Location: Western Europe
Population: 11.8 million
Capital: Brussels
Geography: Part coastal plain, part forested plateau
Language: Dutch, French, German
Signature flavours: Dairy, pork, beef, shellfish, potato, beer, wine, chocolate

The Menu

Belgium was the first place we travelled after the pandemic, having cancelled a previous trip in 2020. One of my most vivid memories of that vacation was attending a chocolate making class. Heading into this assignment, I knew one thing for sure: I was going to make chocolates again. Apart from that, I had a sense that my menu was going to be influenced by France and the Netherlands, two of Belgium’s neighbours, and to a lesser extent, Germany.

Moules-Frites: Mussels in a white wine sauce, served alongside golden French fries.

Prep and cooking time: 90 min
Difficulty: 2/5

Carbonnade Flamande: A hearty beef, bacon, and onion stew with a beer broth from the Flanders region of Belgium.

Prep and cooking time: 3 hours
Difficulty: 3/5

Chicon Gratin: Endive (a vegetable developed in Belgium in the 1850s) in a cream and cheese sauce, topped with melted gruyere and Emmental cheeses.

Prep and cooking time: 40 min
Difficulty: 2/5

Brussels Sprouts: Another vegetable with its roots (pun intended) in Belgium, this time from the 1600s. I halved mine, blanched them, and then stir-fried them with olive oil, shallot, and a touch of balsamic vinegar.

Prep and cooking time: 20 min
Difficulty: 1/5

Belgian Waffles: Pillowy waffles topped with icing sugar and strawberries and served with dollops of rich whipped cream.

Prep and cooking time: 20 min
Difficulty: 2/5

Chocolates: Belgian chocolates with various fillings (chocolate and white chocolate ganache, peanuts, pecans, caramel, and raspberry jam).

Prep and cooking time: 2 hours
Difficulty: 5/5

The Shopping List

I sourced quality Belgian chocolate callets from a Christian health food store of all places. Eric swore he had seen endives at one of our local supermarkets, and he was right. At the fanciest supermarket, I found fresh mussels and both gruyere and Emmental cheeses. Everything else I found at my regular shopping spots.

The Meal

I invited friends over to enjoy the Belgian feast I had made and we tucked in straightaway to moules-frites, Belgium’s national dish. The French fries were thick cut and perfectly cooked (if I do say so myself) — just slightly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The mussels, in their white wine and garlic sauce, were fantastic. They were bursting with flavour.

Everyone loved the beer-y carbonnade. It reminded me of a boozy French onion soup, but made much heartier by the inclusion of beef and bacon (seitan-based for my pescatarian diet). One of my friends is gluten free, and her soup, made with a gluten-free beer, took a turn in the eleventh hour and went very bitter. I’m not sure what happened, but I can only recommend traditional beer for this soup broth.

The chicon gratin was rich and heavenly. The cream sauce was velvety and so cheesy, and the endives (which I’ve never tried before) tasted a lot like asparagus.

The brussels sprouts, which I threw together from my own recipe, ended up being one of my favourite dishes, but that’s sprouts for you — versatile and so yummy fried up in oil and balsamic.

The Belgian waffles were — to quote my guests — the best they’d ever eaten. So fluffy, with a special sweetness from vanilla sugar that I haven’t experienced in waffles before. I served them with whipped cream and strawberries, and we all ate too many.

The chocolates were my pièce de résistance, and they didn’t let me off easily. Chocolate making requires a lot of steps, and tempering is quite a scientific process.

By the time I had placed my tray of chocolates in the cupboard to set, there was chocolate everywhere — on the counter, on the floor, on me. When I tipped the mold over the next day and 24 shining half-spheres came out, I just about cried. They were perfect. Was it difficult? Yes. But did I enjoy the process? No. No, I didn’t. But were they tasty? Yes. So tasty.

Links
The Complete Book of National Dishes by Henderson Daniel and Kristy Khemraj
Tasting the World…One Country at a Time by Nicole J. O’Donnell
https://leeksandhighheels.com/recipes/winter/belgian-classics-chicon-belgian-endive-gratin/
https://leeksandhighheels.com/recipes/belgian-classics/belgian-classics-waffles-from-brussels-8/
https://www.jordanwinery.com/recipes/chocolate-truffles-with-white-dark-milk-chocolate-soft-ganache-filling/

Disclaimer: I’m not a professional chef. I’m just a passionate cook with a curiosity for flavours I’ve never tried. For great recipes from gifted local cooks, follow the links above.