Tags

, , ,

There’s a word in my family which ignites head turning, eye widening and altogether belly-happiness. I am rather ashamed to say, that for many years I thought the name of this dish was completely made up to entertain small children. I wasn’t completely wrong though, it’s an amalgamation of two Dutch dishes stamppot and hutspot.

I can’t blame you if stodge comes to mind on hearing that the main ingredients are potatoes, vegetables and edam cheese all mashed together. But it is just heavenly, comforting and a delight. Apparently this is one of the most popular Dutch recipes and it’s not hard to understand why, once you have had a bite.

The recipe below is a creation that is devoid of any ‘Dutch’ authenticity  – if you are after the real thing, try this for stamppot and this for hutspot.

My Family’s Stumphpot

  • Start by chopping up 1kg potatoes into chunks. Meanwhile add water to a large pan and bring to the boil
  • Add the potatoes to the pan and cook for 2 minutes on a medium heat followed by the 300g carrots, cut into medium size chunks. After 5 minutes add the 175g broccoli florets
  • Once all the components have been cooked (normally after 12-15 minutes), drain the water
  • Place back on the hob on a very low heat and add 150g edam, chopped into small chunks and 100g of butter. As the cheese and butter start to melt,   gently mash with a folk. Add 1/3 cup of milk and once absorbed, mix together  until you are happy with the consistency (I like mine semi-chunky).
  • Season well and serve

One of the secrets why this dish works so well, is that you can hardly go wrong with any combination of vegetables that you can get hold off. Try it with kale, iceberg lettuce, parsnips, onions, turnips etc. Vary the cheese and supplement with bacon! It works well as an accompaniment to sausages or escalopes in breadcrumbs.

Mash Potato Recipe