Welcome to Belgo
At Belgo we love beer and we love food so we really really love cuisine a la biere...
Cuisine a la biere is a tradition of using beer as a marinade, sauce or as a flavouring. The variety of Belgian beers, which are so distinctive in taste and character, lend themselves perfectly to this concept of cooking.
Brewing in Belgium dates back to those happy go lucky days when the Gauls were beating up the Romans. In such times they used to drink an alcoholic cereal concoction called cervoise. Although brewing never really reached its full popularity in the Belgian Lowlands until the 16th century the locals were certainly using beer to cook with well before that time.
Dishes like carbonnade flamande date back to medieval times. Although wine was probably used in cooking until it became unobtainable, beer, with its very earthy taste, lent itself very well to the stewing of beef. It also proved a better tenderiser than wine. Most of the ancient Belgian dishes were the result of little accidents or folkloric experiments and recipes were passed on as family traditions and rarely written down.
The addition of fruit, such as apples and plums, in cookery came late to enhance taste - it took away some of the bitterness that would come with using strong local beer. The true cuisine a la biere took off in the mid 19th century with the boom of Belgian brewers and the creation of speciality beers such as Kriek (cherry beer) and Gueuze (a sparkling sour beer)
Obviously the best way to experience Belgo is to go to Belgo, but in the event you're trapped in your flat here's some recipes you can try out to give you that warm Belgian feeling without having to open the front door.
Duck with Blackcurrant Beer Sauce
- 1 duck, quartered
- 400g / 14oz goose fat
- 200ml / 7fl oz duck stock
- 85ml / 3 fl oz cassis or blackcurrant beer
- 50g / 2oz blackcurrants
- Put the duck legs and goose fat into a shallow dish and leave to marinate for 24 hours.
- Put the duck legs and goose fat into a saucepan and cook over a low heat for 1.5 hours or until meat is very tender
- Boil the duck stock over a high heat to reduce by half
- Meanwhile, heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan and fry the duck breasts over a high heat for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally until just cooked.
- When the stock has reduced to about 125ml / 4 fl oz, add the beer and the blackcurrants
- Slice and fan the duck breasts and arrange on two serving plates with the duck breast. Pour the sauce around the duck. Serve with celeriac puree and deep fried fried shredded celeriac
Carbonade Flamande (Flemish Beef Stew)
- 1.5kg chuck steak, cut into 5cm chunks
- 700ml Liefmans Goudenband
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 25g / 1oz butter
- 25g / 1oz brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
- Salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 125g pitted, sliced prunes
- 400ml veal stock
- 1 bouquet garni
- 1-2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 cooking apples
- Marinate the meat in 500ml of the beer for 3 days
- Lift the meat out of the marinade, reserving the marinade
- Heat the oil and butter in a large, heavy-based frying pan, add the meat, sugar and nutmeg and cook over a medium-high heat until the meat is well browned, Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a casserole and season with salt and pepper.
- Stir the flour into the oil and butter and cook until well browned, then stir in the tomato puree, prunes, veal stock, bouquet garni and the beer marinade. Bring to the boil, skim and then pour over the meat. Simmer very gently until the meat is tender, about 1 hour.
- Stir in the mustard and the remaining beer, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Peel and quarter the apples, add to the casserole and cook for 5-10 minutes, until the apples are tender.
- Serve hot.
Stoemp Saucisse (Belgian sausages and Mash)
- 4-6 potatoes
- 50g / 2oz butter
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 leek, chopped
- ¼ head of Savoy cabbage, shredded
- 12 good pork or wild boar sausages
- 150ml double cream
- Salt and pepper
- Boil the potatoes until tender, drain and mash
- Melt half the butter in a saucepan, add the carrot, cover and cook over a very low heat for 5-10 minutes.
- Add the leek and cabbage and continue to cook until all the vegetables are tender.
- Meanwhile, grill or fry the sausages until cooked through
- To serve, reheat the mashed potato. Beat in the remaining butter and cream. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir in the vegetables. Serve hot, surrounded by the sausages.