Belgium

Beer-braised stews, frites with sauces, waffles, and chocolate define this hearty Franco-Flemish table. That is the short version of what Belgium cooks. Look for Moules-frites (mussels steamed in white wine, with fries and mayonnaise), Belgian fries (twice-fried chips in a paper cone with thick sauces) and Carbonade flamande (beef stewed in dark abbey beer, slightly sweet-sour, with fries). Cheap North Sea and Zeeland mussels with potatoes fed nineteenth-century workers; the pot of mussels with fries became Belgium’s national dish. This atlas has 37 Belgium dishes catalogued below, from everyday cooking to food kept for festivals and special occasions.