Chef Jonnie Boer – Simple Dishes, Simply Burst with Flavors

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De Librije is a restaurant known for its very simple dishes that simply burst with flavors. Its owner and head chef, Chef Jonnie Boer, is a firm believer that, to make a very good dish, one need not add too many flavors. The secret, he shares, is in your chosen ingredients. The food critics and food lovers seem to agree with him as his restaurant bagged the 37th position of the San Pellegrino’s World’s Best Restaurants.

Chef Boer was born in the mid 1960s in Giethoorn, Holland. His culinary career started when he worked as an apprentice cook at De Librije, but he left the restaurant to study in Amsterdam for three years. However, having grown up in the country, he decided to leave the big city and go back to work at De Librije. He admits that he is more comfortable in the country and working as a chef rather than being in the big city and seeking apprenticeship with big fine-dining restaurants.

When he was 24 years old, he became the head chef of De Librije, and a few years later, he and his wife purchased the same restaurant from its previous owner. Using only the finest and freshest regional and local ingredients, Chef Boer created a cuisine known for its simplicity and straightforwardness. He brings out the natural and pure flavors of each element in his dish by choosing his ingredients well and marrying them with other ingredients to highlight its natural flavors. Pretty soon, his restaurant became known in the area, and it began attracting food critics.

It was in 1993 that he received his first Michelin star, his second star in 1999, an his third star in 2004. Aside from this, he also received 19.5 points from Gault Millau, the highest point of which is 20. This made his restaurant very successful, and, in fact, Chef Boer is internationally considered as the fastest rising Dutch chef.

Chef Boer says that he takes his inspiration from the Zwolle region, so he only makes use of local and seasonal ingredients in his dishes. He is not afraid to try unusual items though, so you are bound to see some Dover sole in his cuisine. However, be prepared for the scrumptiousness of this simple fish dish because its pure flavors will simply amaze your senses.

Right now, Chef Boer is still searching for ways to perfect his skill. He is very much determined to make a name for his country’s traditional dishes, so you can rest assured that you can expect more from this greatly talented chef from the Netherlands.

Chef Jonnie Boer’s River Perch from “Het Zwarte Water” with Smoked Garlic Froth and Coriander Pesto

Ingredients:

4 x 500g river perch
Lemon
14 cl olive oil
30 g pine nut kernels
20 g fully mature cheese
4 ripe beefsteak tomatoes
Sugar
Pepper and Salt
Lemon juice (1 lemon)
6 cloves of smoked garlic
Cream, milk and butter
Curry powder

Directions:

1. Scale and fillet the perch (mind the prickles!)

2. Skin and deseed the tomatoes.

3. Caramelise some sugar in a pan and put the seeds, half of the tomato pulp and the fruit juice in the pan. Bring to the boil and whisk the mixture until it becomes quite smooth. Flavour as desired with additional lemon juice, pepper and salt.

4. Cut the remainder of the tomato pulp into dice. Add the diced tomato at the last moment to the mixture.

5. Sweat the smoked garlic in butter and add a pinch of curry. Pour the poultry jus on this and reduce it with a dab of cream.

6. Process the garlic mixture in a food processor. Then strain it through a sieve and whisk it with a splash of milk.

7. Fry the fish en chemise in hot oil for a few moments and then gently cook them in the oven.

8. Roast the pine nuts in the oven adding cheese, lemon juice and olive oil.

9. Process the fish fillets with fresh coriander leaves in the food processor as finely as desired.

Servings: Serves 4

Image Credit: terminusdeonthaasting.nl

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