My Flemish waterzooi

My personal take on Flemish waterzooi takes it back to its fishy roots though it's now more commonly cooked with chicken. And, there's a wee whiff of the Scottish in there—most notably in the choice of fish—in my riff on this classic dripping in healthy flavours, albeit with quite a lot of calories.

The creation myths surrounding Flemish waterzooi are as rich as the dish itself. It supposedly sprung from the medieval city of Ghent, and some versions even take their name from it. Almost everyone agrees that it was originally a fish-based dish.

One theory is that the rivers—the Leie (Lys) and Scheldt—became polluted and no longer produced the river fish on which this dish was originally based. We also know that Ghent's demise as a medieval trading hub ended when the rivers silted up, disallowing access by larger vessels. Seafaring trade looked elsewhere, to ports such as to Antwerp.

This is interesting, but irrelevant to my waterzooi. My take looks to later versions that used sea fish (and seafood) in its place. Arguably even more perversely, my version doesn't even respect that fully. Rather than using only turbot and cod, supposedly the original white sea fish, I prefer a mix of white seawater fish along with salmon and smoked haddock. Fishily Scottish? You bet.

Back to my roots

Potatoes are more often used (though chefs never explain how they are "traditional" if this medieval dish pre-dates the potato's arrival in Europe). I usually opt for swede or celeriac because I think they offer more interesting flavours. Up to you. Similarly, while I've opted for some amusingly coloured "heritage" carrots here, it's mainly because they needed to be used. Bog standard orange carrots work just as well.

And, while we're on the root vegetable topic, for all those "anti-carbers", you don't actually have to use any root vegetables at all. I favour swede and celeriac not because they're lower in carbs than potatoes, but for their flavours. A word of advice: if you use hugely fashionable sweet potatoes, I strongly recommend using whisky rather than white wine. It seems a small detail, but I think their flavours fuse better together in the end dish.

"...a name that always conjures up a young Raquel Welch, clad in a fur bikini, fending off some prehistoric beast with a spear in an early 60s b-movie."

No, not just any shrimp

The trickiest ingredient here is the brown shrimp (grijze garnalen or les crevettes de la mer du Nord). This is the most common English name used for them, though it would be more accurately translated as "grey shrimp". These tiny little shrimp—some scientists argue they aren't even shrimp—are native to the North Sea and the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and bear little resemblance to anything called "shrimp" in North America or Australia.

They have long been considered a delicacy in Belgium, the Netherlands, Northern France and coastal parts of Germany. The English seemingly appreciated them back in the Middle Ages, but they later fell out of popularity, perhaps because of the labour-intensive ways in which they're prepared. Bionominally they are crangon crangon, a name that always conjures up a young Raquel Welch, clad in a fur bikini, fending off some prehistoric beast with a spear in an early 60s b-movie. For me, at least.

If you don't know what they taste like, it's hard to describe. Yes, they've a "seafood" taste, but nothing like lobster, crab or pink prawns. Their meat is dense and chewy when cooked. It reminds me most of the richer meat on a partridge; a swimming partridge.

Outside the regions that adore them, they're not easy to come by and appear to be largely unknown outside of Atlantic Europe, the Nordics and the Baltic. In the UK, you can get them in some posh supermarkets. But, the supply chain seems prone to disruption.

If you can't get them, the best thing to replicate the flavours they bring are tinned smoked mussels, roughly chopped. Cooked, shelled prawns or king prawns are great in this dish—I often include them—but they are no substitute for this specific flavour. Waterzooi is fine without them, but it will have a much lighter timbre; not have that"depth".

Cooked and peeled grijze garnalen aka brown shrimp or grey shrimp

Other stuff

I prefer to use fish de-skinned, deboned, cut into fairly small fillets i.e 2x bite-size. There's no reason you can't use larger fillets. However, be wary of using pieces that are too small and will flake quickly: it's not a fish soup.

You can mix 'n match. For example, some people use mussels, whether cooked and de-shelled or in their shells, suitably cleaned. If using the latter, I advise adding the closed mussels to the simmering stock and vegetable mix at least a minute before the fish in order that (the majority) open as they should. Always discard any mussels that have not opened.

I'm citing the white wine as optional. Indeed, many recipes don't use it at all. But, if you really want to crank up the Scottish flair, replace the glass of dry white wine with two shots of a decent "everyday" whisky.

I often challenge the snobbery against stock cubes, not least of all because stock cubes often beat overpriced readymade supermarket liquid stock in blind tasting tests. It's no different here. That said, I'm a great fan of Pott's fish stock in its "beer" can.

This recipe is for 2 to 3 diners. Open those calculators to cook it for a larger group. But, NB: it's one of those dishes best eaten as soon as it is cooked and doesn't freeze well as a whole. Thus, some images show elements of it cooked in smaller portions than cited in the recipe.

I'm not listing this as a "quick dish". Although it's fairly easy to cook, it's not a one-pot dish and involves a number of different preparation stages. Its preparation time is nearer to an hour than 30mins; probably one of the best hours you'll ever invest during your life.

Similarly, images are from more than one iteration. When I wanted to share this dish a while back, I thought I had better try it out again—I hadn't cooked it since before COVID. So the pictures are a mix 'n match of both outings —the test and the proof—which didn't use the same ingredients (though all are discussed here).

The basic rule

I've banged on about there being as many options open to you as types of fish and seafoods. The basic rule is this: anything raw—shelled or otherwise—gets cooked in the stock at that stage; anything cooked, de-shelled or otherwise, gets cooked in the sauce. How much easier could it be?

Shopping list

for my Flemish waterzooi

• Approx. 250g raw fish; salmon, cod and smoked haddock

• 4 to 6 raw large prawns in their shells (or 8 to 10 peeled raw king prawns)

• 70g peeled, cooked brown shrimp (or one tin of smoked mussels; chopped)

• 1 large egg yolk

• 120ml single cream

• 1 leek; sliced

• 2 or 3 sticks of celery, sliced

• 1 large onion, diced

• 1or 2 carrots, sliced into rustic batons

• 3 cloves of garlic, finely grated

• Approx. 150g fresh swede, peeled and cubed

• 1 fish stock cube diluted in approx. 450ml water (or fresh equivalent)

• 3 tbpns unsalted butter

• A generous clasp of chives, chopped.

• 5 dried bay leaves

• 1 glass dry white wine (optional)— or two shots of whisky

• Black pepper to flavour—and be generous

The main vegetable flavours in the dish

Cooking method

for my Flemish waterzooi

1. Boil the swede (or alternative) in salted water with a bay leaf. When cooked—a fork should easily pass through it—drain and decant. You can do do this up up to 48 hours before, storing sealed in the fridge, later re-warming

2. In a large pan, melt the butter on a medium heat. When it bubbles, add the garlic and sauté for a few minutes. Add the onion and sauté together until the onion threatens to turn golden. Add the celery and carrots; stir in—you're creating a mirepoix on the fly. Add ½ of the white wine (if using); or a little water. Once the vegetables are glazed and begin to soften—generally about 4 to 5mins—add the leek. Cook for a further 3 to 4mins. Gradually increase the heat and add the remainder of the white wine

3. When the wine cooks off, add the fish stock and bring to a fierce simmer. Cook for 5 to 6mins. You want the veggies to retain an al dente "bite", but you also don't want them to be undercooked

4. Add the fish. Gently simmer all of the ingredients for 4 or 5mins. Make sure the fish is cooked, but not overcooked. Remove from the heat. Remove the veggies and fish to a prep or serving dish using a sieve spoon. Strain the stock into a smaller saucepan.

5. Gently mix the cooked fish, seafood and vegetables in the same bowl as the swede. Keep warm without drying it out until the "sauce" is ready

the sauce for the Flemish waterzooi

1. Less of a sauce and more a creamy soup with additional seafood flavours added just before serving, whisk the egg yolk and cream together in a mixing bowl. Heat the strained stock on a medium-to-high heat. When it boils, add the cream and egg yolk mixture

2. Blend the stock into a "sauce" using the whisk, almost immediately reducing the heat. Keep whisking, ensuring it doesn't boil again. It won't "thicken" much—you're not going for panna cotta—but you will notice a distinct change; flavours will come together. Times can vary a lot; anywhere from 3 to 8mins. PS: don't panic if it does begin to boil. Simply lift the pan away from the heat with one hand and continue whisking with the other. At worst, the cream and egg may separate a little

3. Add the peeled shrimp, freshly ground black pepper and most of the the chives, stirring them in. Stir the mixture without crushing the brown shrimp (or mussels)

4. Plate your cooked fish, seafood and vegetables (or you can serve it in a communal serving dish) and gently pour over the hot sauce.

5. Take to table and serve with crusty rustic bred, garnishing with the remaining chives. Eet smakelijk!

Accompaniments

On the whole, I don't think this hearty dish needs accompaniments other than good bread. But, if you're feeling a lack of "green", serve it with a side dish of wilted spinach or spring greens. I also love it in the summer with a simple salad of little gem lettuce and cucumber.

Alternatives

Of course, this waterzooi makes an excellent starter in appropriate portions. For example, serve it as a starter without the root vegetables (or bread), because it's fairly rich.

This is by default a pescatarian dish. For carnivores, as mentioned, today it's more commonly made with chicken. In which case, add the chicken after the leeks. Seal and sauté before adding the stock. And, naturally, use chicken stock instead of fish stock.

Vegetarians or vegans. Sorry, but any suggestions I could make would be theoretical. I've never made a veggie or vegan version. Using vegetable stock is easy enough, but I can't offer any informed advice on the "chunkier" elements of the dish in lieu of the fish or seafood. I suspect that tofu, Quorn pieces or tempeh—maybe even mushrooms—might work. But, I can't say in the good conscience that I've tried them.

Pairings

We really need Karel on this one, least of all with his Flemish credentials in addition to the oenology ones. We eagerly await.

Amusingly, given it's historical roots, I have actually most often enjoyed this dish with white Burgundies; from supermarket "deal of the week" to a Louis Latour Puligny-Montrachet Grand Cru 1998 that almost blew my head off with its beauty and finesse. Okay, so this probably means a bit more to those with a passion for the history of Ghent and Flanders...

Should we mention beer given its Flemish roots? Oddly, beer that pairs with fish is an under explored topic. Again, we shall default to Karel who is as skilled as a cicerone as he is on the fruits of the vine.