Pastey Van Tongen

This recipe hails from 'Het Hollands, of Neederlands kook-boek' published in Leiden in 1725. The early 18th century Dutch kitchen was exuberant but exacting, combining the opulence of imported ingredients (like truffles and lemons) with local staples (like tongue and mushrooms). Pies (or 'pasteys') were both practical and festive, used to showcase abundant fillings and as a means to preserve delicate, perishable ingredients. Oysters and exotic mushrooms reflect coastal trade and the wealth of the Dutch Republic at the time. The 'white bread crust' here nods to a period when bread dough and pastry were often used interchangeably as edible casings for savory pies. Surviving recipes like this one offer a peep into the extravagant side of weekday dining before the Victorians reinvented Dutch cuisine’s sensibilities.

In the early 1700s, the Dutch cook would prepare this pastey using basic but sturdy kitchen implements: a heavy earthenware or metal pie dish, a wood-fired oven for baking, a sharp kitchen knife for chopping and paring, and a large pot for simmering the tongues. Mortar and pestle would be used for crushing herbs and spices, and wooden spoons for stirring and layering the filling, with hands enlisted liberally in forming the crust. The filling would be assembled directly in the dough-lined dish before sealing and sending to the oven.