Recipes

BelgoGreekFrench

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:13:06 +0200

Belgian endives, Greek Feta, French Aubergine tapenade and some tea spoons of vinaigrette is all you need for this delicious starter. Ready in 10 minutes.

Brussels Sprouts

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:22:39 +0200

Brussels sprouts were grown possibly as early as the 1200s in what is now Belgium. They’re from the same family as cabbage, collard greens, broccoli, and kohlrabi. They contain good amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid and dietary fibre. Moreover, they are believed to protect against colon cancer, due to their containing sinigrin. And they contain al lot of iron (1mg per 100gr)

Overcooking releases sulphur compounds in the vegetable that give it an unpleasant smell. If correctly cooked, the unpleasant smell is avoided and the vegetable possesses a delicate nutty flavour.

You can steam them for 8 to 10 minutes or blanche 3 minutes for further cooking.

Belgian Fries

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 14:32:55 +0200

Belgian Fries were invented on monday, April 9 in the year 1663 around 11h30 a.m. by Marie Van ‘t koot in the region of the Meuse (a small river in the south of Belgium).

Why are they sometimes called “French Fries” ?

Well, in those days in English “to french” meant : “to cut into lengthways pieces”. So “French Fries” was short for “frenched and fried potatoes”.
Today “French Fries” is used to label ‘stripes of potato that were fried in a futile attempt to resemble Belgian Fries’ .

If you have a ‘list of things to do before I die’, you should add : go to Belgium to taste the real stuff and while I’m there, check out Trapist Beer, Hasseltse Jenever, chocolate,...

How do I make good Belgian Fries at home?
You don’t. Real Belgian Fries come from a Frietkot.
The secret recipe is passed on from generation to generation.

In our Soul Food Blog, whenever we say Belgian Fries we mean : Belgian Fries from a Frietkot. (In Belgium it is traditionally the man of the house who jumps on his bicycle round noon to get the fries from the Frietkot)

So, next time you overhear a discussion in an American Burger
snack-bar on French Fries or Belgian Fries, you can reassure them, their eating French Fries, something that’s not even close to Belgian Fries.

Leaf chicory

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 17:25:48 +0200

Also known as Belgian endives, witloof by the Dutch speaking Belgians and chicon by the French speaking Belgians.
They are called Belgian endives because the technique for growing blanched endives was accidentally discovered in the 1850s in the Josaphat valley in Schaerbeek, Belgium.

Conventions

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 16:49:04 +0200

In Belgium we use a gram (g) as the metric unit for solids, a litre (l) for liquids and a meter (m) for length.
Here’s a conversion table:

The Knives

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 13:52:37 +0200

Good tools is half the work, as they say in Belgium. If there’s one tool you’ll need in the kitchen a good knife, it is. Stainless steel knives will last your life.
Here are some video’s showing how to sharpen and honing them.