Well known in the Netherlands but also directly across our border, we know all too well that the people of Brabant are Burgundians of the low countries. Of course, this also includes delicious dishes! Countrymen above the rivers are often not familiar with “Brabant cuisine”, but it is certainly worth discovering!
Lunch dish: Sausage rolls
Well known all over the Netherlands, the sausage rolls. Unfortunately, they are sporadically available above the rivers, so it is all the more fun to make them yourself! They also taste delicious! The sausage rolls became famous in 2014 by Roy Donders, but he mainly ate the variant with bacon. The sausage rolls are traditionally eaten after Mass on Christmas Eve at the “Christmas breakfast”. The people of Brabant used to be a people with little money and resources. The sausage rolls were known but the puff pastry was expensive. As a replacement, white bread dough was used, which was a lot cheaper. This is how the sausage roll was born!
Ingredients (for 5 to 6 pieces)
- 250 grams of flour
- 6 grams of salt
- 70 grams of butter
- 10 grams of brown sugar
- 13 grams of fresh yeast or 1 bag of dried yeast
- 125 grams of milk
- 450 grams of half-and-half minced meat
- 1 rusk
- 0.5 egg
- salt
- freshly ground pepper
- nutmeg
- 1 beaten egg
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. This saves waiting time when this is done before.
Bread dough
Make a pile of the flour on the counter and make a well in it. Then sprinkle the 6 grams of salt over the flour. Heat the milk lukewarm and pour it into the well made well. Add the butter, sugar and yeast and slowly knead it with your hands until it becomes mushy. When this is done, sprinkle some more flour with the whole so that the dough becomes even but firm. Then knead it for a few minutes so that it mixes well. When you have finished kneading, make balls of about 95 grams and place on a plate with foil on top. Let it rest in a warm room for about 15 minutes to 20 minutes (the longer the dough can rise, the lighter it becomes)
Stuffing
Mix the minced meat with the half egg and the ground rusk. Add flavor by adding the salt, pepper and nutmeg. This is their own taste for everyone. So add the quantity according to your own interpretation. After mixing, roll of the mixed minced meat sausages of about 90 grams. (Sliced shallots can also be added)
Composing bread and minced meat
Take the dough balls back and roll them out with a rolling pin into ovals. After rolling out, place the sausages in it and brush the edges with the beaten egg so that it sticks. Fold the edges into a nice bun and place the bun on the grid or plate seams down for a prettier face and then let it rise for about 50 minutes for a lighter dish. (Pay attention! Always put baking paper on the grid or tray before placing the sandwiches on it!)
Bake
After rising and before baking, brush the buns with the remains of the beaten egg for a shiny appearance and then put them in the oven. After 30 minutes you can enjoy delicious freshly made sausage rolls!
Tip!: Sausage rolls can also be frozen. Let them cool down before putting them in the freezer. If you want to eat them after they have been frozen, let the buns thaw first, then preheat the oven to 180 degrees and bake them for 5 to 10 minutes.
Variation tip !: Roy Donders made sausage rolls with bacon known. Very tasty and gives a slightly different bite to this traditional dish. Before the buns go into the oven, put a strip of bacon on the bun.
Beam slurry
Balkenbrij is an old and traditional Brabant dish. In earlier times the Brabant farmers had little money and every part of the pig was used to eat so that no food was lost. Why throw away meat, even if it sounds and looks less appetizing. Beam slush is nowadays seen as a real Brabant delicacy. Most supermarkets in the south of the country sell it. Wood slurry is mainly eaten in the autumn or winter.
Ingredients
- 500 grams of pork (heart, poulet, kidneys, heart, bacon, minced meat)
- 100 grams of fat bacon
- 2 stock cubes
- 250 grams of buckwheat flour
- 75 grams of soaked raisins
- 1/4 liter of pig blood
- 1 liter of water
- butter
- grinded pepper
- (15 grams of thyme and bay leaf, flavor of your choice)
Preparation
Take a large frying pan, add water and add the meat and bacon together, possibly also the herbs. Bring this to the boil and add some pepper to taste and stock cubes. Let it simmer for 40 minutes. Remove the meat from the stock and let it cool down. When the meat has cooled, cut the meat into cubes of about half a centimeter. Continue with the stock, pass it through a sieve so that the lumps are out. Take 1/3 of the stock and add the buckwheat flour here and mix until smooth. Combine the remaining stock and meat in the frying pan and bring it back to the boil. When it is brought to a boil, add the raisins and blood. (Note! This is not necessary, but it is the traditional recipe) Now comes the physical part, the stirring. Stir in the stock and meat and slowly add the batter. After mixing, let it boil for another 15 minutes and keep stirring here too! To be able to serve it, the pastry must be stiff. Cool a bowl with water and pour in the beam slurry. Let it cool down. After cooling, the beam slurry has to stiffen overnight in the refrigerator.
To serve
After stiffening overnight you can cut slices of the beam slurry. Heat a frying pan with butter and place the slices in it. Fry the slices until they are golden brown. You’re ready to serve it!
Serve tips!
- Cut the beam slurry into thin slices for (rye) bread with a little mustard
- Bake it golden brown as a meat dish with the potatoes and vegetables
- Serve it as a snack for a drink, well known in Brabant! Delicious with mustard.
Stew from Brabant
Stews are of course deliciously Dutch. But the people of Brabant have also created their own stew. Easy to prepare and you will love it when it is ready! Read on for the recipe.
Ingredients (4 to 5 persons)
- 500 grams of beef poulet in small cubes
- 9 decilitres beef stock (2 cubes)
- 1 tablespoon of vinegar
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cloves
- 1 kilo of potatoes cut into small cubes
- 500 grams of carrots cut into thin slices
- 500 grams of chopped onions
- 1 fennel cut into small pieces
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (thicken with water)
- pepper
- salt
- nutmeg
Preparation
Grab a frying pan and put the stock and meat here. Bring it to a boil with the vinegar, bay leaves, cloves and simmer for 2 to 2.5 hours. When this time has elapsed add the carrots, fennel potatoes and onions and let it cook until the vegetables are al dente. After this you have a lot of cooking liquid left. Pour this into a saucepan and add the cornstarch diluted with water and make sure that the view is binding because this will be the sauce for the stew. Of course the sauce can still be flavored with pepper, salt and nutmeg. Then melt the little butter at the bottom of the frying pan and toss it together to make it a bit creamier. You are now ready to eat the delicious Brabant stew!
