''Stamppot'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: 'mash pot') is a traditional Dutch dish made from a combination of

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es mashed with one or several vegetables.

History and description

These vegetable pairings traditionally include

sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferm ...

endive Endive () is a leaf vegetable belonging to the genus '' Cichorium'', which includes several similar bitter-leafed vegetables. Species include '' Cichorium endivia'' (also called endive), '' Cichorium pumilum'' (also called wild endive), and ''Ci ...

, kale, spinach,

turnip The turnip or white turnip ('' Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word ''turnip'' is a compound of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a lathe and ...

greens, or carrot and

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...

(the combination of the latter two is known as ''

hutspot ''Hutspot'' (Dutch), ''hochepot'' (French), or hotchpotch (English), is a dish of boiled and mashed potatoes, carrots, and onions with a long history in traditional Dutch cuisine. Hutspot is also found in the Indonesian cuisine due to their c ...

'' in the Netherlands and as '' wortelstoemp'' in Belgium). Leafy greens such as endive may be left raw and added to the potatoes only at the mashing stage. Some less common regional varieties of ''stamppot'' are made with fruit and potatoes, such as ''blauwe bliksem'' (blue lightning), made with pears, and ''hete bliksem'' (hot lightning), made with sweet apples. Pineapple may also be included in sauerkraut or endive stamppot. In recent years, variations on the traditional stamppot have been becoming more and more popular with people adding ingredients such as

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

, leeks,

beet The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet ...

s, sweet potato,

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

s and various other vegetables. Sometimes, fish is used as an ingredient in stamppot as well. Stamppot is primarily a cold-weather dish. ''Stamppot'' is usually served with

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

(in the Netherlands often smoked, in Belgium more often fried), julienned bacon, or stewed meat. Other accompaniments include cheese, gherkins, nuts, and pickled onions. Prepared ''stamppot'' can be purchased from shops and supermarkets. It can also be ordered in cafe-style restaurants, but more strict recent regulations about allowed foods in

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern t ...

s versus restaurants has restricted the custom of offering simple dishes in many Belgian pubs. The origin of ''stamppot'' is unknown, although legend attributes the invention of ''hutspot'' to the 1574

Siege of Leiden The siege of Leiden occurred during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War in 1573 and 1574, when the Spanish under Francisco de Valdez attempted to capture the rebellious city of Leiden, South Holland, the Netherlands. The siege fai ...

. Using raw leafy vegetables instead of cooking them with the potatoes has not been dated to earlier than 1940.

Preparation

There are two methods of preparing ''stamppot'', the first being the more modern form: # ''Stamppot'' is prepared by boiling the vegetables and potatoes separately. Once done, the potatoes are added to the same pot as the vegetables and all are thoroughly mashed together. '' Rookworst'', a type of smoked sausage, is the preferred piece of meat to be added to the dish in the Netherlands. # ''Stamppot'' can also be made in a single pot. Potatoes and the vegetables or fruit of choice are placed in the pot. Water is added, and the mixture is left to boil. After the vegetables are cooked and drained, some milk, butter and salt are added, and the vegetables are mashed together. Sometimes the same pot is used to warm sausage as well, but those aren't mashed in. An example often cooked by this method is ''hutspot'' with carrots and onions as vegetables.

Lardon A lardon, also spelled lardoon, is a small strip or cube of fatty bacon, or pork fat (usually subcutaneous fat), used in a wide variety of cuisines to flavor savory food and salads. In French cuisine, lardons are also used for larding, by thr ...

s (''spekjes'') are often added for flavoring. It is also common to make a small hole in the top of the mix on the plate and fill it with gravy, known in Dutch as a ''kuiltje jus'' (little gravy pit).

Similar dishes

Bubble and squeak Bubble and squeak is a British dish made from cooked potatoes and cabbage, mixed together and fried. The food writer Howard Hillman classes it as one of the "great peasant dishes of the world".Hillman, pp. 62–63 The dish has been known sin ...

, from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

* Champ and

colcannon Colcannon () is a traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes with cabbage or kale. Description Colcannon is most commonly made with only four ingredients: potatoes, butter, milk and cabbage (or kale). Irish historian Patrick Weston Joyce defined ...

, from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Rumbledethumps Rumbledethumps is a traditional dish from the Scottish Borders. The main ingredients are potato, cabbage and onion. Similar to Irish colcannon and English bubble and squeak, it is either served as an accompaniment to a main dish or as a main di ...

, from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

* '' Stoemp'', from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

* '' Trinxat'', from the

Empordà Emporda (from the official name in ca, Empordà, , name in es, Ampurdán, ) is a natural and historical region of Catalonia, Spain, divided since 1936 into two ''comarques'', Alt Empordà and Baix Empordà. The city of Figueres, an important ...

region of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

, northeast

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

History and description

Preparation

Similar dishes

References

Further reading