1700s · De Achttiende Eeuw

The Eighteenth Century

Coffee and tea take hold, the first printed Dutch cookbooks appear, and sugar bakes its way into everyday life.

Holland

Posteleinstamppot (Purslane Mash)

Posteleinstamppot

A rare summer stamppot of succulent purslane wilted into potato — lemony, faintly saline and green, an old kitchen-garden dish from before spinach ruled.

35 minBeginner

Saucijzenbroodje (Puff-Pastry Sausage Roll)

Bread

Holland

Saucijzenbroodje (Puff-Pastry Sausage Roll)

Saucijzenbroodje

The Dutch bakery-counter sausage roll — spiced minced meat in crisp, buttery puff pastry, glazed and baked to shattering gold. Warm from the oven, at its best.

50 minIntermediate

Stews

Holland

Kalfsragout (Creamy Veal Ragout)

Kalfsragout

The pale, elegant Dutch veal ragout — tender veal in a lemon-bright cream sauce, the filling of vol-au-vents and the ancestor of the bitterbal.

100 minIntermediate

Sweets

Limburg

Limburgse Vlaai (Limburg Fruit Tart)

Limburgse Vlaai

The great open fruit tart of the Catholic south — a soft yeast-dough base filled with cherries or apricots and finished with a woven lattice top.

75 minIntermediate

Soups

Limburg

Aspergesoep (White Asparagus Soup)

Aspergesoep

A silky Limburg soup of white asparagus — the peelings simmered into a sweet stock, then a light cream velouté studded with tender spears and nutmeg.

65 minIntermediate

Pepernoten & Kruidnoten (Sinterklaas Spice Nuts)

Sweets

Holland

Pepernoten & Kruidnoten (Sinterklaas Spice Nuts)

Pepernoten & Kruidnoten

The tiny spiced nuggets scattered by the handful at Sinterklaas — crunchy kruidnoten and the chewier true pepernoten, both built on speculaaskruiden.

40 minBeginner

Stews

Gelderland

Stoofpeertjes (Spiced Braised Pears)

Stoofpeertjes

Deep-red Dutch braised pears — hard stoofpeertjes simmered slow with wine, cinnamon and clove until wine-dark and tender, served warm beside game or meat.

170 minBeginner

Chipolatapudding (Layered Gelatin Pudding)

Cheese

Holland

Chipolatapudding (Layered Gelatin Pudding)

Chipolatapudding

A festive Dutch gelatin pudding of whipped cream, ladyfingers, candied fruit and liqueur, set in a mould — the grand table pudding of the old cookbooks.

50 minAdvanced

Soups

Holland

Koninginnesoep (Queen's Cream Soup)

Koninginnesoep

A refined Dutch cream of chicken — koninginnesoep, the 'queen's soup', a velvety chicken velouté enriched with egg yolk, cream and a little sherry.

60 minIntermediate

Bread

Gelderland

Pannenkoeken (Large Dutch Pancakes)

Pannenkoeken

The wide, thin Dutch pancake that fills a whole plate — supple, lace-edged, eaten sweet with stroop or savoury with bacon and cheese. A meal, not a stack.

40 minBeginner

Sweets

Holland

Speculaas (Spiced Windmill Biscuits)

Speculaas

The deep-brown spiced biscuits pressed into carved wooden moulds for Sinterklaas — dense with speculaaskruiden, snapping crisp, scented of the VOC.

50 minBeginner

Sweets

Holland

Stroopwafels (Caramel Syrup Waffles)

Stroopwafels

Two wafer-thin waffles pressed hot and sandwiched with molten caramel syrup — the Gouda market treat, best warmed over a cup of coffee until the middle goes soft.

70 minAdvanced

Stews

Limburg

Zuurvlees (Limburg Sweet-Sour Braised Beef)

Zuurvlees

Limburg's sweet-sour braise — beef marinated in vinegar then simmered with apple syrup and gingerbread until the gravy turns dark, glossy and tangy.

210 minIntermediate

Sweets

Holland

Poffertjes (Little Puffed Pancakes)

Poffertjes

The tiny yeasted pancakes of the Dutch fairground — puffed in a dimpled iron, turned with a fork, and buried under butter and a snowfall of icing sugar.

45 minIntermediate