Chicken Stew or Gentse Waterzooi

Some call it a soup, but “waterzooi” – which in some archaic Dutch means “watery mess” – is really a meal all by itself. It is an old recipe hailing from Ghent, Belgium, where each household follows its own variation, sometimes substituting the chicken with freshwater fish or even rabbit.

It is a favorite on festive occasions because it involves heavy cream and quite a bit of chopping work (now done, mercifully, by a food processor). It is ideal for entertaining because it can be prepared almost entirely in advance.

Waterzooi is best served in hot deep plates, so one can see the ingredients at a glance, and with a spoon to assemble each delicious bite. It doesn’t hurt to add some warm, crusty bread on the side.

The keys to a flavorful waterzooi are the chicken and the chicken broth. It is best to use a stewing bird, which has more flavor (because it is older and so tougher, but don't worry, it will stew long enough to turn out very tender in the end) and as flavorful a broth as you can find. If you use chicken pieces, be sure to shorten the cooking time: you don’t want to overcook the chicken.

Also, the finer you chop the vegetables, to more delicate the soup will look, but again take care to shorten the cooking time.

If you like potatoes, you can add more, but be careful not to overpower the dish with potato flavor or to thicken it too much with potato starch. You may even want to boil the potatoes separately, which has the disadvantage of giving them less taste, but the advantage of being able to freeze the soup. Freezing chunks of boiled potatoes is ill-advised, since upon reheating they will become soggy. Also keep in mind that this dish keeps well for one to three days in the fridge, but that after that the leek will begin to ferment.

If you put the cream into the entire pot and not into the individual portions as the recipe advises, make sure that when you reheat the dish, you don’t boil it, as the cream will curdle.

Gentse Waterzooi Recipe or Dutch Chicken Stew!

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (best is a chicken for stewing) or the chicken pieces you prefer (e.g., 2 breasts, 2 thighs)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• Herb bouquet of sprigs of parsley and thyme tied together
• 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• Up to 6 cups of chicken broth
• 4 carrots, very finely chopped
• 4 large leeks, white parts only, rinsed and thinly sliced
• 1 pound of baking potatoes, peeled and cut to the size you prefer
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• Some fresh parsley, finely minced, for garnish

Recipe

1. Clean the bird of excess fat and rinse.
2. Season with salt and pepper. If using a whole chicken, put the bay leaf and herb bouquet into the bird’s cavity.
3. In a heavy cooking pan (a Dutch over is best), melt the butter.
4. Cook the onions until translucent, not brown (about 5 minutes).
5. Place bird breast side up in the pot. If using bird pieces, simply throw in the bay leaf and herb bouquet.
6. Add enough chicken broth to cover the meat.
7. Cover pot and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes.
8. Skim surface to remove fat and foam.
9. Add carrots and leeks.
10. Cover the pot and cook at a slow simmer for 30 minutes (20 minutes if using chicken pieces).
11. Add potatoes (though you may want to boil them separately), cook until the potatoes are done and the chicken meat very tender, another 20 to 25 minutes.
12. If using whole chicken: remove it from the pot, allow to cool until it is safe to handle, and with your hands remove the meat from the bone. Put the meat back in the pot.
13. Ladle into heated deep plates, pour in some heavy cream (make a swirl), and garnish with the parsley.

Bon appetit!

• Another recipe from Ghent, Belgium: Saint Hubert Mastellen

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