Pivlaqui: the cookbook
Crossing borders and relying on local ingredients. Adapting to budget, pantry items and the season’s produce. Festive street food, fancy coffees, family gatherings, business buffets, fasting fare. Meet pivlaqui, the occasional family of tarts that include pítes, vlaai, quiche, crostata, frgal, Linzertorte, pasta flora, erbazzone and many more. A spirit of getting together, of sharing a piece even if you do not know who else ordered it in the restaurant. Imagine pretty cups and saucers, vibrant table cloths, kitchens dusty with flour and picturesque European landscapes and cities. Let’s go on a trip together.
From left to right: proofed vlaai dough before rolling out; apricot vlaai before going into the oven; quiche filled with spinach and salmon at café Le Bol in Vienna; chickpea flour tart inspired by farinata and my vlaai tin; vegetable quiche lorraine at the covered market in Metz; bark shaped píta with beetroot filling and served with avocado hummus at Feyrouz in Athens; gooseberry vlaai from bakery Mathieu Hermans at café Zondag in Maastricht; empty vlaai bottom before filling; chestnut flour tart à la castagnaccio with walnuts, raisins and rosemary.
