Lekkerbekjes

"You are such a lekkerbek!" If someone says that to you in Dutch, just nod approvingly, wipe the grease off your chin and give them a big smile. A lekkerbek is someone who loves food, good food. And a not more appropriate name could have been given to today's dish, fried whiting, as it is indeed something an epicure might enjoy.

As a matter of fact, the whiting, is a bit of a lekkerbek himself, both in life and in eh....deep-fried afterlife, shall we say. Feeding primarily on shrimp and mussels, the whiting has a full and rounded taste, much unlike similar other white fish. You are, after all, what you eat.

Whiting was for the longest time the standard fish for this recipe, next to cod. A flavorful fish, cheap and abundant in the North Sea, it was battered, fried and served as Friday's meat replacement for the predominant Catholic south. Nowadays, whiting is not as abundant anymore and most lekkerbekjes are made from pangasius, not half as tasty as the whiting.

Fish stands and fishmongers are still easily found in cities and towns: most weekly markets will have at least one fishmonger who sells seafood, shrimp, herring and fish. People often buy a lekkerbekje to consume right there and then, or take it home for lunch or dinner. I guess it takes one to know one!

Lekkerbekjes
4 pieces of whiting or cod
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 teaspoon of dried dill
Pinch of salt and pepper

Dry the fish on both sides and rub a little bit of flour on it. Make a thick batter with the flour, milk, dill, salt and pepper. Add a tablespoon of milk if it's too thick.

Heat your fryer to 375F or heat oil in a cast-iron pan on the stove. Take the necessary safety precautions and keep kids and pets out of the kitchen! Try a little piece first: dip it in the batter and fry. Taste it and adjust the seasonings to your liking.

Put the rest of the fish in the batter, turn it over so that both sides are covered and drop it in the hot oil. Fry to a golden brown, remove from the oil and place it on a plate with some paper towels to drain the fat.

Serve with boiled potatoes and vegetables for dinner, or have it for lunch on a roll, with some tartarsauce on the side.



10 comments:

  1. Mmmmmm....lekkerbekjes!!!! Last time in Holland we also ate kibbeling....also heel lekker!!! Think they are similar (if not the same)???

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mizz D, you are so right, kibbeling and lekkerbekjes are usually the same fish, only kibbeling is cut into bite-size pieces and served with a tartar or remoulade sauce. I have a post written about it and will post it soon! It's too hot to be frying a lot now but come cooler weather I'll be making some!

    ReplyDelete
  3. lekker hoor al die Nederlandse receptjes. Nederlandse eten mis je pas wanneer je het niet meer kunt eten hahahahaha. Mijn kinderen missen de Nederlandse Kaas Soufle die je bij de snackbar kunt halen. Ik heb nog steeds geen goed recept gevonden. Hetzelfde met de Nederlandse friet mayonaise.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a great blog, thanks so much for all the wonderful recipes. I sent your blog address to my girls, too. They have such fond memories of Oma's food. xo Lidy

    ReplyDelete
  5. as a dutchie i always thought the food was not holland's best kept secret, but its most embarrassingly under-rug-swept one. when people would ask about my country's cuisine i would just change the subject to something not dutch food or dutch weather-related. your blog has changed my mind though! we do make some tasty things don't we? (although i still think hutspot is the worst culinary invention ever.) keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thijs, I am so glad you changed your mind! There is nothing wrong with our food, and we do have some tasty dishes, I agree. As for hutspot....yumm! :-)

      Delete
  6. Hi Nicole,

    Like you I am a Dutchie living in the USA too. I have been translating recipes for my American family and friends for so long, I found however several recipes here I am sooo happy with! I did not have them or tried it or found it, till now! Thank you for making this and when I quot you, you will have a link on my blog always!

    Dank je wel! groetjes

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love dutch food... i want to go back there...

    ReplyDelete

I welcome your comments! Please be so considerate as to include a name, as anonymous comments will be deleted. Comments will appear as soon as they are monitored (usually within 24 hours). If you have a direct question, please consider emailing me at nicole at thedutchtable dot com for a faster response, or post on our Facebook page.