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You are here: Home Leisure Dining & Cuisine What's cooking in Belgium

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22/10/2003What's cooking in Belgium

It's that time of year when comfort food beckons - and luckily, Belgian cuisine can't get any more comfort-foody! Check out our quartet of traditional Belgian fare.

A traditional quartet of Belgian dishes for you to recreate for yourself: Chicons a la Flamande/Witloof op Zijn Vlaams
 
Ingredients 6 to 8 cored endives 1 tablespoon caster sugar ground black pepper 5 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 cup water, plus additional if needed 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley, for garnish juice of 1/2 lemon 1/2 teaspoon salt Using a stainless steel or enamelled pot, smear most of the butter on the bottom of the pot and cut out a round of parchment paper to fit inside. Butter the paper and put to one side. Arrange the endives in the pot and add the sugar, water, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Cover the endives with the parchment paper, buttered side down. Place a plate on top of the paper to add weight and cover, cooking until tender on a medium heat for 30 to 40 minutes, turning the endives over once during cooking. Remove the plate and cook on a high heat to reduce the sauce to a syrup, caramelising the endives on both sides. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. Stoemp aux Epinards/Stoemp met Spinazie 4 large baking potatoes peeled and cubed 1 tablespoon salt, plus additional to taste 1-1/2 cups fresh parsley 1/2 cup minced chives 8 tablespoons unsalted butter ground black pepper 1/4 cup milk, warmed 1/4 pound fresh spinach, rinsed thoroughly and stems removed 4 fresh tarragon sprigs pinch of nutmeg Place the potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and add one tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until tender on a medium heat for about 20 minutes. While the potatoes are cooking, place the spinach, parsley chives, and tarragon into another saucepan, adding one to 2 tablespoons of water if they are completely dry. Cook uncovered until limp for about 10 minutes. Pass the potatoes and the greens through a mixer and stir in butter, pepper and nutmeg. Now beat in some milk until desired consistency is reached and serve. Frites/Frietjes 3 to 4 cups of vegetable oil for frying 2 pounds of baking potatoes, peeled, rinsed, and dried salt to taste Pour oil into a deep fat fryer (3/4 of the way up maximum) and preheat to 160 C. Cut the potatoes into sticks and dry thoroughly with a tea towel. Divide the chips into one cup batches and fry for four to five minutes until golden. Make sure the oil temperature is brought back up to 160 C between batches – in the meantime, the cooked chips can rest at room temperature until you are ready to serve them. Repeat the frying operation but this time for one to two minutes per batch until the chips are brown and crisp – dry on paper towels, sprinkle with salt and serve. Perfect Belgian frites! Les Carbonades Flamandes/Vlaamse Stovery 4 pounds boneless stew meat cut into 2 inch cubes 2 to 3 tablespoons flour 2 bottles Belgian beer 1-1/2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon cider or red wine vinegar 2 or 3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 teaspoon salt 2 bay leaves 3 large onions, thinly sliced 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper First season your beef cubes with the salt and pepper and drop in flour, shaking off any excess. Melt two tablespoons of the butter in a deep pan add sauté the beef cubes until browned on all sides and add onions. Add two bottles of beer to your pan and bring to the boil, adding thyme and bay leaves. Simmer covered over low heat for an hour and a half to two hours until the meat is tender. Stir in the sugar and vinegar just before serving and simmer for five minutes. Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaves and voila! Season to taste.


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