Dutch Recipes
Hearth Cooking
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DUTCH RECIPES
A cookie recipe for the holidays. Any holiday (even if you have to make
one up) is an occasion to make Jan Hagel, a wonderful simple cookie that
tastes great!
Jan Hagel
(Cinnamon Almond Cookies)
(the name means something like John Hail in Dutch, for the coarse
sugar that is traditionally sprinkled on top, but I like the cookie even
better, topped with sliced almonds and cinnamon sugar.)
14 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon zest
1 large egg, beaten lightly with a fork
2-1/3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 sliced almonds
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In an electric mixer cream the butter
with the brown sugar, the zest and 1 tablespoon of the egg until the mixture
is light and fluffy; then stir in the flour. On a lightly buttered baking
sheet with a rim pat the dough into a 14 x 10 inch rectangle, brush it with
the remaining egg, and sprinkle it evenly with the almonds. In a small bowl
stir together the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle the mixture evenly over
the almonds. Bake the pastry in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes,
or until it is golden and while still hot cut it into 2 x 1 inch cookies.
Transfer them to a rack and let them cool. Makes 50.
Mushroom Pie without crust
The next recipe for a crustless mushroom pie goes back to the 17th century.
My adaptation makes a perfect dish for a light summer lunch. Serve it with
a nice, leafy green salad with grape tomatoes, sliced kirby cucumbers, and
plenty of chopped chives from the garden. You might even add a naturtium
flower or two (be sure they have not been sprayed and rinse each flower
carefully). Strawberries marinated in a bit of orange-flavored liqueur make
a festive dessert. The quiche also makes an excellent side dish to grilled
burgers. Add a cucumber salad with lots of basil, some slices of crusty
bread and your menu is complete!
10 ounces white mushrooms, wiped clean; remove stems and chop fine
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 cup grated Gouda cheese (for best results, use the real thing)
3 eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
1 9-inch pie plate
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together chopped
mushroom stems, garlic, seasonings, cheese and eggs. Place the mushroom
caps in the pie plate in an even layer and pour the egg mixture over the
caps. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees and reduce heat to 325 degrees
and bake for 30 minutes, or until set. Cut into wedges and serve.
Beligan Endive Salad with Orange
(Brussels lof salade met sinaasappel)
The following recipe was given to me this spring by our Dutch hostess
Jannie Visser of Zevenhuizen. It is an easy salad, which can be made ahead.
3 Belgian endives, washed
1 orange
1/3 cup vinegar, preferably white Balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Half a ripe banana
Sugar, salt, and freshly ground pepper
Cut a thin slice from the ends of the endives and cut them into three-quarter
inch pieces.
Peel the orange and cut between the segments to eliminate the skins.
Cut each segment in half. In a medium bowl, mix endive and orange pieces
including any juice resulting from cutting the oranges. In a small bowl,
mash the banana half and compbine with the vinegar and oil. Season the dressing
with a small teaspoon of sugar, salt and pepper. Pour onto the endive mixture
and combine thoroughly. Serve, or keep refrigerated for up to 24 hours.
Stewed Oranges
Here is another way to use oranges. The recipe is based on a mention
of such a dish I found in a 19th-century menu. I liked the idea of cooked
oranges and put together the following recipe.
3 navel oranges, peeled and broken in half
Zest of 1 orange
Juice of 2 more navel oranges
Generous pinch each of ground cloves and nutmeg
Place the 6 orange halves in a pan large enough to hold them in one layer.
Sprinkle with zest and spices. Pour on the juice and place the pan on low
heat. Cover and gently cook for 30 minutes. Remove from heat; cool and serve.
It is a very nice side-dish for poultry, ham or pork chops.
Vegetable Soup with Small Meatballs
(Groentesoep met Balletjes)
My mother would always make this soup for Sunday dinner. Children love
the small meatballs. The soup is best made in two steps.
6-8 cups beef broth
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 slice bread, preferably whole wheat, soaked in 4 tablespoons of milk
2 tablespoons finely minced onions, scallions, or chives
Salt, pepper and nutmeg
1 small egg, or use half of a beaten large egg
Vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, carrots, scallions,
peas, lima beans, parsley, celery and 1 tomato (tomatoes tend to overpower
the soup); cut all vegetables into small pieces (leftover cooked vegetables
should be added at the end of the cooking time)
Angel hair or vermicelli pasta
Step One: Bring the broth to a boil. In the meantime, combine
beef, bread, which has been squeezed dry, onions, and season with salt,
pepper and a few grindings/shakes of nutmeg; add the egg, which has been
beaten with a tablespoon of water. Mash the mixture with a fork, or knead
with your hand. Form small 3/4 inch balls and drop them into the boiling
broth. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove and cool. Refrigerate
overnight.
Step Two: Remove and discard any hardened fat from the broth and
remove the little meatballs. Set aside. Bring the broth to a boil and add
the vegetables. Cook for 10 - 15 minutes until they are done to your liking.
Add the meatballs and the pasta. Cook for 1 minute more. If the soup is
too thick, simply add some water. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
Red Cabbage
Dutch food is at its best with the warming, winter dishes. One of my
favorite meals is called "rode kool met runderlapjes," it consists
of red cabbage served with braised beef (I use stew beef cubes) and accompanied
by mashed potatoes and apple sauce.
The red cabbage is cooked with apples and spiced with cloves and bay
leaves. Some sugar and vinegar are added to give it a sweet-sour flavor.
The braised beef is seasoned with the same spices and nutmeg. It is so simple
and yet so good and all of it can be made ahead! I often serve this little
menu as an easy winter meal when friends come over. A cornstarch pudding
and fruit compote, or baked apples make a nice dessert.
1-1/2 lbs. red cabbage, washed and finely chopped
5 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
1 cup water
2 large apples, peeled and quartered
2 tablespoons butter (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vinegar
3 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with 4 tablespoons water
In a large saucepan, combine the cabbage, cloves, bay leaves and the
water, place the apple pieces on top. Bring to a boil, cover the pan and
simmer for about half hour. Stir occasionally and check that the cabbage
does not boil dry. When the cabbage is tender, mash the apples into it and
stir. Discard the bay leaves and cloves as you come across them. Add the
butter, if used, and the salt, vinegar and sugar. Stir to combine and bring
to a boil. Add the cornstarch mixture and sitr. Allow to cook for a minute
or two more and serve.
Braised beef
Oil for frying
1 - 1-1/2 lbs. beef stew cubes (see note)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup water
Note: traditionally, this recipe is made with chuck steaks, but over
the years I have found that beef stew cubes produce a nicer dish.
In a heavy pan, heat the oil and add the beef cubes in a single layer
(depending on the size of the pan you might have to do this in 2 batches).
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and nutmeg and add the chopped onion. Brown the
cubes on both sides. Repeat with the rest of the meat as necessary. When
all cubes are browned add the cloves, bay leaves, and water. Bring to a
boil, reduce the heat and cover the pan tightly. Simmer for 1 - 1-1/2 hours;
the meat should be fork-tender. Check every once in a while to make sure
it does not cook dry and add a little more water as necessary. Serve as
suggested above.
Belgian endives with ham and cheese
(1 or 2 per person, depending on what else you serve)
During the winter, my mother would often make the following dish of Belgian
endives with cheese and ham. In the Netherlands no other meat would accompany
the dish, but, if you wish to serve more meat, a plain grilled or fried
pork chop makes a nice pairing. Serve the endives with boiled potatoes.
When they are done, drain, return the pan to high heat and shake it to dry
the potatoes, then add some finely chopped parsley and 2 tablespoons of
butter and shake the pan again to combine and remove from the heat. Add
a side salad of greens with a vinaigrette dressing and/or home-made applesauce
with cinnamon for a delicious homey meal.
For each endive you need:
1 1-ounce slice imported Gouda cheese
1 slice of lean ham (cut as for sandwiches)
Prehat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a shallow oven-proof dish and
set aside. Gently boil the endives in lightly salted water for 13 minutes.
Drain, but keep the water. Put a slice of cheese about the size of the endive
on top of each one and then roll the two carefully in a slice of ham. Put
the rolls seam-side down in the prepared dish. Make sure the cheese is on
top. Moisten the rolls with a few tablespoons of vegetable water and discard
the rest. Bake in the oven to melt the cheese and thoroughly heat through;
about 15 minutes.
Spiced Sweet Bread
(Zoete Koek)
This sweet bread is very similar in taste to those made in the Dutch
town of Deventer. It is delicious slathered with butter. An ideal take-along
for a pot luck or a coffee hour.
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powdeer
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup milk
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift the dry ingredients together into
a large bowl. Slowly add the milk and stir to make a dough without lumps.
Transfer to a greased 8 x 5 x 23/4 inch loaf pan and bake for about one
hour, or until a knife inserted comes out clean and the loaf is a deep-brown.
Cool. This is a dense loaf that keeps very well and improves in flavor and
texture when stored in an airtight container for a few days.
HEARTH COOKING
I had a wonderful opportunity to experiment in the open hearth (our fireplace)
with an 18th-century Dutch oven, lent to me for precisely that purpose.
Curator Leslie Lefevre-Stratton of the Huguenot Historical Society, owners
of the pan, was present when we baked a variety of recipes. First, a raised
pie, then biscuits, but also cookies, and a nineteenth-century apple pudding
from the Society's cookbook "As Our Ancestors Cooked." The pan
worked as well as a modern-day oven, baked evenly, and produced delicious
baked goods as you can see in the pictures.
   
The cookies also came from a 19th-century recipe book; this one handed
down in the Dutch family Bonebakker. The reason I used it, is that the recipe
specifies the use of a "taertepan," the Dutch word for Dutch oven.
The recipe is quickly made when prepared in the food processor. (Yes, I
agree, it is a bit incongruous to use a processor when making a historical
recipe; but it's handy nevertheless!) You can use what you need of the dough
and freeze the rest.
Boterbiesjes (butter cookies)
3 cups flour
pound butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
Combine the ingredients in the processor outfitted with a metal blade
and process until the dough hangs together. Remove and either roll out and
cut with cookie cutters, or cut into thumb-size strips (see picture), or
make a long roll of the dough and cut into thin round cookies. Bake at 350
degrees for 7 to 10 minutes. The longer you bake them the harder they'll
get. Not everyone might like the cookies hard, so experiment with the first
batch.
I have done a lot of historical cooking this season, but when I gave
a talk at Plimoth Plantation in May, the food department there did the work
and what a beautiful job they did! All the recipes were prepared from my
book "Dutch Recipes with an American Connection, which is part of the
larger book "Matters of Taste (with Dr. Donna R. Barnes). See also
the webpage for "Books."
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