Alessia and I are back! In the beautiful city of Maastricht in the far south of the Netherlands, we had some Kibbeling!

Kibbeling is a traditional dish that was for the poor back in the days – how far it reaches back is not easy to establish. In the 19th century, it must have existed already, though, because salt was not available to the poor at the beginning of that century. And kibbeling was made without any spices, as they were not affordable at the time. So understandably, in certain sources, it was referred to as armoedig spul (poor stuff).

So what is it exactly? Kabeljauwwangen (codfish cheeks) are dipped in beslag (batter) and then fried. The name kabeljauwwangen in some way grew out to the word kibbeling, as we know this great snack nowadays.

Kibbeling met knoflooksaus (Image by Anne Hornyak at Flickr.com)

Today, kabeljauw (codfish) is increasingly often replaced by other kinds of white fish, such as koolvis (pollack), because it is cheaper and kabeljauw is harder to find. The Atlantic species is almost gone because of overbevissing (overfishing). With the vanishing of the fish, the expertise of many visboeren (“fish farmers” – fish vendors) of how kibbeling is done right also fades away. And that is a shame! However, it can be made at home as well. With the right ingredients of course!

Kibbeling itself resembles, in my opinion, Fish ‘n’ Chips. It has quite the same texture and taste. Kibbeling is just way smaller, sometimes even bite-size. And more fried. And instead of fries, it is often also eaten with aardappelpuree (mashed potatoes) and doperwten en wortels (split peas and carrots). And with the Kibbeling, some nice citroensap (lemon juice) and knoflooksaus (garlic sauce)!

The snack finds positive resonance also beyond the Dutch borders, for example in northern Germany. In my German hometown, which is right on the Dutch border, there is a visboer that sells fresh, hot kibbeling on the market every week. It always was a feast having it for dinner!

What does Alessia think? Check it out:

Alessia said één portie kibbeling, alsjeblieft (one portion kibbeling, please). And I must say, I have had better kibbeling than the one we had – so we will try it again another day!

Have you had kibbeling before? What do you think about it? Other suggestions for food Alessia should try?