Tag Archives: main dishes

Classic Carbonnade Flamande

Published in Cooking with Beer on April 28, 2011

Ingredients:
Flour, salt and pepper to coat beef
2 pounds boneless chuck in 2 by 3 chunks
1/4 pound lean bacon thickly sliced and cut in chunks
2 tablespoons butter
3 large onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 bay leaf
1 half bottle (350 ml) of Moinette Brune or Witkap Dubbel

Yields: 4 servings

Combine flour, salt and pepper, and dredge the beef in the mixture. Cook bacon in a skillet. Transfer bacon to a casserole dish and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat. Add butter.

Brown onion in fat and transfer it to the casserole dish.

Brown the meat on all sides with mustard and add it to the casserole dish, together with bay leaf, thyme and Moinette Brune or Witkap Dubbel beer. Simmer covered over low heat until the meat is tender – about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serve hot, with plain boiled root vegetables and the beer.

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Cod Fillets a la Scaldis

Published in Cooking with Beer on April 28, 2011

Here is recipe straight from the Brasserie Dubuisson repertoire.

Ingredients:
8 nice cod fillets for 4 servings (2 x 100 g per person)
2 large onions
Chives or chopped parsley
1 eleven ounce bottle Scaldis
250 grams butter
Flour, for sauce

Finely chop the onions (or shallots if preferred) and braise lightly in the butter.

Arrange the fish on top and simmer for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add 1 bottle Scaldis and allow the fish fillets to poach. When poached, keep everything hot on a dish and boil the bouillon to reduce its volume by a quarter.

Taste and bind the sauce with a mix of butter and flour. Pour the sauce over the fish fillets and garnish with chives or chopped parsley.

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Country Style Cassoulet with Scaldis

Published in Cooking with Beer on April 28, 2011

Recipe Credit: Jeff Haller, Executive Chef at the Otesaga Hotel.

The Otesaga is the grand dame resort hotel on Otsego Lake in Cooperstown. We did many collaborations with Jeff. This is a classic. If you go to Cooperstown, be sure to stop for a drink on their sweeping lakefront porch. Delightful!

Ingredients:
1 pound bacon, diced
2 pounds boneless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup flour
1 large Spanish onion, diced
10 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound northern beans (white beans)
3 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
4 ounces cider vinegar
11 ounces Scaldis
1 1/2 quarts beef stock
1/2 pound Andouille sausage, sliced
1/2 pound chorizo sausage, sliced
1/2 pound Italian sausage, sliced
1/2 pound kielbasa
3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh thyme

Render bacon crispy in a six-gallon stockpot. Remove bacon from fat. Lightly season chicken pieces, dredge in flour, and shake off excess.

Add chicken to the bacon fat, brown, and remove. Combine onions, garlic, beans, celery, and carrots. Sauté for 3-5 minutes. Add mustard and vinegar, sauté for 2 more minutes.

Add beer and beef stock, then bring to a simmer. Add sausages, bay leaves, pepper, rosemary, and thyme. Cover and simmer over moderate heat, stirring occasionally.

Cook until beans are tender, approximately 1 ½ to 2 hours.

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Belgian Seafood Stew

Published in Cooking with Beer on April 28, 2011

This colorful and tasty dish is prepared with wine, but is beautifully matched to Moinette Brune.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon saffron
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup fish stock
1/2 pound rockfish, diced into 1 inch cubes
1/2 pound mussels
1/4 pound shrimp, medium-sized
1 carrot, julienned
1 leek, (white part only), julienned
1 tomato (outer meat only), julienned
1 celery root, julienned
1/2 bunch green onion, 1/4 inch bias cut
2 small red potatoes, quartered and par cooked (see note)
1 tablespoon fine herbs (parsley, tarragon, chives, thyme, and bay)
Salt and pepper to taste
Moinette Brune, for serving

Sauté onion in olive oil. Add the garlic, then sauté for one minute. Add the saffron, white wine, and fish stock, then bring to a boil.

Add rockfish, mussels, and shrimp, then cover. Steam for 3-5 minutes, until the mussels barely begin to open.

Add the julienned carrot, leek, tomato, celery root, green onion, and par cooked red potatoes. Cover and cook for an additional 3 minutes so that the vegetables will be vibrant.

Add fine herbs, salt and pepper to taste, and serve. Serves 2.

Note:
To par cook potatoes, place in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5-7 minutes till firm and tender.

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Grandmother’s Rabbit with Dried Plums

Published in Cooking with Beer on April 28, 2011

Rabbit is a popular dish in Belgium. This delicious preparation comes from our friend Ruth
Van Waerebeek. Ginger, chocolate, plums and currant make this a rich Burgundian dish.

Ingredients:
1 small rabbit
1 bottle Scaldis for marinade
Flour, enough to cover rabbit
25 grams butter
1 rasher streaky bacon
1 dessertspoon oil
2 large onions
10-12 dried and soaked plums
Thyme, to taste
1 bay leaf
Additional aromatic herbs and spices, to taste
1 handful currants
1 slice ginger cake
1 80% cocoa chocolate bar
2 sugar lumps

Marinate rabbit in Scaldis overnight.

Dry the pieces of rabbit after marinating, then turn in flour. Set strained marinade aside. Heat the oil in the pan, brown the pieces of rabbit well, and allow to drain off.

Brown the butter in a frying pan and add the diced bacon until colored. Add the browned pieces of rabbit to the bacon, then pour in the strained marinade. Season with thyme, bay leaf, and additional herbs and spices. Bring to a boil, then simmer gently for at least 2 hours.

Brown the finely chopped onions in a pan and add them to the cooking liquid. Then add the ginger cake, chocolate, sugar, plums and currants. Simmer for a few more minutes.

To serve, arrange the pieces of rabbit on a preheated dish and cover with the strained sauce. Serves 2.

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Flank Steak Marinated in Saison Dupont

Published in Cooking with Beer on April 28, 2011

Annie Farrell is a celebrated organic farmer in Northern Westchester. We became friends while establishing the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market in 1990. A Culinary Institute of America student, Richard Blais, who interned with Annie, developed 6 lovely recipes for us thanks to her intercession. Here is one of them. Check out Richard’s phenomenal work at www.richardblais.com

Ingredients:
1 flank steak, trimmed
2 ounces Saison Dupont
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon crushed ginger
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon cracked pepper
1 tablespoon cilantro
2 ounces vegetable oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup sliced onion

Yield: 1 steak

Combine ingredients. Marinate flank steak for at least 2 hours and up to one night.

Grill and serve with rice or potatoes.

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The One and Only Truly Belgian Fries

Published in Cooking with Beer on April 28, 2011

Recipe Credit: From Ruth Van Waerbeek’s Everybody Eats Well in Belgium

Born to a family of chefs and raised in Belgium, Ruth Van Waerebeek is an authority on authentic Belgian cooking. Her cookbook on Belgian cuisine is easy to use and full of delicious vignettes. Some advice from Ruth:

“It is imperative to use a starchy, older potato for making real Belgian fries… The size of the fries is a very personal matter. Experiment to find the size you like best. Very thinly cut potato sticks need a shorter frying time, and the thicker ones take a little longer.”

Ingredients:
3 to 4 cups vegetable oil for frying
2 pounds Idaho or russet baking potatoes, or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, rinsed, and dried (to prevent spattering!)
Salt to taste
Mayonnaise, for serving

Yields: 4 to 6 servings

Pour enough oil into a deep fryer to reach at least halfway up the sides of the pan, but not more than 3/4 of the way up. Heat the oil to 325 degrees F.

Cut the potatoes into sticks 1/2 inch wide and 2 1/2 to 3 inches long. Dry all the pieces thoroughly in a clean dishtowel. This will keep the oil from splattering. Divide the potato sticks into batches of no more than 1 cup each. Do not fry more than one batch at a time.

When the oil has reached the desired temperature, fry the potatoes for 4 to 5 minutes per batch. They should be lightly colored but not browned. If your fryer has a basket, simply lift it out to remove the fried potatoes. Otherwise, use a long-handled skimmer to lift out the potatoes. Be sure to bring the temperature of the oil back to 325 degrees F between batches. At this point the frietjes can rest for several hours at room temperature until you are almost ready to serve them.

Heat the oil to 375 degrees F. Fry the potatoes in 1-cup batches until they are nicely browned and crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain on fresh paper towels or brown paper bags and place in a warmed serving bowl lined with more paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

Never cover the potatoes to keep them hot as they will immediately turn soft and limp. If you are inclined to perfectionism, leave some potatoes to fry halfway through the meal so you can serve them crisp and piping hot.
Serve with mayonnaise and your choice of Vanberg & deWulf beers. Smaakelijk!

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Belgian Beef Stew with Moinette Brune

Published in Cooking with Beer on April 28, 2011

Recipe Credit: The Phoenix, Oneonta, NY

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1 jar (5 ounces) prepared horseradish
1 cup Moinette Brune
8 small potatoes, cut into halves
8 medium carrots, cut into fourths
1 medium onion, chopped
2 1/2 pounds beef roast bottom

Cook beef in Dutch oven over medium heat until brown. Reduce heat and sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Spread horseradish over both sides of the beef. Add Moinette Brune and enough water to cover meat. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat and cover.

Simmer on top of range or cook in the oven at 325 degrees F for 2 1/2 hours. Add veggies, cover and cook one more hour. Remove meat and place on warm platter.

Gravy:
Skim excess fat from broth. Add enough water to broth to measure 2 cups.

Shake 1/2 cup cold water and 1/4 cup flour in a tightly covered container. Stir gradually into broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Serve with beef.

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Sea Bass Filets with Anchovies and Olives in Saison Dupont

Published in Cooking with Beer on April 28, 2011

Ingredients for 4 servings:
12 fillets of sea bass (descaled)
24 de-pitted olives
24 anchovies in oil
2 seeded and peeled tomatoes
2 finely chopped spring onions
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon finely chopped basil olive oil, pepper and salt
11 ounces Saison Dupont
Triangular pieces of toast, for serving

Prepare all ingredients in advance. Dry the fish and fry briefly in the olive oil. Discard the fat and keep the fish hot on plates.

Drain off the anchovies and dice the tomato. Place fresh oil in the pan and add the tomato, onion and olives. Braise lightly and season.

Add half the beer and allow to reduce. If necessary, add a little more oil and beer to taste. Arrange the anchovy on the hot fish fillets. Divide the olives and arrange the sauce next to the fish.

May also be served on triangular pieces of toast.

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Steamed Mussels with Hop Ruiter and Ginger

Published in Cooking with Beer on April 28, 2011

Moules-frites – or Mossels met frietjes – is unpretentious, generous finger food and surely one of the Belgians’ favorite dishes. In many seaside restaurants, the mussels come to the table in a casserole placed in front of each guest. An empty mussel shell is used to pick the tender morsels out of their shell, and the accompanying crispy fries are dipped in mayonnaise (truly one of the few occasions we are allowed to eat with our fingers!). Mussels are a snap to prepare and taste great when steamed in beer, another Belgian specialty. A complementary touch of ginger and fresh cilantro or parsley turns these buttery mussels into a surprising and original treat. The Belgians believe that mussels are the cure for the common cold…something to do with the high iodine content. Ginger can only add to the beneficial effect.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
2 ounces smoked bacon, finely chopped
1 cup scallions, finely chopped
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
4 pounds mussels, thoroughly cleaned and bearded
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups Hop Ruiter
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons finely minced
Fresh cilantro or parsley
Belgian fries, for serving
Bread, for serving

Yield: 4 servings

Melt the butter in a large pot (with lid). Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the scallions, celery and ginger and simmer, stirring, for another 3 minutes. Add the mussels, flavor with a generous grinding of black pepper. Pour the beer and the cream over the mussels and cover the pot tightly.

Bring to a boil over high heat and steam the mussels in the covered pot until they all open, 3 to 6 minutes, depending on their size. Shake the pot vigorously a few times to toss with the buttery vegetables and to allow them to open. Discard any mussels that remain closed.

Divide the hot mussels into soup plates along with the broth. Garnish with the minced cilantro or parsley. Serve with a generous portion of “Belgian fries” or bread and plenty of frosty beer.

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