Dutch Cooking (2007-)

[Domestic Goddess]

I spent my lunch break the other day just looking at this thread (and getting hungrier even as I ate).  I'll add to the chorus that it's chock full of beautiful photos, great explanations, and dishes I'd love to try myself.  I thought I didn't know Dutch cooking at all but this all seems to familiar and comforting at once.  Great job!

←

Thanks Kevin.. that's great praise coming from the King of Megathreads...

I'm aiming for at least 22 pages myself...

←

Almost there, Klary... almost there (been re-reading this thread again).

[yunnermeier]

Hi Jack!

Quail eggs are available at the markets and also in some Asian shops, I think. And the poelier will definitely have duck, like markemorse said. You can also try the poelier stall at the market.

p/s: Dutch food is quite easy to cook so you can always make it yourself! For example, stamppot is easy and I think lots of students like to eat it. Just freeze and eat it next week again ^^

p/s/s: I like the gevulde boterkoeken (with marzipan). Yummy~ I think Holland have amazing pastries

Edited May 21, 2007 by yunnermeier (log)

[Chufi]

Chufi, I just wanted to say 'dank u wel' for all of your effort in compiling this thread .

I've been living in the Netherlands in Utrecht since September, and it's been so frustrating not being able to sample real Dutch cooking in restaurants here. I've spoken to some Dutch friends and they always look surprised and reply along the lines of "why would you want to go out and eat Dutch food?!". But I think this thread proves exactly why I'd want to go out and do that.

←

Thanks Jack! and welcome to The Netherlands and to eGullet and to this thread!

This thread is really about homecooking - there aren't many restaurants in The Netherlands that serve this kind of food - (and do it well). So you'll have to make it yourself if you want to try it

I spent my lunch break the other day just looking at this thread (and getting hungrier even as I ate).  I'll add to the chorus that it's chock full of beautiful photos, great explanations, and dishes I'd love to try myself.  I thought I didn't know Dutch cooking at all but this all seems to familiar and comforting at once.  Great job!

←

Thanks Kevin.. that's great praise coming from the King of Megathreads...

I'm aiming for at least 22 pages myself...

←

Almost there, Klary... almost there (been re-reading this thread again).

←

Doddie, thanks for counting! Looks like we made it, thanks to everybody who's contributing, because I haven't been putting up any new stuff lately

Edited May 21, 2007 by Chufi (log)

[SideBurns]

Thanks for the suggestions regarding the poelier; I've since found out that there's one about 60 metres from my front door, but in the direction I never venture, so I've missed it for the past 9 months! I intend to rectify that some time next week when my freezer supplies run out.

I was wondering whether anyone might have an authentic recipe for 'appelbollen'?

A friend and I are frequent visitors to a cafe here in Utrecht that does a fantastic one, and the thought of going back to the UK where said cafe does not exist is a little painful. I've tried searching on the internet, but I only get one recipe repeated on a few sites which says it's a German dish, so I'm not sure how authentic that one is. I'd love to hear a proper Dutch recipe if there's one around.

Jack.

[Chufi]

I was wondering whether anyone might have an authentic recipe for 'appelbollen'?

←

is it the one with a whole apple inside?

In that case: take a small apple, peel and core it. Fill the cavity with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon and then put a lump of butter in. Take a sheet of puff pastry (buy them frozen at the supermarket, the squares are fairly small, so maybe you have to roll out the square to make it fit around the apple) and wrap the apple in it. Wet the edges of the pastry to get a good seal.

Put seam side down on a lightly buttered baking sheet. Repeat with as many apples as you like.. Mix 1 egg with a bit of water or milk and use to glaze the pastry. Sprinkle some sugar on top if you like.

Bake for about 20 minutes at 200 C.

Sorry that I can´t be more specific about the filling. You could add some finely chopped nuts to the filling, or crumbled cookies (specualaas is nice)

[SideBurns]

Excellent, thanks Chufi, that sounds just about perfect. I wasn't sure if they were just apples covered in puff pastry, or whether there was something else going on, so thanks for the clarification and the recipe - and I like the idea about crumbling some speculaas in the middle as well.

[Peter the eater]

Klary,

This thread is a tremendous resource and I am really enjoying scrolling through it.

Do you have a book published yet? On-line info is good but its hard to beat a large and well-illustrated hardcover. Your words and photos are highly motivating, I am much more interested in real home style fare than the high fashion restaurant stuff.

I must admit I have very little prior knowledge of Dutch food despite all the people I have known here in Canada with Dutch roots (even my wife is half Van Nostrand) Most people know about the salty black licorice, the cheese, some pastries and cookies etc. and of course the famous clay Dutch oven. I hadn't considered the produce and seafood - maybe palingbroodjes is just what I need to overcome my aversion to eels (I swam through a school of them when I was a kid, yuck)

And I think I see sudderlapjes in my near future! I am a big fan of butter poaching as long as its not everyday.

Pete

[Chufi]

Peter, I'm glad you're enjoying the thread. Do report back if you make the sudderlapjes!

I´m dreaming about a large and well-illustrated hardcover too

About the eel: there is a recipe for fresh eel that I've been wanting to make for a long time. But fresh eel is getting very hard to come by here.

[Chufi]

I made two classics for our Father´s day brunch today: shrimp cocktail and veal ragout in puff pastryshells.

Shrimp cocktail

Now ofcourse I wont´s claim that shrimp or prawn cocktail is uniquely Dutch, but when you use the famous, delicious Dutch shrimp, it is! Small, grey, briny and sweet, these are a real delicacy. The shrimp cocktail is a classic way of serving them, with a sauce made with mayonaise, ketchup and a touch of whisky.

For 6 small or 4 larger portions

200 grams boiled and peeled grey tiny shrimp

Some lettuce leaves and thin slices of tomato

For the sauce:

3 tablespoons mayonaise (homemade is best, if using storebought, add a bit more lemonjuice)

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon whisky

Lemonjuice to taste

Salt and pepper

A bit of paprika (sweet or spicy, as you like it)

Mix all ingredients for the sauce together. Put a slice of tomato and a lettuce leaf in the serving cups or glasses. Mix the shrimp with the sauce, and pile the mixture in the glasses. Serve immediately.

[Chufi]

Kalfsvleespasteitjes - Veal ragout in puff pastry

I´m not sure what the English word would be for what we call ´ragout´ (which is not a Dutch word ofcourse but French). In Dutch it means a thick roux made with stock, with vegetables, seafood or bits of meat added. Originally a way to use up leftovers, this thick sauce is also the base for bitterballen en kroketten (where scoops of the sauce are breaded and deepfried).

Serving the sauce in puff pastry shells is a traditional lunch dish. When I was little we always had this on Newyearsday. The puff pastryshell is supposed to be round and you can buy them ready made, but I made them from storebought puffpastry. Making them round is too much hassle I think so I used my method for making little pastryshells: Take a square piece of pastry, make two cuts. The cuts meet in 2 corners, but not in the other 2. Sounds complicated but is very easy to do. Fold the sides over, brush with beaten egg and bake at 200 C / 390 F until risen and golden (about 10 minutes). You can scrape out the inside, I just crushed it a bit with a fork. Set aside.

For the sauce (makes enough for 10 small pastryshells):

250 grams stewing veal

1 small onion studded with a couple of cloves

1 carrot, cut up

Some parsley

A bayleaf

Some peppercorns.

Cover with water, slowly bring to the boil and let simmer until the meat is really tender. It will depend on the cut of meat how long this will take. About an hour should do it.

Take the meat from the broth and let it cool, then cut into small pieces. Strain the broth.

250 gram mushrooms, quartered if large

A knob of butter

Sautee the mushrooms slowly in the butter until cooked, Don´t let them brown. Put in the bowl with the meat.

Melt 20 grams of butter in a saucepan. Add 20 grams of flour. Mix well and when it is lightbrown, add 250 ml. of the broth from the meat. Bring to the boil, whisking, and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Put the meat and mushrooms in and simmer for a couple of minutes. Season with:

Salt &pepper

Nutmeg

Some lemonjuice

A bit of mustard

A tablespoon of white wine

This sauce has a tendency to be bland, so be generous with the seasonings. Keep tasting until it is to your liking (and keep in mind you´ll be adding cream later which will weaken the flavors). Set the mixture aside (can be prepared ahead).

1 egg yolk

100 ml. cream

When it´s time to serve: reheat the pastryshells in a low oven. Bring the meatsauce to a simmer over low heat. In a small bowl, mix 1 egg yolk with 100 ml. cream. Add this mixture to the sauce and heat through. Don´t let it simmer too hard or it will split. Taste and adjust the seasonings. You can add a little butter for more richness and a lovely glossy sauce.

Spoon the sauce into the heated pastry shells and serve immediately.

Note: you can bake little lids for the pastryshells and put these on top. I forgot to do that this time!

Instead of veal, use chicken (nice with a bit of smoked ham added to the sauce), seafood, or for a vegetarian version, mushrooms only.

Edited June 17, 2007 by Chufi (log)

[Shaya]

Chufi, that veal dish is absolutely gorgeous. This (among all your other great dishes) is what I want to eat when I come to visit!

[Chufi]

Thanks Shaya!

I think my question may get lost in my previous post, so I´ll ask again. What would this ragout-sauce (thick roux made with stock, then meat/ seafood/vegetables mixed in, then enriched with cream and eggyolk) be called in English?

Edited June 17, 2007 by Chufi (log)

[Shaya]

Chufi, I believe the addition of cream and egg to a sauce is what is known as a liason. I read about it in my CIA Professional Chef. I found something about it here.

The purpose is to add flavor, smooth out the texture and add sheen. - just as it did in your sauce. The egg and cream are combined so that the cream raises the coagulation temperature of the egg. You can also add a bit of the hot liquid to the liaison before adding to the sauce to bring the temperature up a bit (tempering).

[Chufi]

Chufi, I believe the addition of cream and egg to a sauce is what is known as a liason.  I read about it in my CIA Professional Chef.  I found something about it here.

The purpose is to add flavor, smooth out the texture and add sheen. - just as it did in your sauce.  The egg and cream are combined so that the cream raises the coagulation temperature of the egg.  You can also add a bit of the hot liquid to the liaison before adding to the sauce to bring the temperature up a bit (tempering).

←

Yes, but you would not call the resulting sauce a liaison, right? I´m just curious about this word ragout. When I google english ragout recipes, I get lots of stews and braises, but most of them are not roux-thickened, whereas here, ragout always means a sauce with a roux base and then a liaison.

´sauce´somehow does not seem to be quite the right word.

[lexy]

I'm sure Shaya's right that 'liason' is the technically correct name, but it's not a word I've ever heard used in the context of sauces. I suppose if I were making the sort of sauce the Dutch call a ragout, I might call it a gravy in English.

[Chufi]

Gillian Riley, in het book The Dutch Table, calls it ´cooked meat in a smooth sauce´.

I guess if they did not come up with a better translation, that means there IS no English word for this stuff

Edited June 17, 2007 by Chufi (log)

[Abra]

I'd call it either a ragout, which is a word people do understand, or simply a stew. Technically, of course, it's not stewed, but as a practical matter it's stew-like. Or sometimes the word supreme means stuff in a creamy sauce, but that's not common these days.

Those shells are gorgeous! Do you pull each of the corners where the cuts meet across to the opposite side, through the center? For some reason I can't quite see how they work.

[Dana]

Pardon me for butting in, but I think that's exactly what Chufi's done, Abra. Aren't they beautiful???!!! I think they'd be an excellent first course filled with seafood in a light sauce, or dessert with berries and cream. What a great idea, that I will steal at the first opportunity.

[Chufi]

exactly. It´s one of those things that´s really hard to explain but when you´re doing it, it´s easy.

btw the real puff pastry shells are supposed to look like this

[Abra]

Yours are a lot prettier, and soon you'll be able to give me a demo in person!

[Megan Blocker]

Klary, to answer your question, I have seen ragout used in English to describe dishes similar to your veal dish, though I can't recall exactly where. (I also found this Dictionary.com definition.)

I love the addition of whiskey to your shrimp cocktail recipe. Boozy is always good, in my book.

[amapola]

What would this ragout-sauce (thick roux made with stock, then meat/ seafood/vegetables mixed in, then enriched with cream and eggyolk) be called in English?

←

I think the dish closest to what we in Holland call ragout might be blanquette, the most well know variety being blanquette de veau (veal). This is a white roux-based sauce enriched with cream and eggs, served over or mixed with veal and button mushrooms or small onions.

Your gorgeous photo's make me crave some right now by the way. I love the contrast between the crunch of the pastry and the velvetty ragout

[DutchMuse]

You must put this in a book! Lots of people would buy it; there is simply no equivalent English language book on the topic, and lots of people of dutch descent would want to own it!

[Peter the eater]

You must put this in a book!  Lots of people would buy it; there is simply no equivalent English language book on the topic, and lots of people of dutch descent would want to own it!

←

I'll pre-order a few copies!

[markemorse]

I'll also join the cheering section: put it in a book already!

I just bought a hilariously badly-written cookbook called Dutch Cookery. It was cheap, and the concept is interesting...trying to review the last century of Dutch cuisine, a decade at a time, illustrated with recipes, cookbooks, menus, etc. from those years.

The recipes are mostly fine...at least interesting, not totally practical...

But OMG, the English translation is fascinatingly bad for such a professional-looking production.

"The sherry years! Do not hesitate to call them that."

"Tepid salads are the showpiece of this decade."

"In restaurants clear broth is winning from turtle soup."

+++

Go Klary, go!!! I'll help proofread (and taste!)....

mem

Edited June 23, 2007 by markemorse (log)