Potagie Van Een Gevulde Kalfs-Borst
"Potage Of A Stuffed Veal Breast"
From the treasured pages of Het Hollands, of Neederlands kook-boek
Unknown Author
Potagie Van Een Gevulde Kalfs-Borst
"Neem een brave Kalfs-borst, opentse van boven tot beneden, en vult deese opening met een ope Pastei-vulsel, toebereid van een Kalfs-schyf, of uit de Spieren van Capoenen, of van jonge Hoenderen, met Bodems van Artisjocken, Kalfs-zweserikken, en Champernoeljens; maakt dit alles tot een goed en smakelyk gekruid Ragout, vult daar meede je Kalfs-borst, naait de opening toe, op dat'er het vulsel niet uit valt, je moet'er wat van overhouden om de Potagie te vercieren. Dit gedaan zynde, doet u stuk Vlees met goed Nat in een pot, laat het wel kooken; gekookt zynde, laat je Brood-korsten smooren en weeken; schep je Potagie op, de Kalfs-borst in het midden, giet'er kalfs-nat met Citroen over, en stoffeert se met Frickedillen en met je haksel toe-bereid."
English Translation
"Take a fine veal breast, open it from top to bottom, and fill this opening with a fine pie stuffing, prepared from a veal slice, or from the muscles of capons, or young chickens, with artichoke bottoms, veal sweetbreads, and mushrooms; make all this into a good and tasty, well-seasoned ragout, fill your veal breast with it, sew the opening closed so that the stuffing does not fall out, and keep some aside to decorate the potage. Having done this, place your piece of meat with good broth in a pot, let it cook well; once cooked, let your bread crusts braise and soak; dish up your potage, the veal breast in the middle, pour veal broth with lemon over it, and garnish it with meatballs and your prepared chopped mixture."
Note on the Original Text
Recipe writing in 18th-century Dutch cookbooks was intended for cooks already familiar with basic techniques, focusing on the ingredients and main steps, rather than precise quantities or times. Measurements relied on experience and judgment (‘a good veal brisket’, ‘season to taste’). Directions such as ‘open up’, ‘fill’, or ‘sew’ reflect hands-on knowledge assumed of the reader. Spelling is old-fashioned ('gevulde Kalfs-borst', 'citroen', 'Pastij-vulsel'), and some terms like ‘champenoeljens’ refer to mushrooms, while ‘frickedillen’ means small meatballs—words borrowed and evolved in modern Dutch. The tone evokes both instruction and trust in the reader’s culinary intuition.
Title
Het Hollands, of Neederlands kook-boek (1725)
You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome
Writer
Unknown
Era
1725
Publisher
J. du Vivie
Background
A delectable journey into 18th-century Dutch cuisine, this cookbook serves up traditional recipes, culinary wisdom, and a flavorful glimpse of the Netherlands’ rich gastronomic heritage.
Kindly made available by
Internet Archive
This recipe hails from the 1725 Dutch culinary classic ‘Het Hollands, of Neederlands kook-boek’, a period where the Dutch kitchen was thriving from both international trade and a deep appreciation for refined home cookery. Veal was a prized meat, reserved for special occasions and well-to-do households, particularly when paired with delicacies like artichokes, mushrooms, and sweetbreads. Such elaborate preparations speak both to the technical skills and the abundance enjoyed by the upper and merchant classes of the Netherlands during the ‘Golden Age’, when new ingredients made their way through Amsterdam and Leiden’s ports. Dishes like this would be served at banquet tables, with ingredients and garnishes signaling luxury and sophistication.
The veal breast would be carefully opened and stuffed using a long, sharp knife and hands. Kitchen thread or fine twine was used to sew up the pocket—a task familiar to cooks before the era of roasting bags and toothpicks. A large copper or earthenware pot (“pot”), heated over an open fire or hearth, served as the main cooking vessel for the braise. For soaking and frying bread, heavy pans or shallow skillets were used. To make neat garnishes, cooks employed small knives, wooden spoons, mortars and pestles for grinding spices, and strainers for lifting the cooked meat and clarifying the broth.
Prep Time
45 mins
Cook Time
2 hrs 30 mins
Servings
8
We've done our best to adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, but some details may still need refinement. We warmly welcome feedback from fellow cooks and culinary historians — your insights support the entire community!
Ingredients
- 2.6–3.3 lbs veal brisket (alternatively, boneless veal breast)
- 7 oz veal meat (for ragout; or substitute chicken/capon thigh meat)
- 3.5 oz cooked artichoke hearts (canned or frozen, roughly chopped)
- 2.8 oz veal sweetbreads (optional, blanched and diced; substitute extra veal or chicken if unavailable)
- 3.5 oz fresh mushrooms (button or cremini, chopped)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground mace or a pinch of cloves (optional)
- 2 cups veal stock (or good quality chicken stock as substitute, for braising)
- 2–4 slices rustic bread or bread crusts
- Juice of one lemon
- Kitchen twine (for sewing brisket)
- 9 oz additional ground veal or chicken (for making small fricadelle meatballs, optional)
- 1 egg (to bind meatballs)
Instructions
- Take a veal brisket (about 2.6–3.3 lbs) and carefully cut a pocket along its length, being careful not to slice all the way through.
- For the filling, prepare a ragout by finely dicing about 7 oz of veal meat, or alternatively, use the thigh meat of chicken (7 oz), young chicken legs (7 oz), or capon (7 oz).
- Add 3.5 oz cooked artichoke hearts, roughly chopped.
- If available, include 2.8 oz veal sweetbreads (blanched and diced) and 3.5 oz fresh mushrooms (button or cremini, cleaned and chopped).
- Season generously with salt, pepper, and your favorite warm spices (nutmeg, mace, or a pinch of cloves).
- Stuff this mixture firmly into the pocket of the veal brisket and sew the opening shut with kitchen twine.
- Reserve some of the ragout to garnish the final dish.
- Place the filled brisket in a large pot and cover with 2 cups of veal stock or another flavorful broth.
- Simmer gently until the veal is tender, about 2–2.5 hours.
- Meanwhile, soak and gently fry some rustic bread crusts (about 2–4 slices, torn into pieces) until softened.
- Once the veal is cooked, arrange the bread pieces on a serving platter.
- Place the veal brisket in the center, slice if desired, and pour some hot veal stock over with a squeeze of fresh lemon.
- Garnish with small meatballs (fricadelles) made from extra filling and finish with any reserved ragout mixture across the platter.
Estimated Calories
520 per serving
Cooking Estimates
Preparation takes about 45 minutes, including making the filling, stuffing the veal, and prepping other ingredients. Cooking is mostly hands-off and takes about 2 to 2.5 hours to simmer the brisket until tender. Each serving is around 520 calories.
As noted above, we have made our best effort to translate and adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, taking into account ingredients nowadays, cooking techniques, measurements, and so on. However, historical recipes often contain assumptions that require interpretation.
We'd love for anyone to help improve these adaptations. Community contributions are highly welcome. If you have suggestions, corrections, or cooking tips based on your experience with this recipe, please share them below.
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