2_0_DiscoverBenelux_2_Dec_2013:Scan Magazine 1
17/12/13
13:45
Page 22
Discover Benelux | Food | Flemish Foodies
Photo: Micheal Dehaspe
Photo: Roos Mestdagh
Hilaire Spreuwers and his Beerstronomy B I T T E R Z O E T, Z O N H O V E N BitterZoet, headed by husband and wife duo Sofie and Hilaire Spreuwers, draws on classic Belgian culture to create their distinctive beer-based cuisine, Beerstronomy. What makes BitterZoet remarkable is its array of Belgian craft beers and they are also proud to be the only gastronomical restaurant in Belgium without a wine list. Devoted to locally-sourced seasonal vegetables, Hilaire finds it difficult to pick just one favourite: ‘I'm a huge fan of the classics: brussel sprouts, chicory, parsnips. The combinations and serving styles are endless: raw, au gratin, baked. Whatever you fancy!’ He gets animated as he tells us about the seasons: ‘The best thing about this time of year is the chance to eat wild dear or mouflon [a rare variety of wild mountain sheep]. But my real passion is when we can serve asparagus or hop sprouts. Those are the real delicacy.’ While stuffed turkey is no traditional dish in Belgium, the couple suggest teaming the turkey with a fusion of chilli peppers and a fruity garnish: ‘peaches, mango or pineapple would go down a treat.’
22 | Issue 2 | December 2013 - January 2014
Christmas day will be a quiet affair in the Spreuwers household as the restaurant is closed for the day after feeding a jampacked restaurant on Christmas Eve.
Method: Finely grind the dark bread. Dry in the over at 90°C for one hour. Toast the brioche.
Hilaire has given us a tasty Christmas breakfast idea: his twist on classic toast topped with mushrooms and pork belly using Belgium’s fine beer Malheur 12. www.bitter-zoet.be Malheur 12 toast with wild mushrooms and belly of pork Preparation time: 1-2 hours. Serves: 2/3 Ingredients: 4 slices of brioche 4 slices of dark bread or pumpernickel rye bread 1 black pudding 1 white pudding 2 apples Ginger syrup 400g belly of pork (we recommend buying from LiVar, Limburgs Kloostervarker butchers) 200g mixed mushrooms (shiitake, aniseed mushrooms, chestnut mushrooms)
Cut the black and white pudding into slices of 1.5cm thickness and lay them on a buttered tray. Cut the apples into 7 and bake them on a gently heat. Lay them onto the tray as well and splash them with some ginger syrup. Put the tray into the over for 5 minutes at 180°C. Cut the pork into small cubes and put them into a cold pan over a small flame. When the pork begins to colour nicely, add the mushrooms and cook thoroughly. Pour Malheur 12 over the pan just before you finish cooking. Cut a circle out of the toast on a plate. Fill the hole with the pork and mushroom mix. Lay out the apple and pudding on and around the toast. Put the cut-out circle of bread back in its place and sprinkle to finish with the finely ground powder of the dark bread.