beef stew from flemish belgium, or vlaamsche stooflees
Just returned from a fabulous trip to Oberstaufenbach, Germany, to visit my very best friend, Dorothea. We took a four day trip to Brugge, Belgium, where we ate at "De Vlaamsche Pot", a lovely, quaint little Flemish restaurant. Their beef stew is their signature dish, and it is worth the whole trip over there! This is their recipe, and I bought their cookbook while there. Hope I can re-create it to taste exactly as they made it. SO GOOD! NOTE: I am entering this recipe EXACTLY as it is published in the cookbook. No measurements are given for the spices or the parsley stalks ... just start out with a pinch or 1/4 tsp. or so, and continue to season to your taste. It's the brown sugar that does THE TRICK! The pictures are my own, taken at the table in the restaurant where we ate, and another one of the front of the cookbook, De Vlaamsche Pot.
Ingredients For beef stew from flemish belgium, or vlaamsche stooflees
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100 gbutter
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3 lgonions
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1 kgstew beef, cut into small pieces
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salt and pepper
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chopped parsley stalks
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thyme
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bay
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2 Tbspmustard
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100 gbrown sugar
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1 lbrown beer, like grimbergen or leffe
How To Make beef stew from flemish belgium, or vlaamsche stooflees
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1I'm entering these directions exactly as they're written in the cookbook, as they are translated from Flemish to English. I thought it would add an interesting flair. ha!
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2Heat the butter in a large saucepan. Chop the onions into medium large pieces en let them fry in butter until golden brown. Remove the onions from the saucepan. Fry the pieces of meat in the same pan until they are brown all over. Turn them occasionally so they will not burn. Season the meat with salt and pepper.
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3Add the onions together with the parsley, thyme, bay mustard and sugar. Stir well and add the beer. Replace the lid and leave to cook gently for 180 minutes. Stir the content of the saucepan once in awhile. The meat is ready when it is very tender an it almost melts in your mouth. If you prefer the sauce a bit more consistent, you can always use some flour to bind it.
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4Serve with fries and fresh applemousse.
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5TIP: If you don't see yourself staying home for the three hours till the meat is well done, you can always place the saucepan during 240 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 160°C. [My note: a Dutch Oven would work well for this!]
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