“I imagine food the same way I do life: beautiful, flavourful, crisp, drenched in love and emotion.” Arabelle Meirlaen has an infectious sparkle in her eyes. Whenever she speaks, you intuitively hang on her every word. What a woman. What a cuisine! Infused with the refined intuition with which she expresses the free play of nature. An extra serve of happiness and healthy energy on the plate.
Overlooking the immense vegetable garden, you can enjoy dishes that are as light as a feather but no less full of life and intense in flavour. All served with a masterful sense for aesthetics and nuance. Making people happy, that is what she does (and enjoys doing) best.
Arabelle offers soulful cuisine that goes so much further than albeit sublime gastronomy. With a meticulous attention to detail, she deliciously weaves her natural wisdom into every recipe. Everything she knows and experiences is served thoughtfully and generously at the table. She invites your senses to a dance and lets your organs sing to the beat of the seasons. Intuitively, you experience how wholesome the heavenly flavours are and how light and cheerful you feel even as the final course is served. Here something unfolds of which most can only dream: nature in all its purity and harmony. A smile infused in every fibre.
What is most striking, perhaps, is that Arabelle never had any desire to become a chef. Fashion designer, that was more her thing. Moving house, however, brought the Libramont hotel management school a little closer. Arabelle’s parents convinced her to give it a try. She got on well with people and thus specialised in service. And was very good at it. She was immediately hired after completing her traineeship at the restaurant of the world-famous crystal manufacturer, Val-Saint-Lambert. Not long after, she rose through the ranks to the position of restaurant manager. For the amount of work she put in, however, Arabelle earned precious little in return. In her view, she could just as well open her own restaurant. But her standards were high, which made the search for a suitable chef more difficult than expected. There was no other alternative than to go into the kitchen herself. And there, Arabelle came to feel more and more in her element. In fact, the kitchen proved to be the ideal place for her to do what she loves most: creating dishes that make people happy. The chef in her was finally born.
Arabelle Meirlaen
“ I imagine food the same way I do life: beautiful, flavourful, crisp, drenched in love and emotion. ”
Peace & Love
4 PERSONS
Almond mayonnaise
100g white almond purée (Monki)
50ml clear iodised soy sauce with sea water (Smolarek)
50ml soybean oil
• Blend all ingredients together in a blender
Vegetable crab
600g parsley root
• Grate the roots (2mm). Combine with 4-6 tablespoons of the almond mayonnaise
Kohlrabi slices
750g kohlrabi
• Cut the kohlrabi into 2cm wide and 15cm long slices. Save the leftovers for the tartare.
Apple and pear tartare
1 green apple
1 pear
150g kohlrabi trimmings
Lemon juice
25g wakame (rehydrated)
2T almond mayonnaise
Fleur de sel and 5-pepper mix
• Finely dice all ingredients. Beat into the almond mayonnaise and season with lemon juice, fleur de sel and 5-pepper mix.
Chlorophyll Angel Face
100g carrot tops
100g rucola
1 shallot
1/2 bird’s eye chilli
300ml orange juice
50ml olive oil
20ml apple cider vinegar
1 whole ginger root
5g coriander
Salt and pepper
• Blend everything in a blender and strain to obtain 500ml of juice.
• Bring half of the juice to the boil. Remove from heat and add the other half of the juice, along with 4g agar agar.
• Pour the mixture into moulds while still warm.
Nori
50g nori sheets
1L water
12g agar agar
• Bring the water and agar agar to the boil. Add the nori. Pour onto a flat dish to form a thin layer.
• Reinforce with the kohlrabi slices and cut into pieces.
Finishing
• Use a ring (8cm) to arrange seaweed/ kohlrabi on the plate. Place the tartare on top and then the crab filling. Garnish with a cannabis leaf and nori powder.
Wasabi
4 PERSONS
Pointed cabbage
200g pointed cabbage
10g shallot
10 seedless grapes
100g Madras curry oil
10g ginger
10g lemongrass
10g red pepper
Salt
Wasabi paste
• Fry the grapes in Madras curry oil and fry gently.
• Cut the pointed cabbage into strips and chop the rest as finely as possible.
• Crush the grapes and add all the ingredients. Simmer.
• Season to taste with salt and wasabi paste.
Seeds
200g water
200g sugar
600g sunflower oil
Salt
Citric acid powder
200g sunflower seeds
• Boil the sunflower seeds with sugar and water. Strain and fry in hot sunflower oil. Drain and leave to dry under a heat lamp.
• Season to taste with salt and citric acid powder.
Juice
200ml Riesling juice
20ml lime leaf oil
100g lemongrass
• Cook the chopped lemongrass in Riesling juice. Leave to infuse for as long as possible and then leave to cool.
• Mix with lime leaf oil.
Leaf
1 wasabi leaf 1 marigold
• Tear the wasabi leaf into small pieces.
• Separate the marigold petals.
Evergreen
4 PERSONS
Apple jelly
100g green apple water
1g agar agar
• Mix the green apple water with the agar agar in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and then allow to cool slightly. Pour 25g of the mixture into a deep plate and place in the refrigerator to set.
Origami
1 avocado 1 kiwi
20g broad beans
20g peas
1 artichoke
20g lemon oil
1 green capsicum
50g agretti (sea salt herb)
20g young lettuce leaves
20g spinach sprouts
5g fresh dill
5g Greek basil
20g pimpinella
20g nasturtium
• Peel the avocado and press through a fine sieve to create a smooth purée. Season to taste with salt and lime juice. Set aside.
• Cut the kiwi into thin slices with a sharp knife or a Japanese mandoline. Place a spoonful of guacamole in the centre of the slices and fold them over to form origami-like parcels.
• Blanch the broad beans, peas, agretti and artichoke in boiling salted water. Cool immediately in ice water. Season with lemon oil and salt. Singe the skin of the green capsicum with a blowtorch. Remove the skin and cut into small cubes.
• Clean all the fresh herbs, lettuce and aromatic herbs.
Cucumber sorbet
1kg cucumbers
250g cucumber water
50g lime juice
3g fresh coriander leaves
20g dill oil
250g 36 BRIX syrup (2g sorbet stabiliser)
(150g cucumber water, 62g trehalose,
30g dextrose)
2g sorbet stabiliser
5g lime zest
• Peel the cucumbers and purée. Place in a fine sieve in the refrigerator and leave to strain overnight. Make the 36 BRIX syrup by mixing some of the cucumber water with the sugars and stabiliser. Heat to 85°C. Leave the syrup to cool completely.
• Add the remaining ingredients and churn in an ice cream maker.
Forest Side
In the breathtaking landscape of England’s Lake District, nestled within a verdant oasis, lies Forest Side. There, an historic mansion is home to both dreams and their fulfilment, brought to life on the plate by chef Paul Leonard. Here you can experience honest and authentic cuisine made with everything the impressive vegetable garden and adjacent forests have to offer. Mother nature at her very best.
Keswick Road
LA22 9RN Grasmere, Cumbria United Kingdom
theforestside.com
From the mudflats
Oyster shell of
seaweed with briny vegetables
4 PERSONS
4 oyster shells
Seaweed shell
22g cassava flour
100g water
4g seaweed powder
• Preheat the oven to 170°C. Add water, cassava flour, seaweed and salt and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and blend into a batter in a blender. Brush the oyster shells lightly with a little of the seaweed batter. Bake the shells for 3 minutes, then brush with more batter. Repeat the process 7 times. Then bake the shells for a further 30 minutes.
Seaweed cream
100g plantbased mayonnaise
4g seaweed powder
• Fold the seaweed powder into the mayonnaise and place in a piping bag.
Briny vegetables
4 oyster leaves
4 sea bananas
8 samphire leaves
4 sea fennel
4 fennel tips
4 sea kale flowers
4 borage flowers
• Wash the vegetables and prepare for finishing.
Finishing
• Place an oyster leaf in the crispy oyster shell. Pipe a generous dollop of seaweed cream onto the oyster leaf. Now, insert the remaining vegetables upright into the seaweed cream to form a bouquet. Garnish with the sea kale and borage flowers.
TIP
• When finishing the oyster shell, place it on an egg rack to keep it stable.
Mix of pickled and marinated vegetables
4 PERSONS
Pickled vegetables and flowers
Shiitake mushrooms
Gherkins
Elderflower clusters
20 asparagus tips
Sweet and sour
350ml cider vinegar
50g sugar
50g salt
500ml water
• Bring the ingredients for the sweet-and-sour marinade to the boil. Once boiling, pour over the asparagus tips. After 3 months in a preserving jar, they are ready to use. Store in a cool, dark place. Repeat this process with the gherkins, elderflowers and shiitake mushrooms. Feel free to add a few seasonings to the marinade, such as rosemary, chilli or thyme. Cut the vegetables into thin slices.
Palm kale crisps
Palm kale leaves
Canola oil
• Wash the palm kale and tear it into equal pieces. Drizzle with canola oil and sea salt. Roast on baking paper at 180°C for 15 min. until crispy.
Smoked celeriac with cassis leaf pesto
1 celeriac
1 handful hazelnuts
1 handful cassis leaves
Apple wood chips
• Place the blackcurrant leaves and hazelnuts in a blender. Add canola oil drop by drop until you achieve a pesto-like consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Roast the celeriac for 1.5h at 180°C. Allow the celeriac to cool and peel off the skin. Smoke the celeriac on the barbecue for 1h with apple wood chips. Cut into thin slices and brush with the blackcurrant leaf pesto.
Fresh vegetables
4 radishes
2 young zucchini with flowers
4 nasturtium flowers
4 nasturtium leaves
Pepper and sea salt
Finishing
• Be inspired by whatever is growing in your garden at the moment. Sprinkle with a little sea salt.
TIP
• You can find organically produced canola oil at Hof ter Vrijlegem in Asse.
• Let your creativity run wild and pickle any surplus vegetables you have. That way, you’ll always have variety and a well-stocked kitchen cupboard.
• Mix the cashews and water until smooth, then strain through a fine sieve.
• Put the pudding rice in a pan with the oat and coconut milk, maple syrup and vanilla and cook the rice until very soft. After cooking, add all the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. Freeze. Turn in a Pacojet.
Poha rice
100g Poha (rice flakes)
Pinch of salt
• Roast the Poha for 8 min. at 170°C. Sprinkle with salt and leave to cool.
Mixed berry compote
1kg mixed berries
50g maple syrup
• Cook the berries in maple syrup for 2-3h until it reaches a jam-like consistency.
Soft beetroot
1kg red beetroot
500g redcurrant purée
• Steam for 1h at 100°C or until tender. Dry the beetroot for 4-5h at 21°C. Dip in the redcurrant purée and dry again. Repeat this 4 times. Cut the beetroot into small cubes.
Garnish
25g organic soft mulberries
Finishing
• Place 20g of the compote in a small bowl, top with 4 pieces of beetroot and mulberries and pipe the rice pudding ice cream and roasted rice on top using a piping bag.
Colophon
Untold was introduced to a world of masterful vegetables chefs through the initiative and infectious enthusiasm of Frank Fol (We’re Smart). A unique collaboration that has given rise to this book, infused with passion, vision and future.
No part of this publication may be reproduced and/or published via printing, photocopying, electronic media or any other means, without the prior written consent of the publisher.
