If the idea of authentic Dutch cuisine fills you with horror, then you’re not alone. Even the authors of The New Kitchen admit that, ‘Dutch cooking does not, to say the least, have a very good international reputation.’

Amsterdam based writers Manon Sikkel and Michiel Klonhammer have penned numerous articles about their passion for traditional food and have enthusiastically updated some authentically rustic dishes in Dutch Cooking: The New Kitchen.

You could be forgiven for thinking that there is little appeal in modernizing recipes that include culinary gems like cheese soup or salsifies with sour cream, but there’s lots about this cheery and self-deprecating little book that makes you want try them out, like the bizarre but surprisingly tasty, eel and asparagus soup or the hash, made from stewed steak (with herbs, onions and juniper berries).

If you ate this kind of food every day then watch out! You might just find your left ventricle slamming shut. It’s what you might call wholesome, stodgy fodder: very short on sophistication but full of flavour. Generations of Dutch peasants toiled the polders nourished on this kind of fuel and it certainly hasn’t stunted the nation’s growth, so what is there to criticise?

Well quite a bit actually, such as the bacon pancakes with avocado mousse, which according to my husband, won’t even tempt a famished fox. As well as nearly all of the vegetable dishes, and specifically the sprout puree which looks like it’s passed through the digestive tract of a cat.

But thankfully almost every pudding was scrumptious and my three-year-old thought the strawberry fool and apple pie were ‘Lishus’. It was only the prunes and curd that let the side down and looked revolting despite whatever nutritional benefits it may have boasted in days of olde…

Dutch Cooking: The New Kitchen, has been lovingly produced in homage to old-fashioned Dutch cuisine and it successfully manages to inject some fun into a stale national pastime with this funky mix of traditional hearty fare.

All the recipes are simple, cheap and easy to prepare which makes it an ideal cookery book for youngsters, or anyone who fancies trying out an eclectic menu on friends. But if you really are planning a ‘Dutch’ dinner party, and before you fill the trough, just make sure you choose the courses wisely, and more importantly, keep a defibrillator handy.

Shelley Antscherl
books@dutchnews.nl