A thatched farmhouse beside a canal in Giethoorn, Overijssel, the village with no roads

Overijssel & Drenthe·Province

The East

Sandy soils and slow farm cooking — krentjebrij fruit porridge, balkenbrij, and buckwheat pancakes.

The East

Boerenkool Stamppot (Kale & Potato Mash)

Boerenkoolstamppot met rookworst

The definitive Dutch winter plate: potatoes crushed with curly kale, a well of gravy, and a coil of smoked rookworst laid across the top.

50 minBeginner

Fish

The East

Gerookte Paling (Smoked Eel)

Gerookte Paling

Freshwater eel hot-smoked to bronze, its fat rendered silky and its flesh richly savoury. This is the great delicacy of the Dutch inland waters.

130 minAdvanced

Cheese

The East

Krentjebrij (Groninger Fruit Porridge)

Krentjebrij / Watergruwel

The northern fruit porridge of barley, currants and berry juice bound to a glossy set, Groningen and Drenthe's beloved cold-or-warm brij.

65 minBeginner

Ontbijtkoek (Dutch Spiced Breakfast Cake)

Sweets

The East

Ontbijtkoek (Dutch Spiced Breakfast Cake)

Ontbijtkoek

The dense rye-and-honey spice loaf the Dutch eat at breakfast. It has no butter or egg, stays deeply moist, and is sliced thick and spread with cold butter or nothing at all.

75 minBeginner

Bread

The East

Roggebrood (Dutch Dark Rye Bread)

Roggebrood

The dense, dark rye of the Dutch east: whole rye berries steamed for hours into a moist, almost black loaf that slices thin and keeps for weeks.

270 minAdvanced

Sweets

The East

Suikerbietenstroop (Sugar-Beet Syrup)

Suikerbietenstroop

The dark, bittersweet beet syrup of the Dutch larder: boiled down from sugar beets, spread on rye bread and stirred into stews, and a lifeline in the war.

270 minAdvanced

Stamppot

The East

Zuurkoolstamppot (Sauerkraut Mash)

Zuurkoolstamppot

Tangy fermented cabbage crushed through floury potato, the sharpest of the stamppotten, laced with smoked bacon and crowned with rookworst.

45 minBeginner