A new Belgian cooking app has revealed Flanders' favourite recipe: the Italian dish known as Spaghetti Bolognese around the world, and Ragù in Italy.
Less than a week after the launch of the application Dagelijkse Kost (Daily Meal) by the famous cooking show of the same name, the Tinder-like interface of swiping left or right on cooking inspiration has revealed that Flemish people love Spaghetti Bolognese. It was the number one dish in the top ten compiled by VRT.
Other favourites show that the Flemish love their classics but also some international flavours: meatballs in tomato sauce, stew, fries, vol-au-vent and Pad Thai also made the list.
Spaghetti Bolognese, however, was not always a classic dish. It first came to Belgium with the arrival of Italian immigrants who were encouraged to immigrate to work in Belgian mines.
"It sounds strange, but Spaghetti Bolognese was once considered 'exotic'," Caroline Audoor, spokesperson for the historic Farmer's Union Ferm, told Gazet van Antwerpen. Almost 100 years ago, Ferm launched the cooking bible, Ons Kookboek (Our Cookbook), to teach people how to cook with local resources.
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As one might imagine, Spaghetti Bolognese was not listed in the 1927 edition of the historical cookbook. "The word spaghetti was not even known," she added.
Today, the recipe has transformed into comfort food for many, with distantly international origins. In fact, the 'Spaghetti Bolognese' one orders in Flanders is most likely a far-removed version of the authentic Ragù alla Bolognese that originates from the city of Bologna in the Emilia Romagna region.
