Belgian cuisine

Belgian cuisine is a bizarre and very tasty mix of Flemish simplicity, German solidity and French sophistication. They know how and like to eat deliciously - there are a lot of restaurants in Belgium , and there are more "star" establishments per square kilometer than in any other European country. The cuisine of Belgium is diverse: meat and seafood, vegetables and cream, cheese and butter, wine and beer are used very actively. By the way, Belgium is the birthplace of the famous French fries.

Belgian cuisine offers mostly simple recipes - those that are easy to replicate at home. But, nevertheless, most dishes will satisfy the most demanding gourmets - however, in the world it is difficult to find gourmets more demanding than the Belgians themselves, in this they are inferior even to the French.

Soups and snacks

"Main" Belgian soup - fish or oyster, cooked in a decoction of celery. Belgians and pea soup with bacon and crackers like it, and chicken soup, cooked with broth from pork shank and celery, mushroom soup and a soup with slices of salmon.

Traditional Belgian snacks (which, incidentally, are often served not before serving the first dish, but at the same time with soup) - asparagus in Flemish "asperge a la Flemish" with sauce from a raw egg, parsley with butter and greens, shrimps with tomatoes and mayonnaise "la tomato-shrimp", cheese balls "croquet a-Parmesan", a variety of sandwiches, for the decoration of which are used onions and radishes, all kinds of salads and, of course, cheeses: erv, maro, parmesan and others.

Main dishes

Perhaps, the most popular dish of the Belgian national cuisine should be considered a hot potato - stewed in vegetable broth along with champignons meat or fish (most often used eel). There are two options for serving this dish: either in a soup plate in the form of cream soup with sauce, or - the liquid separately in the soup plate, and meat or fish - as a separate dish with a garnish of rice.

As mentioned above, French fries were "invented" in Belgium. For Belgian cuisine in general is characterized by "extensive" use of potatoes for cooking a variety of side dishes. And the main dishes here are also very diverse.

One of the most famous dishes of the Belgian cuisine in the world is the Flemish Carbonado. However, the Flemings themselves call it simply "carbonado." This delicious dish is prepared from porcine carbonate: first, pork is fried in butter with onions, carrots, garlic and seasonings, and then stew in beer. Widespread here and steaks, which are served a variety of sauces, from sweet and sour to very sharp. Also popular are jambon d'ardennes - ardennes ham, or rather - smoked ham, liver medallions, smoked salmon with a garnish of asparagus (it is also popular as a side dish, as well as potatoes), marine language with shrimp sauce, mussels with salsa.

Dessert

Belgians love the sweet and know how to cook it. What is worth only Belgian chocolate, which in the past few decades confidently "shifts" the Swiss product from its position of "number 1 chocolate in the world"! And the famous Belgian waffles! Two cities, Liege and Brussels , are among them a centuries-old dispute, whose wafers are tastier, and their tasting has long been on the tourist list, which must be done when visiting these cities. However, these are not the only desserts deserving attention in these cities: in Liege, you should also try baked pears and a bouquet - something in between pancakes and fritters, and in Brussels - tiramisu with Belgian cookies.

Other Belgian cities are also famous for their original desserts. So, after visiting Ghent , be sure to try the "gentse-moccen" cakes, and in Dinan - "cookies" biscuits that are considered the best in Belgium. Malmedi is famous for its creamy meringue, and Bruges will offer almond cakes and caramel biscuits.

Beverages

Belgium is a country of beer. It produces more than a thousand varieties here! However, wine is made in Belgium, which, despite much less "promotion" compared to French and Italian wines, is not inferior to them in quality and flavor characteristics. Both beer and wine are widely used for cooking. And from non-alcoholic drinks the most popular is coffee; Belgium is home to the original way of making coffee with whipped egg yolk. Many local drink this drink in a cold state.