Alright, let me tell you about my little adventure diving into Belgian food recently. It wasn’t some grand plan, just kinda happened. I think I saw a picture somewhere, maybe of those thick waffles, and thought, “Huh, I wonder if I could make that.” Down the rabbit hole I went.
Getting Started – Finding Recipes and Stuff
First thing, obviously, was finding some recipes. Went online, typed in “belgian food recipes”. Got tons of hits, mostly for waffles, fries, mussels, and that beef stew, Stoofvlees they call it. Looked doable on the screen, you know? Pictures looked great.
Then came the shopping trip. This is where it got a bit tricky. For the Liège waffles, I needed pearl sugar. Regular supermarkets? Nope. Had to hunt around a bit, finally found some at a specialty store. Annoying. For the Stoofvlees, needed a specific type of Belgian beer, ideally a dark abbey ale. Thankfully, that was easier to find than the sugar. Mussels, I decided to skip for the first try, seemed like too much cleaning work right off the bat.
- Found decent recipes online.
- Pearl sugar hunt was a pain.
- Got the right kind of beer for the stew.
- Decided mussels could wait.
Okay, Let’s Cook Something
I decided to tackle the Stoofvlees first. Seemed hearty, good for a weekend. Got a decent cut of beef, chopped onions, got the beer ready. Browning the meat took a while, filled the kitchen with that nice smell. Then in went the onions, the beer, some broth, herbs, and the weird part – a slice of bread spread with mustard. Supposedly helps thicken it and adds flavour. Okay, why not.
Then you just let it simmer. For hours. Seriously, like three hours minimum. The recipe said “low and slow”. So I did. Left it bubbling away, checked it now and then. The house started smelling really rich and, well, beery. Not bad.
While the stew was doing its thing, I thought, “Might as well try the waffles.” Mixed up the dough. Yeast, flour, butter… standard stuff mostly, until you add that pearl sugar right at the end. The dough was sticky. Like, really sticky. Got it on my hands, the counter, everywhere. Let it rise for a bit. Then fired up the waffle iron.
Making the waffles was messy. Putting lumps of sticky dough into a hot iron isn’t the cleanest job. First couple came out a bit sad-looking, unevenly browned. But I got the hang of it. The pearl sugar melts and caramelizes in pockets – that’s the magic bit. They actually started looking like the real deal.
How’d It Turn Out?
So, dinner time. Served the Stoofvlees with fries (from a bag, wasn’t gonna attempt homemade Belgian fries on the first go). The stew? Honestly, it was pretty darn good. Meat was super tender, sauce was thick and flavourful. That mustard-on-bread trick seemed to work. Really satisfying.
The waffles we had later. Still warm. Crispy outside, chewy inside, with those crunchy bits of caramelized sugar. Yeah, they were a hit. Definitely not like the frozen ones you buy.
Was it all smooth sailing? Nah. Finding ingredients was annoying, the waffle dough was messy, and the stew took forever. It wasn’t perfect, maybe a real Belgian would find fault. But for a first attempt, cooking stuff I’d never made? Felt like a success. Filled the belly, learned something new. Might even tackle those mussels next time. Maybe.
