Gentse waterzooi is a soup-like stew. Waterzooi comes from the old Flemish word zooien, meaning ‘to boil and gentze shows that the soup originates from the city of Ghent. It’s traditionally made from fish such as carp, pike, eel and bass – but these days more commonly these made with chicken – as well as vegetables like carrots, leeks, potatoes, and then thickened with eggs, cream and butter. It’s usually served with toasted French bread to mop up the soup.
