Stamppot

[Chufi]

Tonight we had the season's first stamppot

The verb stampen means 'to mash', so stamppot means 'a mashed dish'.

Basically it's potatoes with an equal amount of another ingredient mashed into it, which makes it different from just any flavored mash. Stamppot is really a dish in itself.

It's mostly associated with winter, and the most famous versions are winter classics: potatoes mashed with sauerkraut, with boiled carrots and onions, or (the best one in my opnion) kale. They're usually served with smoked meats - sausage, bacon - any kind of preserved meat that would have been available in the winter months.

Recently all kinds of modernized versions of stamppot are popping up in trendy restaurants. And ofcourse, you can mash anything into a pan of potatoes and call it stamppot. But to me, nothing beats this one - traditional kale stamppot, with smoked sausage, crispy bacon, onion gravy, mustard and cornichons!

Edited October 1, 2005 by Chufi (log)

[mizducky]

I had not previously known about this dish, but as I'm always looking for new ways to work greens into my meals, I'm definitely going to give this a whirl. Got a pointer to a likely recipe? Or do you just mash away and combine? Thanks!

Edited October 1, 2005 by mizducky (log)

[BonVivant]

[almost] anything with zuurkool even if it's in NL food! but then i only eat your kind of food upon my return from holidays in rice eating destination(s) holidays. don't like curly kale. think i'm scarred for life after my last trip had a fresh Unox rookworst as recent as last night in a soup!

[some old photos of mine]

[Chufi]

Got a pointer to a likely recipe? Or do you just mash away and combine? Thanks!

←

Most recipes tell you to use equal amounts of curly kale and floury potatoes, but I usually use slightly more potatoes. Last night I made it with 750 grams of potatoes and about 500 grams of kale.

In Holland you can buy the kale already washed and shredded, very convenient for stamppot when you're in a hurry.

Put the peeled potatoes in a single layer in a large pot and add some water (they should be just covered). Put the shredded kale on top. Add salt. Old fashioned recipes add sprinklings of oatmeal between the layers, I suspect to make it feed more people at little cost, but I think this would make the dish too heavy.

Bring to the boil and cook for about 30 minutes. Drain the water if there's any left, and mash it all together with a knob of butter and some milk. For a less fatty version, don't drain the water and use that as liquid for the mash. I like to add a grating of nutmeg.

This is very similar to the Irish colcannon, but I think that is made with ordinary cabbage. Oddly, there is no Dutch stamppot made with ordinary cabbage (at least not traditionally, God knows what they're doing in restaurants nowadays )

It's also very good with raw vegetables like watercress, aragula, turnip tops or curly endive, in which case you use about half the weight of the potatoes in vegetables. Chop up the vegetables finely and just stir them into mash, they will wilt in the heat.

Another really great one is called hete bliksem 'hot lightning', and is made with equal amounts of potatoes and apples. Also served with lots of bacon ofcourse.

Fancy stamppotten have additions of nuts, cheeses, or even sundried tomatoes and they can be good, but to me this is oldfashioned comfortfood that you should not fool around with

It's customary to put a heap of stamppot on your plate, make an indentation with a spoon, and fill that with gravy.

Leftover stamppot, fried up the next day in some butter, tastes great.

[Chufi]

fresh Unox rookworst as recent as last night in a soup!

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great looking stamppot you have there BonVivant

Do you like the Unox sausage? [for those of you not in the Netherlands - this is a factory produced sausage, the kind you can buy in the supermarket, with a long shelflife]

I do not care for it - I always get my smoked sausage at a real butcher, preferably organic - but I have friends who prefer an Unox sausage over the expensive one I bought at my butcher's

[Jensen]

Chufi, I'm inspired! What a perfect fall dish...

I do have one question for you though. Where in your photo might one see the "onion gravy"? Is it hidden under the bacon? I wanted to see if it was really just like an English-style onion sauce.

(I'm hoping so because that's what I know how to make. )

[Chufi]

I do have one question for you though. Where in your photo might one see the "onion gravy"? Is it hidden under the bacon? I wanted to see if it was really just like an English-style onion sauce.

(I'm hoping so because that's what I know how to make.  )

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here's what I do:

I sautee lardons of smoked bacon until they are crispy and have rendered their fat.

take them out of the frying pan and in the fat, fry sliced onion (and a clove of garlic, which is definitely not a part of traditional Dutch cooking, but I like it).

When the onion is browned, deglaze the pan with stock or water or wine or whatever you have. Season, put the bacon back in, and add a knob of butter to make a shiny gravy.

But I'm sure any kind of onion sauce will do. You do need something liquid to moisten the stamppot though, it's quite dry. In my pic you just see the solids from the sauce I made, the liquid was already absorbed into the mash.

BTW my mother never made a sauce or gravy to go with stamppot, because there was always gravy leftover from the braise she had made earlier in the week. And I think here in the Netherlands many people use instant gravy for dishes like this.

[Jensen]

I opted to forego the gravy (still doing Weight Watchers!) and used caramelised onions instead. The potatoes were red (peel left on for a little colour) and the greens were a combination of kale and cabbage.

Thanks, Chufi!

[Chufi]

That looks great Jen!

I think stamppot is ready to conquer the world..

and who knew it could be WW friendly?

[fifi]

I fell into love with the kale stamppot at the company cafeteria in The Hague. They really did a good job of food in general and stamppot in particular. I have to say that the kale is my favorite and I am going to try to duplicate it. Kale is a winter crop here so I may have to wait a while.

[Jensen]

The stamppot the other night was a huge hit, even with the Spouse who had been making disparaging noises about the kale (and who had insisted that I put some cabbage in it).

The Spawn took some of the leftovers for her lunch yesterday and the Spouse and I ate the remainder. When school was out, someone was very disappointed that there was no stamppot left for her after-school snack!

[Chufi]

Kale is a winter crop here so I may have to wait a while.

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In Holland they say that you should not eat kale until it has been slightly frostbitten. (if that's an english word.. ) It's supposed to transform some of the starches in the plant into sugars, making the vegetable sweeter.

I never wait until the first frost! I suppose you could just put the kale in the freezer for a bit but I've never bothered.

Edited October 4, 2005 by Chufi (log)

[Anna N]

Let me state how much I miss member Chufi .  I picked up two products at the Dutch store the course there is no English on either package.  I am quite sure that I could wing it but why when experts are but a posting away?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[chromedome]

I had a prep cook in Edmonton who was a first-gen Canadian of Dutch parentage. He once described dinner at his grandparents' house to me as "everything mashed up together, with gravy on it." 

 

Now I know what to call that.

[Anna N]

4 minutes ago, chromedome said:

I had a prep cook in Edmonton who was a first-gen Canadian of Dutch parentage. He once described dinner at his grandparents' house to me as "everything mashed up together, with gravy on it." 

 

Now I know what to call that.

Ah but huspot is just one iteration. We have a whole topic devoted to stamppot. To me it's comfort food to be enjoyed occasionally not as a steady diet. 

[blue_dolphin]

I am not a potato lover but I must say that this point alone could make me give it a try:

On 10/2/2005 at 9:26 AM, Chufi said:

Leftover stamppot, fried up the next day in some butter, tastes great.

Leftover stampot for breakfast?  Oh yes, please !

Edited October 17, 2016 by blue_dolphin (log)

[Anna N]

7 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

I am not a potato lover but I must say that this point alone could make me give it a try:

Leftover stampot for breakfast?  Oh yes, please !

 

Damn, damn, damn.  Should have saved some.  

[curls]

On 10/16/2016 at 1:22 PM, Anna N said:

Let me state how much I miss member Chufi .  I picked up two products at the Dutch store the course there is no English on either package.  I am quite sure that I could wing it but why when experts are but a posting away?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you requesting a translation of the directions? If so, would you please post some additional photos with a better shot of the package directions. 

[Anna N]

@curls

Sorry. I did not realize how blurry the  photographs were.  As you can see I opened what I assume is the seasoning mix. So I am not sure if directions have been cut off. I tasted a little on my finger and decided that it was sweet and not something that I really wanted to mix with vegetables.   I am still interested in how it is used.   As for the gravy I just winged it by stirring it into some melted butter and adding water. A translation would be very much appreciated. 

 

v

Edited October 18, 2016 by Anna N (log)

[kayb]

When you type the directions under No. 1 above (in the top photo) into Google Translate, you get: "Melt 25g butter and light brown or take ein leftover from the braadvort and heat." 

 

Which begs the question, what is a braadvort?

[heidih]

Bratwurst?  - the sausage in the image

[blue_dolphin]

braadvocht =  juices (google translate) or gravy (microsoft translate)

[curls]

@Anna N I'll try to get a translation to you tomorrow, very busy day today! Should be able to do it before the end of the week.

[Anna N]

4 hours ago, curls said:

@Anna N I'll try to get a translation to you tomorrow, very busy day today! Should be able to do it before the end of the week.

No rush at all. Thank you for the offer. 

[JohnT]

First photograph:
Instructions per bag - 2 minutes:
1. Melt 25g butter and let it become light brown or take one portion of gravy and heat it.
2. Add 250ml water and the contents of the bag.
3. Bring to a simmer and your sauce is ready.
Variation: add 2 tablespoons fried pieces of bacon.

 

Second photograph:
(Some of the text is missing - torn off)
Preparation:

• Peel the potatoes and wash them
• Clean the carrots and cut into slices
• Potatoes, carrots and onions in one . . . . . (Missing text)
• Meanwhile, bring the milk to the boil
• Drain the potatoes and vegetables and mash with the milk and a knob of butter then mix to a creamy mass.
• Add mix and stew, stirring to thoroughly warm through.
• No salt and pepper added.

Tip:
Tasty with sausages or beef with Silvo mix for beef.