Netherlands: vegan stamppot

This week we visit the Netherlands and cook a vegan version of boerenkool stamppot – mashed potatoes with kale. This simple one pot recipe is a great comfort food and a fun way to ramp up your mashed potato game. Read on for some background on Dutch cooking or jump straight to the recipe. Either way, enjoy!

Dutch cuisine

Traditional Dutch cooking is based around meat and potatoes (boiled or mashed) served with vegetables such as cauliflower, peas and Brussel sprouts, and often applesauce. Meat often comes as a smoky sausage, stew or large meatballs [https://www.thedutchtable.com/p/dutch-cooking.html]. Domestic cheese is also very big, eaten on sandwiches, on its own or with mustard (in fact, the Dutch are one of the world’s largest exporters of cheese) ​[1], [2]​.

Just like when I was reading up on Latvian cooking, I was struck by the similarities between Dutch and Swedish cooking. For instance, fish has an important role in the Dutch cuisine, in particular herring which is sometimes eaten raw with onion, gherkins, and bread ​[2]​. While we don’t eat raw herring in Sweden, one of our most popular herring pickling preparations actually draws its name from Dutch. Matjesill is named after the Dutch word maatjes (or maagden), meaning virgin and referring to the tradition of killing the herring before they are able to reproduce ​[3]​.

Another Dutch dish with strong connections to Sweden is erwtensoep – a very thick soup made from dried split peas simmered with celery, carrot and pork ​[2], [4]​. Just like in Sweden, it is eaten with pancakes (pannenkoeken) on the side or as dessert. Dutch pancakes (as well as Swedish ones) are much thinner and larger than the North American version and resemble thick, soft crepes. But maybe the most important connection is both of our countries’ love for salt licorice. Called drops in the Netherlands it is eaten in vast quantities, over 2 kg per person and year ​[2], [5]​.

Among the many famous Dutch dishes, we also find bitterballen and kroketten. Two very similar versions of seasoned, ground meat which is breaded and deep-fried, usually served on their own with mustard. Apart from the shape, bitterballen being round and kroketten being cylindrical, I don’t know what the difference seems to be about how they are eaten: the smaller bitterballen are more often a snack while the slightly larger kroketten are more often part of a meal (for instance served in a burger-like sandwich) ​[1], [2], [5]​.

Historically, the Dutch had many colonies overseas, including parts of Indonesia. As a result, Indonesian dishes and ingredients, such as tempeh, ketjap manis and sambal, have become popular in the Netherlands ​[6]​. Indonesian dishes include nasi goreng (fried rice) ​[7]​, loempia (deep-fried spring rolls with meat and vegetables) ​[1]​, saté (more commonly known as satay) as well as rijsttafel (rice table), a smorgasbord of IndoDutch dishes ​[8]​.

On the sweet side, the Dutch seem to love fried dough (and who can blame them!). Poffertjes are similar to North American mini-pancakes, a fried, yeast-based buckwheat dough eaten with powdered sugar or whipped cream and strawberries ​[2]​. These can often be found on markets during the winter months. Olliebollen (oil balls) are similarly found on winter markets and eaten with powdered sugar and resemble North American doughnut holes ​[2], [5]​. Another popular sweet is hagelslag (“hail”), just like the Australian hundreds-of-thousands, the Dutch enjoy their buttered white bread with sprinkles.

Stamppot – a Dutch classic made vegan

Stamppot, mashed potatoes with vegetables, is as straightforward as it sounds but can be varied in infinity. This Dutch comfort food classic has been eaten at least since the 16th century when a specific version makes its first documented appearance ​[9]​. This particular version, hutspot, is said to have been invented in Leiden in 1574 when a Spanish siege was rapidly lifted. The Spanish army left in such a rush that they left their dinner behind – parsnips, onions, carrots and meat simmering. The starving people of Leiden mashed it all together and ate it. When potatoes became widespread in Europe, the parsnips were replaced and still, to this day, the liberation of Leiden is celebrated by feasting on hutspot on October 3rd every year during Leiden Ontzet. I don’t know about you, but I think an origin story for a dish makes it extra fun to prepare, like the Three Sisters Stew prepared by North American First Peoples or thareed in the Arabic world.

But stamppot is more than just a celebration of the defeat of the Spanish. This one pot meal has become a well embraced Duthc comfort classic and is in particular eaten in the dark months. Apart from hutspot, there is a wide variety of vegetables that go into different types of stamppot, such as andijvie stamppot (curly endives, not to be confused with Belgian endives) ​[10]​, zuurkool (sauerkraut) ​[11]​, or spinach ​[12]​. Or if you feel adventurous, why not try a modern twist from Leuke Recepten‘s list of 10 tasty stamppot recipes, such as Indian style stamppot with coconut milk or Mexican style stamppot with beans and corn ​[13]​?

For this post, I chose to make boerenkool stamppot (“farmers cabbage”, kale) ​[14]–[16]​. Often stamppot is eaten with smoked sausage which I chose to replace with a smoky tempeh to represent the Indonesian influences on modern Dutch cooking.

Conclusion

This vegan recipe of the Dutch classic boerenkol stamppot (mashed potatoes with kale) turned out really well and I will definitely make it again. This dish or one of its many varieties is a great way to bring some variety to your mashed potato game!

Print

Boerenkool stamppot

This Dutch classic is a great and very comforting one pot meal. Simple in its ingredients and execution, it is well worth making over and over again.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Dutch, Western European

Keyword Comfort food, potatoes

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Ingredients

• 900 g potatoes
• 180 g kale ~110 g destemmed weight
• 2 tbsp plantbased margarine
• 50 mL plantbased milk
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste

To serve

• Protein of choice, e.g. something a bit smokey. Optional

Instructions

• Peel and cut potatoes into even-sized chunks. Place in a pot and cover with lightly salted water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are on the verge of falling apart, ~15-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, rinse the kale and discard the stems.

  Chop the leaves quite finely, into bite-size pieces.
• Prepare your protein of choice, if any.
• When the potatoes are just about done, add the kale and push it down into the water. Let cook for 1-2 minutes.

  Drain the pot, either using the lid to stop kale and potatoes from pouring out, or using a strainer.
• Add margarine and plantbased milk to the potatoes and kale in the ppot. Add a bit of salt and pepper. Add a little milk first, then more as needed.

  Mash with a potato masher, add more milk and/or margarine to control the texture,
• Serve with your protein of choice (if any).