What is stamppot‘s origin story? How did it become aĀ traditional Dutch staple? And the big question: what the heck is it?
When you think of Dutch food, you probably think of cheese (Gouda, anyone?) and the giant pancakes youāve had in those wonderful Dutch pannenkoeken restaurants.
However, when it comes to traditional meals in the Netherlands, one of the first things any Dutchie will reference is stamppot.
Stamppot is a combination of potatoes mashed with one or several vegetables (and sometimes fruits). These vegetable pairings traditionally include sauerkraut, endives, kale, spinach, and turnip greens. This is then usually paired with traditional Dutch sausage. š
Stamppot, through the years
The endurance and popularity of the stamppot are truly mind-boggling. The dish is said to be one of the oldest, and yet still one of the most popular Dutch dishes ever!
To really understand how the dish became such a favourite traditional Dutch food, one must look into the past and understand how it came to be in the first place.
It all started in the 1600s when stamppot first started out as a staple during the cold season and stayed as a winter dish for hundreds of years.
READ MORE | How to survive the Dutch winter: weather, clothing, and more
It’s called a āwinter dishā because of the meal’s warmth and ability to immediately fill you up. It was a must-have food during the harvest months because, in this period, potatoes were available in abundance, and many hungry farmers could be filled up quickly and cheaply. š„
Variations of stamppot
There are lots of stamppot recipes in circulation, but here are some of the most popular ones in the Netherlands:
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Boerenkoolstamppot (kale stamppot)
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Zuurkoolstamppot (sauerkraut stamppot)
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Hutspot (onion and carrot stamppot)
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Rauwe Andijviestamppot (raw endive stamppot)
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Preistamppot (leek stamppot)
Although the Dutch and their affinity for mashing their food is one thatās quite legendary, we have to admit that no one knows who invented the stamppot.
@andy_cooks Stamppot – Dutch comfort food. Whatās your favourite childhood dish? Ingredients – 1kg peeled mashing potatoes – 1 bunch of kale, picked, washed and sliced thin – 500g smoked pork sausage – 50g butter – 100ml milk – Seeded mustard to serve – Salt to taste Method 1. Start by placing your potatoes in a large pot of cold water, season with salt and turn on high. 2. In a separate pot, half filled with hot water, place your smoked sausages to warm them through, alternatively, you can pan fry the sausages, but this was the way my mother used to make it. 3. After the potatoes have boiled for five minutes, add the sliced kale to the pot and stir. 4. Once the potatoes are fully cooked, drain and place them back into the dry pot. 5. Add butter and milk and mash the potato with the kale. 6. To serve, slice your sausage and place it on top of a pile of kale mash with some seeded mustard on the side. 7. Comfort food heaven for me! #cooking #food #dinner #easyrecipe #dutch #potato #foodtiktok #fyp ā¬ Sure Thing (sped up) – Miguel
One thing is clear, though, the hutspot recipe was discovered when the Dutch resistance succeeded in driving the Spanish away from Leiden. Itās quite a legend in its own right.
Legend of the āfreeā hutspot
As we know, the Dutch fought a war with Spain called The Eighty Yearsā War.
This war was a revolt of the Seventeen Provinces of what are today the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, as well as the French region of Hauts-de-France, against King Philip II of Spain.
For those of us who donāt know, the word hutspot is derived from the Dutch words hutsen (to mix) and pot (which is, well, pot).
During the Eighty Yearsā War, the Spanish tried to capture the city of Leiden in 1573, as the inhabitants stubbornly defended their city and withstood a one-year siege.
Bye bye, Spaniards
On October 3, 1574, the resistance finally succeeded in driving the Spanish away and liberating the city.
It is reported that the Spanish soldiers fleeing Leiden left cooked bits of an unfamiliar stew of carrots, meat, onions, and parsnips, which the starved inhabitants of Leiden ate up really quickly. š„
Not knowing what to call the unfamiliar dish, they named it hutspot, and it has remained a symbol of their victory to this day.
Stamppot and Leidens Ontzet
The anniversary of the liberation of Leiden, known as Leidens Ontzet in the Netherlands, is still celebrated every October 3 in Leiden.
Leidens Ontzet is a happy time full of eating hutspot and drinking booze. Itās definitely an event you shouldnāt miss! š»
While the origins of the Dutch stamppot may not be very clear, one thing everyone can agree on is that it is a much-loved dish in the Netherlands. Hutspot still remains a symbol of Dutch freedom and victory in the siege of Leiden. š³š±
What do you think of stamppot? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
