The English have their pies, the Dutch have stamppot. Stamppot, meaning “mashed dish”, is a typical Dutch winter dish consisting of mashed potatoes and veggies, usually served with gravy. These veggies can be sauerkraut, endive, kale, spinach, turnip greens, or carrot and onion.

“Boerenkool” is a curly leafed kale that’s grown in the Netherlands. It is believed that the best time to harvest the kale is at the beginning of autumn, after the first night or frost, so the cells create more sugar making the cabbage less bitter. Nowadays this is no longer necessary due to selective breeding of the kale. Boerenkool is high in vitamin C and calcium and even considered a “super food”.

Ingredients

 

Peel the potatoes and bring them to a boil. Add the kale on top, close the lid and boil until the potatoes are cooked. Drain the water and add a splash of milk. Now completely mash the contents of the pot. The texture should be slightly more dry than regular mashed potatoes. Cook the bacon bits and add them to the stamppot. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This little dude is sweating to make sure the potatoes don’t overboil

Serve with slices of “rookworst”, a Dutch smoked bologna-type sausage, or any other sausage of your liking, preferably pork.

Happy Cooking!