Lunetten kroket

‘Lunetten kroket’

Example of ‘Bloemkoolwijk’, dutch urban experiment (through the 70s and 80s) in the shape of a cauliflower

A classic ‘broodjekrokket’, often consisting of a meat kroket served on a soft bun with mustard.

The “Lunetten kroket” was a dish presented to the visitors of fanfare, Amsterdam, for ‘The immersive table (five recipes)’.

It consisted of a creamy cauliflower kroket placed on a soufflé bun made out from the same cauliflower cream base, in which was inserted a raw floret of cauliflower.

The dish was shown and accompanied by a podcast laying out the reasons why the dish may be both environmentally and culturally resilient in the North Holland region.

To listen to the podcast:

The podcast can be found on the podcast app (by researching “The Soft Protest Digest”/Lunetten kroket) or by following this link to our Soundcloud.

Transcript of the podcast of the “Lunetten kroket”

“Lunetten is a neighborhood, south of Utrecht, which was built as an urban experiment during the 70s and 80s. It was designed and planned by a combination of urban planning students and the future inhabitants.
In resulted in the use of a ring-road with many circular bifurcations running back onto themselves, or with dead ends. In Dutch, this is called a ‘Bloemkoolwijk’ (‘cauliflower neighborhood’).That is the reason why a particular dish was served during the official opening of Lunetten by mayor Coen de Ranitz. Called ‘Lunetten kroketten’, those small fried rolls filled with cauliflower and bechamel sauce made a strong impression during the ceremony, in a time when vegetarianism was not common at all.

The croquette is the second most popular Dutch snack after ‘Frikandel’: you would find diverse krokets served in a bun with mustard in any fast-food. Yet, their filling made with ground meat of dubious quality makes them anything but resilient. On the other hand, cauliflower, this oddly developed cabbage flower, is grown year-round in the Netherlands, thanks to old winter self-covering breeds, such as ‘Early of Angers’ and ‘Walcheren Winter’. Winter cauliflower is cultivated in clay soils of Zeeland and of the South Holland islands, because elsewhere the chance of freezing is too great.

Moreover, cauliflower and bechamel are culturally rooted in Dutch cuisine in the form of ‘bloemkoolroosjes met bechamelsauce’, an humble dish composed of cauliflower roasted in bechamel sauce, garnished with cheese. Lots of Dutch people have childhood memories of this comforting winter dish, healthy and easily cooked by parents. The ‘Lunetten kroket’ developed by The Soft Protest Digest showcases winter cauliflowers grown in De Boterbloem biodynamic farm, mixed in a bechamel sauce based on dairy products from De Groene Griffioen organic cowshed, coated in oat whole grain flour crushed in Molen De Vlijt — all situated a few kilometers from Amsterdam. To replace the bun, a small cauliflower soufflé is conveniently made whith the same bechamel sauce mixed with whipped egg whites. It should be served with wild mustard flowers foraged around Amsterdam: they would balance the cauliflower's softness with a welcomed spicy kick.”

Recipe

Ingredients

Béchamel sauce (base):

• 80g of goat butter/ghee
• 80g of white spelt flour
• 30g of potato starch
• 250ml of goat milk
• 250ml of homemade vegetable stock
• 2 egg yolks
• 50g of goat crème fraiche
• Salt
• Pepper

Kroketten:

• 1/8 of a cauliflower
• 5 egg whites
• 250g of wholegrain oat flour
• 100g of coarse oats
• Rapeseed oil

Soufflés:

• 300g of béchamel sauce
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 egg whites
• 1/8 of a cauliflower
• A strong dijon mustard

Preparation

Béchamel sauce (base):

1. Slowly heat up the milk and stock to a simmer.
2. In a medium size saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour and potato starch to make the roux, cook for 2 minutes.
3. Gradually add the milk to the roux, whisking constantly.
4. Combine the cream and egg yolks separately and add to the sauce.
5. When the sauce reaches a béchamel-like texture, turn the heat off and season to taste.
6. Set aside 300g of the béchamel.

Kroketten:

1. Blitz the cauliflower in a food processor to a ‘rice’ consistency.
2. Combine with the 300g of béchamel and reduce on a low heat until you reach a thick consistency.
3. Leave to cool in the fridge, covering the surface with clean film to prevent the formation of a dry skin.
4. Place the egg whites and the oat flour in two different shallow bowls.
5. In a large skillet, heat enough oil to cover the kroketten to 180°c.
6. Form the kroketten by hand, drop them in the egg white and roll them in the coarse oats, fry for 5min, turning them over mid-fry.
7. Leave to dry on kitchen paper.

Soufflés:

1. Whip the 2 egg whites to stiff picks.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the egg yolks to 300g of béchamel.
3. Carefully fold in the egg whites.
4. Extract pretty cauliflower florets to fit each muffin tin.
5. Butter the 6 molds and pour in the batter.
6. Push in each mold one cauliflower floret and bake, covered with a sheet of parchemin paper, at 180°c for 20min.

Products

• Ekoplaza / oat whole grain flour (Meesters van de Heelvn, NL) / eggs (Ekoplaza, NL) / spelt whole grain flour (Molen De Vlijt, NL)
• Ecologische Boerderij De Boterbloem / cauliflower (Amsterdam, NL)
• Ridammerhoeve Goat Farm / goat milk / cream / fresh eggs (Amsterdam, NL)
• Molen De Vriendschap / oat whole grain flour (Germany)

Resilience of the dish and its products:

Click to zoom in on the receipts 🔍

• 

  ✎ ‘Lunetten kroket’

• 

  ✎ Cauliflower

• 

  ✎ Oat flour

• 

  ✎ Spelt flour

• 

  ✎ Goat milk / cream

• 

  ✎ Fresh eggs