Best Bars In Brussels

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Continuing the Belgian theme here's a list of some of the best bars in Brussels.

Archiduc
Belga Queen
Chelsea
De Ultime Hallucinatie
Greenwich
Havana
Java
Kafka
Khnopff
Kolya
L'Ultime Atome
Le Roi des Belges
Mappa Mundo
PP Café
Radio Bar
Skievelat
The Fuse
Zebra Bar
La Becasse
Bizon
Monk
Walvis
Het Spinnekopke
La Fleur à papier doré
Le Stoemelings
Le Corbeau
Au Bon Vieux Temps
Chez Moeder Lambic
Cirio
Miladiou
Le Cerceuil
Le Bier Circus
Peochenellekelder
Toone
La Porte Noire
La Morte Subite
Estaminet Toone
La Brocante
A l'Imaige Nostre-Dame
Poechenellekelder
Le Corbeau
In't Spinnekopke
Au Bon Vieux Temps
A la Becasse

Thanks to Keri for providing the original list.

Note that this post is a work in progress and will be refined and added to as time goes by.

Flemish-style beef stew with beer

Working in Brussels for so long, I though it was about time I tried cooking a bit of the local cuisine. And what better place to start than with Flemish-style beef stew with beer.

A visit to Amazon and a copy of The Food and Cooking of Belgium by Suzanne Vandyck later and it was off to the kitchen, bottles of Belgian Brown Beer in hand.

Ingredients

• 500g / 1/4 lb of Braising Steak cubed
  
• Plain Flour
• Butter
• Olive Oil
• 1 Large Onion Diced
  
• 2 Garlic Cloves pealed and chopped. Whack them with the flat of your hand or a knife blade (careful) prior to pealing.
  
• 1 or 2 330 ml/11 1/2 fl oz bottles of Dark Belgian Beer such as Chimay (I used Chimay Bruin), plus a few more bottles for drinking.
  
• A bouquet garni lashed together of 3 sprigs of thyme, 6 of parsley and 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
• 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2 or 3 slices of rustic bread
• 2 tbsp (ish) of Dijon Mustard
• A fistful of fresh parsley chopped
• Salt and Freshly Ground black pepper

Preparation

• First add a couple of pinches of salt (if possible Maldon Sea Salt) and 6 or so turns of a pepper mill to a food bag containing a couple of tablespoons of flour.

• Add the meat in batches to the flour, shaking the bag, in a closed state to coat. Shake off any excess flour and put to one side. If you run out of seasoned flour before the end, hey it's not the end of the world as we know it, add some more.
  

• Heat a good knob of butter and add a tbsp or two of olive oil to a large flame proof caserole dish, preferably cast iron, over a medium to high heat.
  

• When sizzling add the meat and brown in batches. As with the flour, add a tad more oil if it runs out. Put the browned meat to one side on a plate.
  

• Add the onion and cook on a low heat for about 6 to 8 minutes till soft, then add the garlic and give it another 3 minutes. In this time stir, shake and otherwise agitate your veggies to stop them burning.

• Return your browned meat to the pan and combine with the onions.

• Add enough beer to just cover the meat. If like me you used one and a half bottles, hurrah, celebrate by drinking the remainder.

• Bring the mixture to just below boiling point, then add the herbs vinegar and sugar. The sourness of the vinegar should be offset by the sweetness of the sugar. Have a taste, as with Thai cooking, if too sour add more sugar, if too sweet, add more vinegar. If just right, fantastic!

• Cover and cook over the lowest heat your hob can muster, stirring every now and then. If your herbs went in loose, try to keep the together, it makes removal easier.
  

• After an hour and a half, or when the meat is tender, remove the herbs (hey I did warn you).
  

• Slice your bread, if unsliced, carving off enough to cover the surface of your stew in a single layer. Spread with a generous amount of the Dijon mustard and lay mustard side down on the surface of the stew. Spoon over some of the liquid, cover the pot and leave to cook for a further 20-30 minutes.

• The bread should by now have absorbed some of the juices and dissolved to thicken the stew. If needs be help the dissolving along with the aid of a spatula.

• Taste and if needs be add some more salt and pepper to taste.

• Serve with fries, mashed potato or breads, sprinkling the chopped parsley over the stew for garnish.

• For drinks to serve with it, I'd reccomend more of the beer you used in it's cooking.
  

• If you've got them, also serve with Belgian pickles, or a suitably rustic local equivalent.
  

This stew was wonderful and thoroughly recommended. If you do it some time, make the effort to get a good quality Belgium Brown beer to use in it. It makes all the difference. It also warrants a damn fine piece of braising steak, in my case I paid a visit to Edinburgh farmers market to get some quality coo.

I'd also strongly recommend that you get yourself a copy of The Food and Cooking of Belgium. This is a marvelous cookery book, doing full justice to what has to be one of the most underrated cuisines on Earth. Beautifully illustrated it delves into the history, culture and traditions of Belgian food, before launching into 60 mouth watering recipes. The author, Suzanne Vandyck, was born in Belgium and runs a cookery school, Worldchefs, specialising in world cooking. Check out their website at www.worldchefs.net, there a few recipes there for you to try (after giving the beef stew a go that is).

Stay tuned for my next foray into the wonderful world of Belgian cooking. Coming to a table near me soon.

Eet Smakelijk!

Trucking at Novacon 38

When shall we three meet again? How about on Friday night at the launch of Ian R Macleod's new book,Song Of Time?

Messrs Wright,Ternent and Stocks take time out from culinary pursuits to avail themselves of free nibbles and wine at the book launch on the opening night of Novacon 38. The wine was a Calafornian merlot that would have been the ideal companion to a chip supper. Poured on the chips in lieu of vinegar that is...

A Crooked Little Lamb Recipe

I recently read a copy of Warren Ellis's most excellent novel Crooked Little Vein. After it finished Warren listed a number of recipes, including this one for Lamb with a garlic, wine and rosemary sauce. Warren also suggests a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds over the top at the end. Not something I personally think is necessary. This dish meets my criteria for most excellent food, simple to prepare, a classic combination of ingredients and a tasty end product.

Ingredients
A joint of Lamb
A bulb of garlic (that wee plump thing composed of lots of cloves), cut in half across the middle.
A sprig of rosemary
A glass of White Wine (don't use a wine you wouldn't be happy to drink on its own)
Tinfoil (do not eat)

Preparation

• Pre-heat the oven to 190C

• Rip of about 3 feet of tin foil and fold in half. Repeat with a second strip and lay at right angles across the first. Like a modern day Robert Harbin, give it the old Origami Kung Fu and make a (hopefully) leak proof pocket of the foil.

• Add the bisected bulb of garlic, the glass of wine and rosemary.

Time to dust off the abacus, the next two items need a wee bit of math to work out what hits the oven first and when the second item goes in. Aim to have the sauce cooked at the same time your lamb has finished resting.

• Seal the pocket and whack into the oven for at least 1 1/2 hours.
  
• Roast the lamb for 30 minutes a lb (450g) and rest for 30 minutes (the Lamb that is not yourself).

• Slice the lamb and strain the sauce over the top.

Eat swilled down with the remainder of the wine (hic), then dig out an issue of Transmetropolitan to read.

Bon Apetite.

Ana's Dumplings

Hailing from the land of Dan Marino, this Southern belle provided me with this delightful recipe for Bread Dumplings. The perfect accompaniment to thanksgiving turkey or your Chrimbo dinner if you're from the other side of the pond. Just make sure you don't fumble when taking them out of the oven, or they may end up incomplete. I'm sure when you get the first down, you'll want ten.

Ingredients for 6-8 Dumplings

6 Hard Rolls ( I use the Chicago hard rolls, that are a day old)
1/8th Liter of hot milk
1 small onion
30 grams of butter
2 Tbl spoons of parsley (the straighter. leafy version)
2 eggs
Pepper
Salt
A little flour

Preparation

Tear apart the rolls in small pieces or cut it in small pieces, pour the hot milk over it. Cut up the onions in tiny pieces and heat them up in a pan with the butter until they turn all glassy, throw in the parsley and let that heat up with the onions.

Then put the onions and parsley mixture and the eggs into the bowl with your bread, mix it and let it sit for a few minutes. Put in the salt and pepper. Dust the mass with a little bit of flour, not too much otherwise they’ll get hard as rocks. Moisten your hands with water, grab a handful of the mixture and form a ball. Dust with a little flour and put aside.

Fill a big pot with water, a little salt. Bring it to a gentle boil, turn the heat down, put in the dumplings and let them cook for approximately 20 minutes, don’t boil them and don’t cover the pot. When they float to the top and stay there, then they are ready.

These are great with roasts and gravies.

Touchdown !!!

For the curious amongst you, the picture of Ana shown above was taken at a John Mayall concert at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels. Go Rock Chick go, go,go !!

RED by Trev 11/1/89

The following recipe is an approximation. The thing about RED is that you can improvise.

One large batch: -

3lb course minced beef

3 large onions

Large tin plumb tomatoes

Half a tube tomato puree

6 heaped tablespoons chilli powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon tumeric

1 fistfull dried red chillis

Lots of fresh ground black pepper

quite a bit of salt to taste

1 heaped tablespoon paprika

1/4 litre approx. good oil

1/3 large size fresh double cream optional

2 lb mushrooms optional

1/2 bottle dry red wine optional

4 teaspoons garam masala

6 green cardomons

3 tablespoons oregano

The following is instructions for EXECUTIVE RED.

• Big Pan
• Oil in - turn on heat
• Chop onions (various ways) and add to pan as done. Cook till some just start to brown.
• Add all spices and seasonings except for garam amsala (+herbs).
• Add tomato puree.
• Cook stirring till oily red brown vicious looking mess.
• Add meat and stir in till all meat covered with spices.
• Add wine and cook for 5 mins.
• Add chillis (broken).
• Cook (simmer) for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs.
• Add garam masala & stir in.
• Add cream.
• Cook for approx 10 mins.
• Allow to cool before reheating and serving.

If you want to add mushrooms, add with the meat.
If you don't want EXECUTIVE, omit the wine & cream.

Carbonara Sauce

Carbonara is my favorite Italian sauce. Encapsulating my ethos of a simple dish using the finest ingredients prepared in a straightforward fashion to produce a stunning result.

It literally translates charcoal maker, so this is a charcoal makers sauce. One Italian food historian
claims that at the end of World War II, American soldiers befriended the locals and brough them fresh bacon and eggs. When asked to prepare a pasta sauce with this fare, carbonara was the end result. Perhaps the locals in question were in the business of making charcoal.

The key to success with this dish is to use the best ingredients you can find. A quality pancetta from your local Itailan deli (or better still Puddledubs if you live in Fife), free range eggs and a good quality pasta. Follow this rule and you'll make a dish fit for the Gods (Bachus would love it!).

Ingredients for 3 people

• 125g Pancetta or bacon pieces
• 2 cloves of garlic lightly mashed just breaking the skin which you discard.
  
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp dry white wine (optional)
• 4 egg yolks
  
• 2 tbsp freshly grated Romano cheese
• 25 / 1 oz freshly grated Parmia Regiano Cheese
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp double cream (optional)
• 1 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley
  
• Fresh Pasta (the usual pasta for this is spaghetti, but I always prefer a tagliatelle)

Preparation

• In a bowl beat the yolks of the eggs together. Some recipes use the white too but I think the yolks on there own make a richer sauce.

• Mix in the cheeses, the parsley, a pinch of salt, the pepper and if used the cream.

• Cook the pasta as per the instructions with a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp of olive oil.

• While it is cooking, heat the oil in a pan and fry the garlic until it is golden, when you should discard it.

• Add the pancetta or bacon and fry until crisp

• If using, add the wine and cook for a couple of minutes till it evaporates. Take off the heat.
  

• Drain the pasta and tip into the pan with the bacon, stirring it together.

• Mix in the cheese and egg mix. The residual heat will be enough to cook the eggs.

• Serve with some garlic bread and eat with a big grin on your face.