Hachee met Kruidkoek

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy braadpan or Dutch oven, 5 liter capacity
• •Wooden spoon
• •Small piece of cheesecloth for the cloves, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Brown the beef

   Season the beef with 1 teaspoon salt and plenty of black pepper. Heat the butter and oil in a heavy braadpan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, then brown the meat in batches until each piece has a dark crust on at least two sides. Do not crowd the pan. Pale beef makes a pale hachee, and no amount of kruidkoek can write the flavour back in later.

   Pat the beef very dry before it touches the pan. If it steams in its own moisture, it will turn grey before it browns, and that is a sad beginning for a stew.
2. 2

   Soften the onions

   Lift the browned beef to a plate. Add all the onions to the same pan with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, scraping the bottom as their juices begin to loosen the browned bits. Cook them for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring often, until the mountain collapses into soft gold. You are not frying them crisp; you are teaching them to become sauce.

3. 3

   Build the braise

   Return the beef and its juices to the pan. Pour in the vinegar and scrape again, then add the beef stock, bay leaves, cloves, and mace if using. The liquid should come about two-thirds of the way up the meat. Bring it just to a simmer, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and cook over very low heat for 2 hours, stirring now and then along the bottom.

4. 4

   Melt the kruidkoek

   When the beef is nearly tender, crumble the kruidkoek into the pan and stir until it disappears into the liquid. Simmer uncovered for 30 to 45 minutes more, until the meat gives under a spoon and the sauce is dark, glossy, and thick enough to cling. Taste carefully. Add a splash more vinegar if it has become too sweet, or a little salt if the onions have softened the edge too much.

5. 5

   Rest and serve

   Fish out the bay leaves, cloves, and mace. Let the hachee rest off the heat for at least 20 minutes before serving, or cool it completely and refrigerate it for tomorrow. Serve with boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes and, if the table is feeling properly wintery, braised red cabbage. This is not garnish food. It wants a spoon and a hungry room.

Chef Tips

• •Use real kruidkoek or ontbijtkoek, not a light cake with a polite sprinkle of spice. The cake must bring dark syrup, rye or wheat depth, cinnamon, clove, and ginger, or it is only sweet filler.
• •Tie the cloves in a small piece of cheesecloth if you are serving children or anyone suspicious of whole spices. Biting a clove is memorable, but not in the way a cook hopes.
• •Make the hachee a day ahead for Christmas. The vinegar relaxes, the onions disappear further into the sauce, and the kruidkoek thickens the gravy into the dark shine you want.
• •If the sauce thickens too far on reheating, loosen it with a spoonful of water or stock. Do not add more cake at the end unless you want pudding with beef in it.
• •Drink a malty brown beer with it, or a red wine with enough acidity to answer the vinegar. The dish is sweet-sour by design, and the glass should understand that.

Advance Preparation

• •Best made 1 day ahead; cool uncovered until no longer hot, then cover and refrigerate.
• •Keeps 3 days refrigerated and reheats gently over low heat with a splash of stock or water.
• •Freezes well for up to 3 months, though the sauce may need vigorous stirring as it warms.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 310g)