will also have their own chapter, because those groups have a very special food culture. Some names are known there, such as the 'blue bite' and other names are more obscure. How about the ingredient for example 'cold monkey'† Don't worry – I read it and it just turned out to be a nickname for canned corned beef!

Anti Scurvy Cocktail

The stories in Trek are sometimes quite terrifying. For example, about life on a 17th century VOC ship, Charlotte writes: “Ship's rusks that broke your teeth, water barrels crawling with maggots, boring boiled peas or beans in front of you every day and a high chance of dying.” or how about this one: “Tons of water that were filled with clean water from the Utrechtse Vecht. Well, clean… by the time the crew got to that water, it had been stewing for months in wooden barrels. It must have been green and slimy, with a hideous stance and a rich assortment of worms and beetles.”

Those are things that we (fortunately) can no longer imagine. After traveling for months, there was also a significant risk of contracting scurvy. But luckily, after such a grueling journey to the Dutch East Indies, there was such a thing as an anti-scurvy cocktail, made with arrack, spices and tamarind pulp. A small bright spot for the crew!

There are many such special stories in the book. It provides a wonderful glimpse into Dutch culinary history, in areas that normally do not receive much attention. The stories and historical information are interspersed with fun recipes that pretty much fit the chapter. But don't worry: Charlotte doesn't like boring rusk either. That is why the recipes are 'historically inspired', but completely 21-century-proof.

Got excited? You can get the book 'Pull, eat on the go, then and now' Order here!

vegetarian and vegan recipes

One thing I noticed: Charlotte doesn't cook much with meat and animal products. That is why you will find a surprising number of vegetarian and vegan recipes in the book. They are not wrong at all, by the way. No hassle with modern meat substitutes, but tasty dishes with vegetables, including this flatbread with rutabaga that I 'conjured up' from the book.

This recipe is the first recipe we see in the book on page 13 of Trek. And I have to say… it has instantly become one of our favourites! You make a tasty and simple flatbread and fill it with a spicy sauce. The sauce is thickened with almonds, because - writes Charlotte - “Consolidating sauces with a roux is a French invention from the seventeenth century” and this recipe for chervil sauce has to fit in with the story of the fifteenth-century (Dutch) cog ship.

TIP: You can also buy the flat breads (pita) for this recipe, then you are ready extra quickly

TIP 2: Can't find a chervil? Then make a mix of other green spices. Parsley and dill go really well together!

Ingredients for 4 bread rolls

flat bread

7 grams dried yeast
2 tsp sugar
400 gr wheat flour

Sauce

75 g chervil, or a mix of other green spices such as parsley, dill and tarragon
25 gr white almonds
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
big pinch of ginger powder
1/2 tbsp wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil + extra for serving

kohlrabi

1/2 turnip*
1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
2 tl honey
100 ml olive oil

*Unfortunately I couldn't find a whole kohlrabi and therefore had to make do with kohlrabi 'fries' from the supermarket. This went well, but instead of cooking for 15 minutes, 5 is enough!

Dough

Put the yeast with the sugar and 50 ml of lukewarm water in a bowl and let it stand for a few minutes. Mix the flour with 2 teaspoons of salt in a bowl, make a well in the center and add the yeast water. Mix and add 200 ml of lukewarm water while kneading. Knead for 10 minutes until a smooth dough. Finally, cover with a clean, damp tea towel and let rise for 1 hour in a warm place

Sauce

Grind all ingredients with 1 tbsp water in a food processor or with a stick blender to a fairly liquid sauce. Season with salt and set aside

kohlrabi

Peel the kohlrabi, cut it into quarters and then into thin slices. Boil the slices in salted water for 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain in a colander. Mix the garlic with the rest of the ingredients and some salt in a large bowl. Place the kohlrabi slices in the bowl and coat well with the spice mixture. Heat a grill pan and grill the kohlrabi slices in batches for 3 minutes on each side.

At the end

Heat the oven to 220 degrees with the baking tray in it so it can get hot. Cut 4 large pieces of baking paper and have it ready. Divide the dough into 4 balls and roll out on a floured work surface into flat circles of about 20 centimeters in diameter. Place each circle on a piece of baking paper. Place the baking paper with dough on the baking tray in the oven. Bake the bread in the oven for 6 to 8 minutes, until it puffs up (bake in 2 batches if desired).

Place the kohlrabi in the still warm oven to warm up. Cut the buns open halfway, spread generously with the chervil sauce and place kohlrabi slices in it. Pour some extra olive oil over the kohlrabi and serve immediately. Or, more fun, put the bread rolls, kohlrabi, chervil sauce and olive oil on the table and let everyone build their own sandwich. - Enjoy your dinner!