Hochepot Flamand

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Hochepot (from the Flemish hutspot, meaning 'shaken pot') is the Flemish boiled dinner of the Nord — a massive one-pot preparation of mixed meats (oxtail, pork belly, shoulder of lamb, sausages) and root vegetables (carrots, turnips, leeks, potatoes, cabbage) simmered for hours until everything is tender and the broth is rich, golden, and deeply flavored. The hochepot is to Flanders what pot-au-feu is to Paris and potée is to the Auvergne — the archetypal bourgeois Sunday lunch, built on the principle that slow-simmered meat and vegetables in one pot can produce both a sustaining broth (first course) and a generous meat-and-vegetable platter (main course). The technique: place 500g oxtail, 400g pork belly, and 400g lamb shoulder in a large marmite with cold water, bring slowly to a simmer, and skim carefully for 20 minutes. Add salt, peppercorns, bouquet garni, and 2 onions stuck with cloves. Simmer gently for 2 hours. Add the root vegetables: carrots (halved), turnips (quartered), leeks (tied in bundles), and a wedge of cabbage (blanched separately). Add 2 smoked sausages (andouille or chipolata fumée) and potatoes for the final 45 minutes. The two-course service: first, the broth is ladled into bowls over bread. Then the meats are sliced, the sausages cut into rounds, the vegetables arranged on a platter, and all is served with Dijon mustard, coarse salt, cornichons, and pickled onions. The pickled accompaniments are the Flemish signature — they cut through the meat's richness with sharp acidity. Hochepot is a cold-weather dish (October-March) and the centerpiece of family Sundays in Lille, Dunkirk, and the Flemish corridor.

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