Cheers to beer

globalflovon
TPICV
sryp0rs
For most of us, beer is first and foremost a beverage, but to Belgian cooks, it's an ingredient
that showcases a world of flavors.
This isn't too surprising for a country the
Belgian
beers
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straightforward lagers and pilsners of
Germany, akin to adding white wine to a dish.
Belgian beer flavors-spices, herbs, honey
and fruits-are prominent because they're
often part of the brewing process. So that note
of coriander in a wit ale or the raspberry flavor
in a lambic comes forward in cooking (as well
as drinking) because,yep, it's in there.
flavorsin the
glassandin
the pan
ByAlisonNeumerLara
Historically, it makes sense that Belgian food
culture would latch on to beer, since the country produces little wine, says Wendy Littlefield
of Vanberg and DeWulf, the first U.S.importer
of Duvel, Belgium's best known golden ale.
"Belgium is where grape.growing and graingrowing meet, so the people have an appreciation of wine, but the national drink is beer,"
she says. As a result, "they give beer the
respect that most nations reserve for wine."
The variety of styles is, in part, a product of
geography. Belgium is a sliver of land bordered
Ghickenllver salad,
S16, Che{BobbyHellen,
Rosto,llow YorkCaty,
p.50.
RECIPE,
by France, Luxembourg, Germany, the
Netherlands and the North Sea.In just 12,000
square miles, it incorporates coastal area,
farmland. forest. and mountains. In medieval
s E PT EM BER / oc roB ER
2oo9 u ,u , a 43
BELGIANFLOATS
times, Belgium was the center of Europe's
another 135 in bot-
G.atlnot Bolglan
spice trade, so brewers near the port city
tles, Vandaele uses
cndlucwlth appl.-
of Ostend and elsewhere historically
beer in traditional
wood-smokod
bacon,
Belglum
ls famous
for its chocolate,
butchebareuelngits boorlo crs-
turned to ingredients like grains of par-
and surprising ways.
$7' Ghof-Ownor
RobonWlodmalor,
ate a dlflerenttypeof sweet lce,
son their beers. Meanwhile, breweries
adise, pepper, star anise or ginger to sea-
With rabbit. he
sears the loin then
creamdesserts
wlthbeer.And
whynot?Belglan-aged
Areyfi
made generous use of the country's fruit
pours in Rodenbach,
orchards, including cherry, plum, and
a reo ate wrtn a sour
that evokea port or meadt
pear-with
atenotuncommon,
afr
lambicspairwell wlth
At ilarcel's
ChefRobert
vanlllalce
Rougo,
a darkred
Alsoln 0.G.,
beer.
grain a staple crop.
Add to that different methods of pro
and takes on qualities comparable to balsamic vinegar. He serves halibut or
yeasts to barrel-aging, and the flavor pos-
another firm, fleshy fish poached in
sibilities with cooking seem endless, says
Kasteel Brown, a strong ale with oak and
Bart Vandaele,chef and owner of Belga
sweet flavors, and sauces it with a sabay-
Caf6 in Washington, D.C.
"Beer is such a dynamic
ingredient. The more you
poursHoegaarden
bosr
work with it, the more you'll
Hoegaarden-honey
cream,thentopslt
beer-honey
foam(i7.50,
recipe,plateonllne.com).
appreciate it," he says.
SPICY CHOICES
At Belga, which keeps five
rotating brews on tap and
pl or" rH E B E E RrssuE
sweetness that's aged in wooden casks
duction and fermentation, from wild
\
Vandaolo
of EelgaCat6
44
BrassorleBeck'
washlngton'Il'G'
p.81.
REGIPE,
,
I
on incorporatingthe same
beer ($27.95,recipe,plateonline.com).The result,
he says, is as unique as the
beer."[The fish] tasteslike
it's been cooked in mushrooms and hazelnuts,very
woodsy...these
flavorscome
forward."
Fo R RE ct pE sA N D Mo RE .v ts t t o t ote on t ine. c om
globalflovon
Chef Ben Sheagren of Chicago's
Hopleaf finds Belgian beers-and
the
growing number of Belgian-style beers
made by U.S. brewers-just
as versatile.
Sheagren brines quail in Corsendonk, a
brown ale with clove and dark fruit flavors, and then pan-roasts it ($22, recipe,
plateonline.com). lt's matched with a
bacon mustard sauce reduced with
Ommegang, a Belgian-style caramel
brown ale from Brewery Ommegang in
Cooperstown, N.Y.
"The slight bitterness of Ommegang
creates a nuance in the sauce that you
can't achieve without a beer," says
Sheagren, who takes inspiration from the
bar's 45 tap handles and 160 bottlelong
beer list. 'When you're drinking a beer
freshly poured, you can't anticipate how
it'll change [in cooking], but you know
it'll change...wine.based sauces don't
have that note.'
Chefs who cook regularly with Belgian
beers echo that sentiment.
"lt's more fun than red wine and white
wine," says Neville Stoddart of New York
(jla,s,siqlh,lgiitn
((iqrnalrlklgkt{r'rr)City's Markt. "Yes, there are different
l4['gay,shrirrtlrt'nx;rrt'llt's
Executive Chef-Owner Baft Vandaele,
89!939d6,V:{yg!pl, D.c.
Yi9!l:sp;ervqg2
M91yO19e;$14;food costlserviqg:
24\
Bqtter,!rop:q1-sty!9
700g
Flour
Wleleqil!,eelq
Tglqatopxste
1 TBS
Lobsterbase
(991ce4rateq)
200g
qe!g!!nleayelreheelx
459ach
Saltandfreshlyground
blackpepper
to taste
Nutmeg,freshlyground,
pinch49!rch
juiceof
Lemons,
3 each
Babygrayshrimp,
peeled,head-on _
egq t!!qs
as needed
Breadcrumbs
as needed
46 pt o t e r HE B €E Rr s su E
I
709s __
3q
1115s _
Lemon wedges, fresh
30 each
Parsley,bunch, fried
1 each
grapes with wine, but with Belgian beer,
the flavors are all over the board.'
Stoddart uses a variety of beers to
1. Melt butter in a pot over medium heat,stir
in flour and cook for a few minutes.
Graduallywhisk in milk. Let mixturecook
until thickened. Add tomato paste and lob-
with notes of coriander and orange peel.
{9r bq99,sllqntllqomblpd. _
He marries the beer with curry, cream
2. Soften gelatin leaves in water, then stir
into base mixtureuntil fully dissolved.
Season mixture with salt, pepper, nutmeg
and lemonluice. Stir in shrimp,then spread
mixture onto 2 sheet pans lined with buttered parchment paper. Spray top with a thin
layer or light film of butter so it doesn't crack
and resgrve,refrlOeg1ed,overqg!!
and cilantro in one of six mussel offer-
3. Place tenine on a floured cutting board
and cut (with a knife dipped in hot water)
into 3 by S-centimeterpieces. Dip each
piece in flour then egg whites and breadcrumbs, then repeat breading process and
fry croquettes until crisp and golden brown
(mustbengateo
l!!!o!).
4. Serve 3 croquettes with a lemon wedge
and piece of fried parsley.
steam mussels, including Hoegaarden's
flagship urr?or white beer, a lighter brew
ings at the restaurant.
A couple a',renuei away at Resto, with
seven beers on dralt and 130 bottles,
Chef Bobby Hellen likes to say his menu
"references' Belgian cooking. In practice,
that means dishes like chicken liver salad
with Rodenbach Grand Cru vinaigrette
and pickled blueberries ($16, recipe, p.
50). Hellen sears the liver to medium
rare, then finishes it with the red ale.
"The Rodenbach is tart and a little
dark, so it goes well with the liver's
sweetness," he says.
Fo F FEc rp Es A No Mo RE .vr s rr o t ot e o nt ine.c o m
globalflovon
REGIONAL CLASSICS
cream sauce, inspired by a dish he
Calling Belgian food a'cuisine" poses
ordered in Brussels out of curiosity, in
problems for some chefs loyal to its
part because it sounded so awful.
cooking because the traditional foods are
so distinct by region-5ay, seafood on
the coast and game in the Ardennes
se6ds-6nd
by the influence of contrast-
ing French and Flemish cultures.
The cream-thickened stew uaterzooi,
for example, is strictly a Flemish dish,
says Tom Peters, owner of Monk's Caf6 in
Philadelphia. 'You'll never see it on a
toasted and cracked open with a rolling
pin so they're in pieces, not a powder."
While the seared salmon finishes in the
oven, he adds peppercorns to the Pan
and deglazes with Lindemans Framboise
lambic, a wild-yeasted, aged beer steeped
with raspberries.
Shaegrenat Hopleaf serves sturgeon in
"green sauce"-parsley, mint, tarragon,
you'll see it with chicken, in Ostend,
chives, basil and spinach blended with
you'll see fish. I was in the Ardennes and
chicken stock and heavy cream-a
I had one with rabbit in cream sauce during hunting season and bit down on a pel-
on the Belgian version served with eels
($22, recipe, p. 8l). Shaegrenfirst tried it
At Monk's, Peters serves
another Flemish dish,
salmon with a raspberry
ptote rHE BE ERr ssu E
makes it work is white peppercorns,
French-influencedmenu," he says.
Plus it varies regionally. "So in Ghent
let. That's a fresh kill."
48
But it was marvelous, he says. "What
take
with eel, but had difficulty
sourcing it, plus, "we had a
hard time selling it."
Vandaele in Washington,
globalflovon
Belgian beers showcase a world of flavors-SPICES, HERBS,HONEY FRUITSthat are prominent because they're often actually part of the brewing process.
on Belga'smenu, a coastal specialty
Belgiansdrink beer when they dine.
"Even if you're eating something very
MichaelRoper,owner of Chicago's
Hopleaf."lt's beena slog in the trenches
made with the tiny, baby pink shrimp
simple, they take the time to serve the
dredged up from the North Sea'sshore.
correct beer at the correct temperature
to makethem realizethe Belqians
were
on to something."
He preparesthem as he learneclto do so
and in the correct glass,"says Lucy
in Belgium: simmering the creuetlesgrl.sin
Saunders,author of three books about
milk, thickening the strained broth with a
cooking with beer. Today, American
roux and folding in shrimp, parsley and a
chefs, diners and brewers,are catching
couple leavesof gelatin (his New World
up with the Belgianson this score, adds
D.C. keeps classic grey shrimp croquettes
A li sonNeumaLar
r ais a C hica oo- ba sdined
i ngc riti candfoo dwr ite r .
F orrec i pes
f romt hi sartic le
andm ore,
v is ito lat eonli ne .co m.
adclition)to help it set. It's then portioned, breaded and deepJried,served
with a heap of frieclparsley and matched
with a lighter ale ($14, recipe, p. 46).
( l lri r' k c rr
Iiv c rsi t li t rl
Chef Bobby Hellen, Resto, New York City
Champagnevinegar
2C
Washington,D.C.,chef Robert Wiedmaier
Yield:4to6servrngs
Thyme,sprig
1 each
calls his cooking "French with lots of
Menu price: $16; food cost/serving:20o/o
Water
1/4 C
Flemish twists," by way of his Belgian
Chickenlivers,halved
5 each
grandmother.So he'll serve foie gras with
Salt
as needed
a framboise lambic syrup, for example,
Shallots,small dice
2 each
but afso carbonnade,a Flemish beef stew
braised in beer ($21, recipe,
RodenbachGrand Cru
(see note)
1/4 C
Sweat blueberriesand sugar in a pot over
medium heat until sugar melts.Turn off
heat, cover pot and reserveto rest until 2 to
3 tablespoonsof liquid is released.Add
remainingingredientsand serve at desired
temperature.
plateonline.com).
Pomme neuf v
4 each
forms, called witknf ($7, recipe, p. 8l).
Sucrenelettuce
heads, quartered
4 each
Yield: 4 servrngs
For a typically French-Belgianprepara-
Extravirginolive oil
2 TBS
Kennebec potatoes
4 each
Duck or goose fat
2 qr
Thyme,sprigs
6 each
Shallots
4 each
At Marcel'sand BrasserieBeck. both in
Another classic is Belgianendive in all
tion, Wiedmaier poachesthe endive in
chicken broth and garlic, seasonsit with
curry and fines herbs, and then wraps it
in ham before covering it with gruy€re
a nd s l i d i n g it i n t h e o v en .
Perhapsthe food all of Belgiumwill
claim is r?ites-the country's famous
twice-cooked potato fry, available on the
cities' street corners. tdeally,the potatoes are hand-cut, poached at a low temperature in the fryer, cooled and then
fried at a higher temperature to achieve
that golden crust and creamy interior.
(At BrasserieBeck,Wiedmaier found
Blueberries,pickled,
with picklingliquidv
1/2 C
1. Seasonchickenliverswith salt and evenly sear on both sides;liversshould be midrare.Deglazepan with shallotsand beer.
2. Fry pomme neuf in oil heatedto 350
degreesF until golden brown. Dresslettuce
with olive oil, add blueberries,liversand
seasonwith pepper,salt and picklingliquid.
Platesalad on top of potatoesand serve.
PICKLED BLUEBERRIES
Yield: 2 C
2C
Sugar
3 TBS
Koshersalt
1 tsp
6uisins"-s6 he opted for a frozen prod-
Juniperberry
1 each
uct with success.)
Thaichili,smallpiece
1 each
consistently produce the frite.sto his standards-*l
was ready to kill my chef de
Cut potatoes into largebatons.Submerge
Dotatoes in fat and aromatics and heat
slowly until potatoesare cooked. Once
potatoes are tender, let them cool in fat.
Note: RodenbachGrand Cru is a tart. dark
red ale.
Blueberries
that with 550 covers a day, he couldn't
POMME NEUF
Regardlessof region, however, the
50
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F OR
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M ORE.
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