Bokkenvlaai

‘Bokkenvlaai’

The “Bokkenvlaai” was a dish presented to the visitors of fanfare, Amsterdam.

It consisted of a pie, filled with a creamy goat custard pie and topped with polen. The pie was cut with a knife covered with rosehip jam.

The dish was shown and accompanied by a podcast laying out the reasons why the dish may be both environmentally and culturally resilient in the North Holland region.

To listen to the podcast:

The podcast can be found on the podcast app (by researching “The Soft Protest Digest”/Bokkenvlaai) or by following this link to our Soundcloud.

Transcript of the podcast of the “Bokkenvlaai”

“Southern Dutch cuisine is famous for its many rich pastries, often filled with cream, custard or fruits, such as the ‘Limburgse Vlaai’. In Dutch, ‘vlaai’ designates this various flans from the Limburg region, but also vanilla flavored custards in general.
Vlaai was originally used in german monasteries as sacrificial bread — a late version of roman ‘libum’. Some sources argue that Vlaai was brought later to Nerherlands by Bokkenrijders, in the eighteenth century.
This legendary gang of criminals from Limburg named itself after demons who rode on the back of flying goats provided to them by Satan; known as Bokkenrijders (or ‘buck riders’). They were most probably baking Vlaai for satanistic ritual purpose, following roman pagan tradition. As Bokkenrijders worship the devil and ride bucks, their sacrificial Vlaai was made with no other milk than goat milk collected in the province of Limburg. During the gang’s ceremonies, a leader would cut the white flan using a knife covered with red marmelade (made out of rosehips in the winter). The gang members would then gain strength from the rich creamy filling flavoured with rosemary — a plant considered sacred by the romans.

Goats produce only 2% of the world’s total milk supply and, while goat milk may be a curiosity in a large part of the world, it is common in the Netherlands. Goats have the advantage to be browsing animals: they would eat basically anything and their plant diet is extremely varied. This is the reason why they are often raised with free-ranging methods, encouraging biodiversity around the farm. Besides, their appeal for unwanted plants can be useful: in China, they are traditionally used as “weed-killers” in tea culture. The “Bokkenvlaai” cooked by The Soft Protest Digest is based on a shortcrust pastry made out of spelt flour crushed at a few kilometers from Amsterdam, by Molen De Vlijt. The filling is made with dairy products and eggs from Ridammerhoeve Goat Farm in Amsterdamse Bos. In Winter, their goats are mainly fed on fermented grass hay produced on site, mixed with Dutch corn and straw: it allows the farm to produce a large variety of dairy products all year long, made at the doorstep of Amsterdammers. Their herd is composed of highly productive Saanen swiss goats, that are commonly used in intensive farming. Yet, this breed is right on point in North Europe, as it is sensitive to sun. Moreover, their feces are excellent fertilizers which are used all around Amsterdam in farms such as Ecologische Boerderij De Boterbloem, from where the honey perfuming the “Bokkenvlaai” comes from.”

Recipe

Ingredients

Béchamel sauce (base):

• 80g of goat butter/ghee
• 80g of white spelt flour
• 30g of potato starch
• 250ml of goat milk
• 250ml of homemade vegetable stock
• 2 egg yolks
• 50g of goat crème fraiche
• Salt
• Pepper

Kroketten:

• 1/8 of a cauliflower
• 5 egg whites
• 250g of wholegrain oat flour
• 100g of coarse oats
• Rapeseed oil

Soufflés:

• 300g of béchamel sauce
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 egg whites
• 1/8 of a cauliflower
• A strong dijon mustard

Preparation

Béchamel sauce (base):

1. Slowly heat up the milk and stock to a simmer.
2. In a medium size saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour and potato starch to make the roux, cook for 2 minutes.
3. Gradually add the milk to the roux, whisking constantly.
4. Combine the cream and egg yolks separately and add to the sauce.
5. When the sauce reaches a béchamel-like texture, turn the heat off and season to taste.
6. Set aside 300g of the béchamel.

Kroketten:

1. Blitz the cauliflower in a food processor to a ‘rice’ consistency.
2. Combine with the 300g of béchamel and reduce on a low heat until you reach a thick consistency.
3. Leave to cool in the fridge, covering the surface with clean film to prevent the formation of a dry skin.
4. Place the egg whites and the oat flour in two different shallow bowls.
5. In a large skillet, heat enough oil to cover the kroketten to 180°c.
6. Form the kroketten by hand, drop them in the egg white and roll them in the coarse oats, fry for 5min, turning them over mid-fry.
7. Leave to dry on kitchen paper.

Soufflés:

1. Whip the 2 egg whites to stiff picks.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the egg yolks to 300g of béchamel.
3. Carefully fold in the egg whites.
4. Extract pretty cauliflower florets to fit each muffin tin.
5. Butter the 6 molds and pour in the batter.
6. Push in each mold one cauliflower floret and bake, covered with a sheet of parchemin paper, at 180°c for 20min.

Products

• Ekoplaza / oat whole grain flour (Meesters can de Heelvn, NL) / eggs (Ekoplaza, NL)
• Ecologische Boerderij De Boterbloem / cauliflower (Amsterdam, NL)
• Ridammerhoeve Goat Farm / goat milk / cream / fresh eggs (Amsterdam, NL)
• Molen De Vriendschap / oat whole grain flour (Germany)
• Molen De Vlijt / spelt whole grain flour (NL)