Belgian Carp Stew Food

STOOFVLEES (BELGIAN BEEF STEW)

Steps:

• Glaze the onion in margarine in a large skillet.
• Add the beef and cook until it has browned.
• Add all of the beer, the beef, the chocolate and the bay leaf.
• Spread the mustard onto the slices of peperkoek or bread and place in top of the meat.
• Add salt and pepper to your taste.
• Leave to cook on low heat for at least 1 1/2 hours, but the longer it cooks the better it tastes, stir from time to time preventing it to burn. The sauce should have a pretty thick consistency.
• The leftovers of this recipe can be frozen or the recipe can easily be doubled.
• Enjoy!

BELGIUM BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Dredge the meat in the flour. In a Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Brown meat in butter, then add the onions and fry until glazed. Stir in water and vinegar. Season with thyme, bay leaves, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Mix in the beer. Spread mustard over bread, then add the bread and the carrots to the meat. Cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Mix in the brown sugar (two tablespoons is a minimum! A lot of people prefer more).

STOOFVLEES (FLEMISH BEEF STEW)

Steps:

• Peel and roughly dice the onions.
• Melt a knob of butter and about 1 tbsp of oil in a large (preferably cast-iron) casserole over medium heat. Sauté the onions until soft and just starting to brown. Remove from the casserole and put into a large container.
• Add 1 to 2 more tbsp of oil to the casserole. Season the beef and add the meat to the casserole. Brown the beef cubes over medium heat in batches. (About 7 to 8 pieces of meat per batch should do the trick.) Once browned, add each batch to the onions.
• Add the Loonse stroop/syrup and beer to the casserole and turn up the heat. Bring to a boil and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the casserole.
• Once the stewing liquid comes to a boil, add the onion and beef cubes back to the casserole, along with the cloves and bouquet garni. Give the stew-to-be a good stir and bring to a simmer.
• Next, spread 1 tbsp of mustard on each slice of bread and place both slices (mustard side down) on top of the stew. (They'll disintegrate completely, adding flavour to the stew and thickening the sauce.)
• Let the stew simmer (uncovered!) for 1.5 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Then pop a lid on and simmer for another 15 minutes. This adds a touch more moisture back to the casserole, which the dish will need. Remove from the heat.
• Remove the bouquet garni (and cloves, if you can find them). Add the tablespoon of vinegar, and give your stoofvlees a good stir.
• Now comes the most difficult part. Leave it alone for at least 12 hours (with the lid on). The flavours will build up even more. It can be eaten straight away as well, but it will always taste better the day after.

BELGIAN CARP STEW

Steps:

• Place fish bones and heads in a 2 1/2-quart souffle dish with a tight-fitting lid and pour beer over top. Cover with lid and cook in a 650- to 700-watt oven at 100 percent power for 15 minutes. Remove lid and cook for 5 minutes longer.
• Remove from oven and uncover. Strain broth through a fine sieve. Discard solids and reserve broth, there should be about 1 3/4 cups; add water if needed to make 1 3/4 cups.
• In same souffle dish, place 1 tablespoon butter and cook, uncovered, at 100 percent power for 1 minute. Remove from oven and stir in mushrooms, shallots, celery, and parsley. Cover with lid and cook at 100 percent power for 3 minutes.
• Remove from oven and uncover. Stir in fish and add reserved broth. Cover with lid and cook at 100 percent power for 5 minutes.
• Remove from oven and uncover. With a slotted spoon remove all solids to a bowl and reserve the cooking liquid in the dish. In a medium-size bowl whisk together cream and egg yolks. Gradually whisk in about 1 cup of cooking liquid. Whisk mixture back into souffle dish. Cover with lid and cook at 100 percent power for 5 minutes, stirring once during cooking.
• Remove from oven and uncover. Whisk in remaining butter until melted and season with salt and pepper. Return fish and vegetables to souffle dish and serve.