PURE DAPHNE

 

"I used to be Snow White .... but I drifted."   (Mae West)

I only opened with that quote because someone snorted in derision at the name "Pure Daphne".  How very dare they.    

Rest assured I have not taken holy orders.   Pure Daphne is the name of a new line of frozen croquettes I spotted in my local Delhaize, and of course, in view of the name, had to buy them, photograph them and post them on Facebook.  I was intrigued by the name and Googled it, only to find that the lady behind them is really Daphne Aers, finalist in the 2010 Flemish TV cooking competition  "De Beste Hobbykok van Vlaanderen". equivalent of Masterchef - who used the publicity to launch a line of frozen croquettes and a restaurant in which to eat them, in her home town of Ghent.   

So of course I had to go to Ghent for the photo-opportunity.   The restaurant is situated on Gebroeders Van de Veldestraat just a few minutes' walk from the historic town centre.   Pure Daphne products line the walls of the stylish green and black interior alongside bottles of wine.  I had arranged to meet up with Gantoise Ivana Tramp - who was already resting her impressive embonpoint on the table when I arrived.   Daphne's partner was behind the counter, and told us Daphne would be along shortly, just as soon as they'd got the childcare handover organised.

We ordered a couple of large glasses of rosé wine, while we waited for our croquettes to be cooked.  Typically Belgian croquettes are essentially a sort of deep-fried prawn cocktail.  They are usually served as a starter in more traditional restaurants.   Pure Daphne croquettes ring the changes with different flavours, offering cheese,  lobster, prawn, fish with prawn, or goat's cheese, cooked with a dash of chilli or garlic.  They are served in the restaurant as a kind of tapas, for a light snack rather than a whole meal.  My Delhaize bought croquettes were still sitting in the freezer (or so I thought - little did I know  my lodger had already got there before me) so this was going to be my first taste of Pure Daphne.

  

Ivana Tramp and I went for the "tapas" style plate for 12 euros, offering 6 croquettes in 3 different flavours and an elegant little salad to go with it. I was a little disappointed that the lobster croquette did not contain a big chunk of lobster - I think I was expecting something akin to English-style scampi - but was more like lobster flavoured sauce in a crunchy deep-fried casing. Still, they were fresh, light, and fun. They can also be ordered as a takeaway dish, eaten with bread.  Prices varies according to how many pieces you wanted - roughly working out to 2 euros a croquette. 

The lovely Daphne Aers arrived in due course and we did our photo-op - twee Daphnes.   If you can't get to Ghent to sample the goods hot from the fryer, check out your frozen food section in Delhaize, Carrefour, Spar or OK.   I'm not sure how long a restaurant with basically one dish will last, but it works for fritkots so I don't see why croquettes shouldn't make the jump from tablecloth to street, especially in view of the emphasis on street food at this year's Culinaria.  

Before leaving Ghent, I called in to Ye Olde Mostard Shoppe, Tierenteyn-Verlent, as recommended by Vi Hornblower, where I purchased a small jar of their famed mustard, its recipe unchanged since 1790.  It is runny, with a fruity taste, only lasts 6 months, and BOY IS IT STRONG!   In fact, it would go rather well with Pure Daphne croquettes, I thought.  Of which there were none left when I got home.

Pure Daphne
Gebroeders Van de Veldestraat
9000 Gent

Tierenteyn-Verlent
Groentenmarkt 3
9000 Gent