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Flavors · Gante
Creamy stew from Ghent, with a broth thickened with cream, vegetables such as carrot, leek and celery, potato and chicken. The earliest versions were made with river fish, and fish still appears in some kitchens of the city.
Traditional dish from Gante, Flandres Oriental
Also known as: waterzooi
Click a photo to enlarge it.
Gentse waterzooi — Gante, Belgium
The Gentse waterzooi sits between soup and stew. Pieces of chicken are cooked in a broth with carrot, leek, celery and potato, and the broth is thickened with cream. Some recipes add an egg yolk or a little white wine, but they are not mandatory.
Ghent tourism traces the dish’s origin near the Braempoort, an old city gate. In the 13th and 14th centuries there were grain mills there, and grain and flour falling into the water attracted fish. With perch, pike, barbel or eel, people made the early versions of what is now called waterzooi.
In the 19th century industrialization polluted the rivers, and freshwater fish disappeared from the pot. Those who could began using sea fish, sold at the city’s old fish market; those who could not used chicken. That is why both versions exist, and the chicken one became the most common.
Similar dishes were made across the region, and Ghent tourism itself notes that the reputation as a typically city dish may have come from a popular cookbook. Still, waterzooi became the specialty most associated with Ghent.
It is served hot, in a deep plate, with plenty of broth, and usually comes with bread. It is comfort food, more sought after in the cold months.
Gante, Flandres Oriental
Specialty promoted by Ghent’s official tourism, which links its origin to the Braempoort, an old city gate.
Chicken (or river or sea fish), carrot, leek, celery, potato, broth and cream. Some recipes include an egg yolk and a little white wine.
Hot, in a deep plate, with the broth and pieces of chicken or fish, eaten with spoon and fork. Usually served with bread.
Year-round; more sought after in the cold months.
Your questions
It is a creamy stew from Ghent, with chicken or fish, carrot, leek, celery and potato, in a broth thickened with cream. It is served hot, in a deep plate.
With both. The earliest versions were made with river fish; when the rivers became polluted in the 19th century, chicken came to be used more and today it is the most common. Some places still make it with fish.
It’s in between: it has a lot of broth, like a soup, but contains pieces of chicken or fish, vegetables and potato, and is served as a main course.
Flavors of Belgium
Buttery cookie with almond slices, or a chocolate bonbon shaped like a hand. It recalls the legend of the hero Brabo and the giant Antigoon, which explains the name Antwerpen, and has been a city specialty since 1934.
Round tartlet from Lier, in the province of Antwerp, with a crunchy sugar-free pastry and a dark filling of breadcrumbs, cane sugar syrup and spices. The name is protected by a European geographical indication.
Savory pie from Nivelles, in Walloon Brabant, made with fermented fresh cheese, chard, eggs and plenty of butter, served very hot. A local brotherhood evaluates producers and awards quality seals every year.
Rectangular waffle, light and crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, served dusted with confectioners' sugar. It is the first specialty presented by Brussels official tourism and appears in Flemish paintings related to festive celebrations.
Very hard biscuit, made only of honey and wheat flour, pressed in wooden molds carved with animals, figures and views of the city. A tradition of Dinant, in the Meuse valley, it should be softened in the mouth, not bitten.
Small tart of puff pastry filled with matten, the curd of raw cow's milk, eggs and sugar. It is made in Geraardsbergen and Lierde, in the province of East Flanders, and has a protected geographical indication by the European Union.
Cooked fish, served cold in a vinegar jelly with onion, traditionally in a stoneware jar. It has a European geographical indication, produced in Chimay and in neighboring municipalities of the provinces of Hainaut and Namur.
Cereal distillate flavored with juniper and herbs, milder and sweeter than other jenever. It has a European geographical indication: it must be distilled in Hasselt, Zonhoven or Diepenbeek. The city maintains a museum of the drink in a former distillery.
Dense waffle, made from a brioche-like dough with pieces of pearl sugar that caramelize on the griddle. Rounded and without corners, it is eaten hot and without topping. According to tradition, it was created in Liège in the 18th century.
Open tart of creamy rice pudding on a thin crust, typical of Verviers in the province of Liège. Eaten warm or cold, at any time of day, often with coffee.
Round tart of thin fermented dough with a generous filling of fruit, rice pudding or cream. It is made in Belgian Limburg and Dutch Limburg, and the name is protected by a European geographical indication.
Croquette of creamy sauce with North Sea grey shrimp, breaded and fried, served with fried parsley and lemon. The Ostend version is recognized as a Flemish regional product, with rules about the shrimp’s origin and the filling.
Rabbit slowly cooked with onion, black plum and raisins, served with potato. It is the dish of the Lundi perdu dinner, the Monday after Epiphany, a Tournai tradition recognized as intangible heritage by the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.
