Small-scale cooking, big results

People regularly ask me for restaurant tips, because there are quite a few assumptions about cooking on board: the galley isn't big enough for two people to stand in, the fridge space is limited and the gas burners are so small. Even so, I manage to cook out-of-the-ordinary and, above all, tasty meals on board. I can hear you thinking: 'if you can cook in 1 square metre of galley, you must be a éreally good cook'. Well, just ask my children. They'll laugh at you first and then tell you at great length about all the failures.

And rightly so: I'm often impatient, uninspired and don't make enough time during the week to cook something éreally tasty. With a teenager in the house, ‘tasty’ is a challenge anyway. They'd rather eat anything unhealthy ór pasta carbonara. That last one is regularly on the menu at the Kamsma house.

 

But on holiday I take plenty of time to cook. Reading the recipe often makes my mouth water. We regularly alternate between eating on the boat and eating on the quayside. Last year we often decided to moor outside the marinas, so we cooked on board even more. And it worked remarkably well!

The inspiration came from 'Ottolenghi Test Kitchen'. A new dish from this book every day. Yes, I can hear you thinking again: "Ottolenghi? That's far too complicated". Not at all! People often think Ottolenghi is complicated, but it's really anything but. The ingredients were available in supermarkets all over Friesland, and by using the hand blender for a moment during the day in a little harbour on shore power, we could easily get started in the evening with a maximum of three burners (usually just two!).

 

My favourite dishes that are quite easy to prepare on the boat: 

 

• Definitely not an ordinary tomato salad (p. 67)
• Summer courgettes with tomatoes and ricotta (p. 81)
• Middle Eastern macaroni with cheese and pesto (p. 140)
• Mediterranean-style fried rice with anchovies and lemon dressing (p. 153)
• Vegetables of your choice with mustard and Parmesan dressing (p. 166)
• Tomato cream soup with buttered onions and orecchiette (p. 16)

A few tips for making the tastiest dishes in 1 square metre:

 

• You only have gas burners, so look for one-pan dishes rather than oven dishes.
• Think ahead about whether you can make everything without electricity. If not, prepare the parts that need, for example, a hand blender beforehand (in the marina).
• Make a shopping list for a few days: the recipes in this cookbook regularly use the same ingredients.
• Most boats have a hatch somewhere, for example under a floor, where it's cool. Fresh vegetables keep nicely cool there.
• Chop everything in advance at the table, outside the galley. The cookbook is set up that way too, and it makes the cooking itself a lot easier.
• Take your time, you're on holiday! With patience you can make anything, even in a galley of 1 square metre.

Of course, this Ottolenghi cookbook isn't the only one. Perhaps everything mentioned above isn't for you at all and you'd rather fry a good burger. What matters most: if you enjoy it and you're in the mood, you can really cook delicious dishes on board. Whatever you fancy! Then it's guaranteed: small-scale cooking, big results! 

 

Wietske