Full of Flavours

Bitterballen is a typical Dutch snack. Typically it’s a ball of ragout (or rather salpicon) made of beef or veal with a crispy layer on the outside. Today we made asparagus bitterballen, and they are delicious!

⏲30 minutes
⏳6 minutes
🍽 about 30 balls

How to make it?

First, make a roux. This is done with butter and flour. Add 96 grams of butter to a pan on low heat. When that’s molten, add 80 grams of flour to the pan, stir well so it doesn’t burn, and cook/bake it for around 5 minutes. The roux should be done. While the roux is still hot and the pan is on the fire, add the (cold) asparagus soup. A big temperature difference is important here. Like this, you’ll actually be able to mix it, and it won’t lump. Don’t add all of the soup at once. It’s better to do this in 2 or 3 steps, as you’ll be able to make a fine mix more smoothly.

Once you’re done, let the salpicon cool down (in the fridge). When the salpicon is cold to room temperature or below, you can start forming little balls from the salpicon.

Grab 3 bowls, one with the flour, one with eggs (whole mixed eggs), and one with the bread crumbs. Start by rolling the balls in the flour lightly. When that’s done, put the balls in the eggs, not all of them at the same time, that’s not going to work. Finally, put the balls in the bread crumbs, and roll them until they have a nice coating. Then repeat the steps of the egg and breadcrumbs 2 more times for a strong and crispy jacket.

You can freeze the balls and heat them up in the air fryer or frying pan when you want to eat them. In the frying pan, it takes around 3-4 minutes to bake them at 180 C. In the air fryer, 5 to 6 minutes.