Around the World in 80 Plates: Netherlands

While I totally plan on making Hannah Kaminsky's take on Sugar Lump Bread (Fryske Sûkerbôle) sometime in the very near future, I didn't get it made in time for this blog project. I will have to head to the Dutch grocery here in Ottawa to find some of the amber rock sugar she uses. Kiddo seriously can't wait to try this one as it combines two of his favourite things, bread and sugar (I swear he loves broccoli too so don't judge too harshly please).

What I did make for a Dutch treat wasn't exactly health food either but you could eat broccoli with it...I didn't but you could. It's called Frikandel and according to the almighty Wikipedia it is "a Dutch snack, a sort of minced meat hot dog" and where it takes a turn is how you cook it...you deep fry that sucker! It is sometimes called frikandel speciaal when it is served sliced down the middle and stuffed with raw onion, curry ketchup and mayo. Ummm....yeah! So good! I love hot dogs with raw onion any ways but adding my favourite new condiment, curry ketchup and mayo just made it even better. I decided my hot dog of choice would be a Field Roast frankfurter since they are the bestest. I keep mine in the freezer so I quickly defrosted it in some boiling water and then sliced it down the middle. I then fried it in a deep sided pan so I wouldn't use too much oil, until it was starting to brown a bit on the outside and looked crisp. It really worked well, the outside was crisp and had a nice bite to it but the inside stayed hot doggish. The toppings really work together too and again...I loved the curry ketchup! I tried one on a bun which would be called broodje frikandel and it was tasty too, definitely easier to eat as well. I won't be eating these every day or anything but I will absolutely make these again. Just the same toppings on an unfried frank would be great too but I recommend giving this different cooking method a try even just once!