Gehaktballetjes (Cocktail Meatballs)

Not everything on the Dutch drinks table is deep-fried and battered. Alongside the bitterballen and the kroketten sits something plainer and, for many, more comforting: a bowl of warm gehaktballetjes, small spiced meatballs speared on cocktail sticks and dipped in mustard. They are the home cook's borrel bite — no ragout to set, no frying vat to heat, just good minced meat, seasoned the Dutch way with plenty of nutmeg, and browned in butter until fragrant.

The everyday meatball, shrunk

The gehaktbal is one of the pillars of Dutch home cooking, usually served large in a pool of gravy with potatoes. The balletjes are simply its party form: the same well-seasoned mixture rolled small so it can be eaten in one bite with a drink in the other hand. This is thrifty, unshowy food from the wederopbouw kitchen, the sort of thing that appears when neighbours drop by or a birthday circle forms — reliable, generous, and made from what is already in the fridge.

Panade, nutmeg, patience

Two things make a Dutch meatball sing. The first is the panade — rusk crumbs soaked in milk before they go into the mince — which holds moisture and keeps the balls tender through cooking. The second is restraint: mix the meat only until it binds, because overworked gehakt turns rubbery. Nutmeg is the signature seasoning, warm and slightly sweet against the beef and pork, and a spoon of mustard in the mix sharpens the whole thing.

The gehaktballetje is proof that the borrel doesn't always need a fryer — sometimes it just needs good meat, nutmeg and butter.

Brown them properly in butter for that nutty crust, keep them warm on the table, and set out a pot of mustard alongside. They are the easiest thing on this list to make and, at a crowded party, often the first bowl to empty.