Dutch winter mash — potatoes whipped with kale, served with smoky rookworst and rich gravy.
Stamppot is the unofficial national dish of the Dutch winter — boiled potatoes mashed with a green vegetable (the variations are named for the vegetable: andijvie, zuurkool, boerenkool) and topped with rookworst, a fat smoked sausage. Boerenkool stamppot, the kale version, is the most beloved — sweet kale, creamy potato, a well of brown gravy in the center, and the bursting snap of sliced sausage. It's grandmother food, school-canteen food, and the dish every Dutch person comes home to when the wind turns cold. Eat with mustard, a dollop of butter melting into the well, and a pickle on the side.
Serves 4
Place chunked potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold water, salt generously, and bring to a boil. After 10 minutes (when half cooked), tip the very finely chopped kale on top. Don't stir. Cover loosely and cook 15 minutes more, until the potatoes are very tender.
While potatoes cook, render the diced bacon in a small skillet until golden. Add the onion and cook 8 minutes until soft. Set aside, reserving the bacon fat.
Heat the rookworst in a separate pan of simmering water for 12 minutes (or follow the package). Do not boil hard — the sausage skins burst.
Drain the potatoes and kale. Return to the pot. Put back on very low heat for 1 minute to drive off excess moisture. Add the warm milk, 60 g butter, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Mash with a potato masher just until combined — chunky and rustic, not whipped. Fold in the bacon-onion mixture. Taste and adjust.
In a small saucepan, melt 1 tbsp butter. Whisk in flour and cook 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the stock, soy or browning, and the rendered bacon fat. Simmer 4 minutes until glossy and lightly thickened. Adjust seasoning.
Mound stamppot onto warm plates. Make a deep well in the center of each mound with the back of a spoon. Fill the well with hot gravy. Lay a whole rookworst (sliced into thick rounds) alongside.
Top with a small knob of remaining butter on the kale, a spoon of mustard on the rim, and a few pickles or piccalilli on the side. Eat scooping potato + gravy + sausage in each bite.
Chop the kale extremely fine — long ribbons make the stamppot stringy.
Floury potatoes (not waxy) — they break apart and absorb the kale and milk.
Don't over-mash — stamppot should be rustic, with visible kale flecks, not a puree.
Hutspot: replace kale with carrots and onions — the most traditional Dutch stamppot.
Zuurkoolstamppot: use sauerkraut instead of kale for a tangier winter dish.
Andijviestamppot: with raw curly endive folded in at the end for a peppery, fresher version.
Refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet with extra butter; do not microwave (the texture turns gluey). Gravy keeps separately 4 days.
Stamppot recipes have been documented in the Netherlands since the 17th century. Boerenkool — 'farmers' cabbage' or curly kale — became the most popular variety in the 19th century when kale was the only fresh green available through the long Dutch winter.
Dutch shops, or any northern European grocery. Substitute Polish kielbasa or kabanos as a workable second-best.
Yes — spekjes (small fried bacon cubes) are the classic. For a lighter version, omit and add a teaspoon of smoked paprika to the gravy.
Per serving (560g) · 4 servings total
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