Recipe Fish with Mushroom Stuffing

Vlaamse Stoofvlees, beef stew cooked in beer has long been part of the culinary heritage of Flanders, and it is still one of the most popular stews. Through the ages, the recipe has varied, and every mother passes on her secret to her children. Some like to add liver or kidneys to the beef, which certainly gives the stew a more distinctive flavor.

There is practically no more delicious proof of how firmly the Austrian cuisine is rooted in the heart of Europe than one of the most typical of Viennese dishes: boiled veal, or Tafelspitz. Good-quality beef, a few vegetables, aromatic spices and plenty of water to cook in – these are the vital ingredients. The same ingredients, though, also come together when the French are creating their “pot-au-feu”, or the Italians their “bollito misto”. In the case of the latter, veal and chicken meat or tongue might be added, but then some small differences should remain despite us all being good Europeans together.

“Dining like Kings” under the Austrian monarchy did not necessarily mean fine dining. Franz Joseph, the Emperor of Austria, for example, preferred simple meals. One of them was a simple Gugelhupf for dessert, which he loved to have served by his life-long confidante Katharina Schratt.

Sirovi Štruklj is one of the most characteristic dishes, known all over Slovenia. Štruklji are made from different kinds of dough and can have a wide range of fillings; they can also be baked or cooked, sweet or savory. Until the 1930’s they used to be prepared at holidays and festivities and to celebrate the end of major farm work. The most special kind of štruklji, especially during spring and summer, is prepared with tarragon filling. Other widely known varieties are those with cottage cheese filling, walnut, apple and poppy seed štruklji, along with many others.