A (fishy) detour to Delft in Midnight Blue
The book: Midnight Blue, set in the city of Delft, by Simone van der Vlugt
Genre: Historical fiction
Published: 2016
The bake: Crispy haddock fishcakes
What’s the story?
Midnight Blue is both the story of a talented, courageous young woman, and the history of the distinctive blue-and-white pottery from Delft.
It’s the year 1654 and newly widowed Catrin Barentsdochter escapes from the small village of De Rijp in the Netherlands. She makes her way to Amsterdam where she starts working as a housekeeper. As she witnesses her mistress’s painting lessons, her own artistic skills start clamouring for attention.
Catrin’s murky past catches up to her in Amsterdam in the form of Jacob, a farm hand from her village. She has the opportunity to go to Delft, and here her path crosses with pottery factory owner Evert van Nulandt. He soon realizes Catrin is a woman of many talents, including painting. Together they start working on a plan to replicate the valuable (and very popular) blue-and-white porcelain from the Far East.
A golden thread running through Midnight Blue is the story of love. Catrin becomes the amorous focus of Evert as well as his enigmatic brother Matthias. But can Catrin ever be free from her past? And what will she do when tragedy strikes not only her but the whole city of Delft?
Why read it?
I love this tapestry of real historical events (like the Delft Explosion of 1654 and the origins of Delft Blue) and the story of a young woman, told in the first person. The way this book is written really pulls you into the Netherlands of the 17th century. It is the perfect novel to lose yourself in and escape from 2021.
There are real people in this novel, like Johannes Vermeer (who painted the famous “The Girl with a Pearl Earring”). And one of Rembrandt’s pupils Carel Fabritius. This gives a lot of substance to the story. I’m always impressed by an author who has done his/her research about a period of time.
The novel was originally written in Dutch. Translator Jenny Watson did an excellent job giving the story a wider reach in English. So, if you are interested in history, especially European history, and love stories with a strong female heroine, you will love Midnight Blue.
Bookworms out of five: 4
Pair it with: Crispy haddock fishcakes
Delft is home to one of the oldest fish markets in the world, De Visbanken, dating from 1342. One of my sisters and her then-fiancé (now husband) visited Delft at the beginning of 2019. They came back full of stories of this wonderful city (I share some of their Delft photos below). The buildings, the atmosphere, and the fish market! Catrin and the other characters in Midnight Blue do most of their shopping at markets. So, I’m quite sure they also popped into De Visbanken!
That is where the inspiration for this food and book paring came from. I thought it would be fitting to pair a fishy dish with this book. Fish, especially herring, is also high on the Dutch traditional foods list. I’m not a fan of herring but I absolutely love the smoky flavour of haddock. I created these fishcakes with the flavours of a haddock pie my mom has made for decades.
The sweet-sour pops of gherkin, the substance of the potato, and the creaminess of the cheese combine to create a delightful morsel. Serve with your favourite creamy mayonnaise.
Crispy haddock fishcakes
8
servings40
minutes15
minutesIngredients
400 g haddock, poached
4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
10 ml gherkins (pickled cucumbers), finely chopped
5 ml Dijon mustard
5 ml fresh chives, chopped
5 ml fresh parsley, chopped
125 ml mature cheddar, grated
a pinch of cayenne pepper
salt, to taste
30 ml milk
1 egg
breadcrumbs
oil, for shallow frying
To serve: creamy mayonnaise
Directions
- Boil the potatoes until soft and mash until fluffy. Mix in the rest of the ingredients, except the milk, egg and breadcrumbs. Mix well until thoroughly combined. If the mixture is very stiff, add a little bit of milk. Place in the fridge until completely cooled.
- Sprinkle a little bit of flour over your hands to keep the mixture from sticking to your hands. Form the mixture into eight fishcakes (make them bigger or smaller as you prefer). Whisk the egg and milk together. Dip the fishcakes into the egg, and then the breadcrumbs.
- Heat the oil in a large, heavy based frying pan. Fry the fishcakes until golden and cooked through. Serve immediately with mayonnaise and garnish with fresh parsley
6 Comments
The Bookworm
Dankie Leon, waardeer dit so baie!! Ek sal iewers in die toekoms ‘n Afrikaanse suster-blog begin vir ons wonderlike Afrikaanse boeke en resepte!!
Johan van der Walt
Baie interessant – dit het my meegevoer na menige besoeke aan Nederland jare gelede. Ons het darem destyds geld gehad vir ‘n egte Delft sout en peper potjie stelletjie. Ek is getuie van die smaak van hierdie viskoekies en kan dit sonder voorbehoud aanbeveel. Sien uit na die volgende een. Welgedaan
Leon Fourie
Pragtig, Karla!
Dis ‘n baie goeie konsep! Ek sou die twee nooit bymekaar kon uitbring nie, en, voila!, jy doen dit, en dit is een van die mees interessante gedagtes in ‘n lang tyd (in my verwysingsraamwerk!).
Welgedaan.
Is daar ‘n moontlikheid vir die samekoms van goeie Afrikaanse boeke en van jou liplek-lekker resepte?
The Bookworm
Thanks Renier! Read the About Me section on the website to learn all about The Bookworm 🙂 thanks for your lovely comments about today’s post xxx
The Bookworm
I will go and add my name as well so that I am not totally anonymous!! So much to think about when setting up a website, you forget some things hahaha!!
Renier Jansen van Vuuren
Very clever and entertaining blog and on today’s read you introduced me to a writer and recipe that I will definitely try out! Well done, but I cannot find your name anywhere? Lovely pic and write-up about yourself, but no name? Or have I just missed it?