Belgian food gets reduced to fries, waffles and chocolate outside the country, which skips a whole tradition of beer-braised stews, North Sea shrimp, and a very specific, very Belgian relationship with mayonnaise.
Here are 20 dishes that cover that range, from a pot of mussels to a rabbit braised in sour beer to a biscuit pressed in a carved wooden mold. Every one links to the full recipe, with the technique that actually makes it work.
1. Moules-Frites, Across Belgium
Mussels steamed with white wine, celery and onions, served with crisp Belgian fries and mayonnaise.
Recipe: Mussels steamed in wine and aromatics, served with double-fried frites.
Get the full recipe: Moules-Frites.
2. Carbonnade Flamande, Flanders
Beef slowly braised in Belgian beer with caramelized onions and mustard.
Recipe: Beef braised in dark beer, thickened with mustard-smeared bread.
Get the full recipe: Carbonnade Flamande.
3. Waterzooi de Poulet, Ghent
A creamy chicken stew with leeks, carrots and potatoes, enriched with egg yolk and cream.
Recipe: Chicken poached in broth with vegetables, finished with an egg-and-cream liaison.
Get the full recipe: Waterzooi de Poulet.
4. Croquettes aux Crevettes, Belgian coast
Crisp breadcrumb-coated croquettes filled with creamy béchamel and North Sea brown shrimp.
Recipe: Thick shrimp béchamel chilled, breaded, and deep-fried until crisp outside, molten inside.
Get the full recipe: Croquettes aux Crevettes.
5. Tomate-Crevettes, Across Belgium
Ripe tomatoes filled with North Sea brown shrimp mixed with mayonnaise.
Recipe: Hollowed tomatoes filled with a mayonnaise-dressed brown shrimp salad.
Get the full recipe: Tomate-Crevettes.
6. Boulettes à la Liégeoise, Liège
Large meatballs in a sweet-sour onion gravy made with sirop de Liège.
Recipe: Meatballs browned, then simmered in a sweet-sour sirop de Liège gravy.
Get the full recipe: Boulettes à la Liégeoise.
7. Chicons au Gratin, Across Belgium
Braised Belgian endives wrapped in ham, covered with cheese sauce and baked until golden.
Recipe: Braised endive wrapped in ham, baked under a cheese béchamel until golden.
Get the full recipe: Chicons au Gratin.
8. Stoemp met Worst, Brussels and across Belgium
Rustic mashed potatoes mixed with carrots and leek, served with sausage and gravy.
Recipe: Mashed potatoes folded with sautéed vegetables, topped with sausage and gravy.
Get the full recipe: Stoemp met Worst.
9. Vol-au-Vent, Across Belgium
A puff-pastry case filled with creamy chicken, mushrooms and small meatballs.
Recipe: A creamy chicken, mushroom and meatball filling, spooned into puff pastry.
Get the full recipe: Vol-au-Vent.
10. Lapin à la Gueuze, Brussels and Pajottenland
Rabbit braised in tart gueuze beer with onions, herbs and a little sweetness from prunes.
Recipe: Rabbit browned, then braised slowly in tart gueuze beer with prunes.
Get the full recipe: Lapin à la Gueuze.
11. Anguilles au Vert, Scheldt region, Flanders
Freshwater eel cooked in a vivid green sauce made from a mixture of fresh herbs.
Recipe: Eel poached gently, then finished in a sauce of wilted herbs, egg yolk and cream.
Get the full recipe: Anguilles au Vert.
12. Salade Liégeoise, Liège
A warm salad of potatoes, green beans, bacon and onions, finished with a tangy vinegar dressing.
Recipe: Warm potatoes and green beans tossed with bacon, onion and a warm vinegar dressing.
Get the full recipe: Salade Liégeoise.
13. Filet Américain Préparé, Across Belgium
Finely minced raw beef seasoned with mustard, capers, onion and Worcestershire sauce.
Recipe: Fresh raw beef hand-mixed with mustard, capers and Worcestershire sauce.
Get the full recipe: Filet Américain Préparé.
14. Belgian Frites with Mayonnaise, Friteries and fritkots nationwide
Thick-cut potatoes fried twice for a crisp exterior and fluffy centre, served with mayonnaise.
Recipe: Potatoes fried twice at two temperatures, crisp outside, fluffy inside.
Get the full recipe: Belgian Frites with Mayonnaise.
15. Brussels Waffle, Brussels
A light, airy rectangular waffle with deep pockets and crisp edges, dusted with icing sugar.
Recipe: A yeasted, egg-white-lightened batter, cooked in a deep-pocketed iron until airy and crisp.
Get the full recipe: Brussels Waffle.
16. Liège Waffle, Liège
A rich yeast-dough waffle with pearl sugar that caramelises into sticky, crunchy pockets.
Recipe: A buttery yeasted dough studded with pearl sugar, cooked until caramelized.
Get the full recipe: Liège Waffle.
17. Belgian Pralines, Brussels and Belgian chocolatiers
Filled chocolates with a thin tempered shell and centres such as ganache or praline paste.
Recipe: Tempered chocolate shells filled with ganache or praline paste, then sealed.
Get the full recipe: Belgian Pralines.
18. Speculoos, Across Belgium
Crisp, caramelised spiced biscuits, traditionally pressed into decorative moulds.
Recipe: A spiced brown-sugar dough, molded or cut, and baked until deeply golden and crisp.
Get the full recipe: Speculoos.
19. Tarte au Riz, Verviers and eastern Belgium
A pastry tart filled with creamy rice pudding and baked until lightly golden.
Recipe: Rice slow-cooked in milk, set with egg and cream, and baked in a pastry shell.
Get the full recipe: Tarte au Riz.
20. Mattentaarten, Geraardsbergen
Small puff-pastry pies filled with a mixture of milk curds, eggs, sugar and almonds.
Recipe: Milk curds mixed with egg, sugar and almonds, baked in small puff-pastry shells.
Get the full recipe: Mattentaarten.
good to have in the kitchen
A handful of things come up again and again across this list. None are strictly required, but they make the difference between a good version and the real one.
A a heavy-bottomed dutch oven, what carbonnade flamande, lapin à la gueuze and boulettes à la liégeoise all need for a slow braise.
A a deep-fry thermometer, the only way to get Belgian frites and shrimp croquettes properly double-fried at the right temperatures.
A a Belgian waffle iron with deep pockets, built for both a Brussels waffle and a Liège waffle, though they bake very differently.
A a wooden speculoos mold, the traditional way to press the spiced biscuit pattern before baking.
A polycarbonate chocolate praline molds, what gives homemade Belgian pralines their glossy, professional shell.
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