Netherlands: Stamppot, My Straightforward, Comforting Recipe
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I talk about LaBouffe the way I live the rest of my life: without putting on airs, with a desire to preserve flavour and clarity. When I want a recipe that is filling without overdoing it, I return to the Netherlands and to a dish that strikes me as being as straightforward as its everyday cooking: stamppot. I love it because it says a great deal with very little, and because it reflects what I look for in my conversations as much as in my meals: something simple, substantial, easy to understand, but never cold. When I think of this mashed potato mixed with vegetables, I picture table cooking, seasonal and almost reassuring, with a restraint that speaks to me as much as a good podcast playing in the evening while I sort through my thoughts. For a Dutch stamppot, I use 800 g of floury potatoes, 300 g of curly kale or kale, 2 carrots, 1 onion, 40 g of butter, a little warm milk, salt, pepper and, if I want to remain firmly rooted in the Dutch spirit, a few smoked sausages such as rookworst. I start by peeling the potatoes and cutting them into even pieces. I cook them in salted water with the sliced carrots. Ten minutes before the end of the cooking time, I add the kale and finely sliced onion, so that everything retains some texture. I reserve a little of the cooking water, drain everything, then mash it all with the butter and just enough milk to achieve a thick mash—never a runny one. I adjust the seasoning, serve it piping hot, and place the sausage on top or alongside it. If I want a gentler plate, I replace the meat with a little wholegrain mustard and let the vegetables speak more for themselves. I also like this dish because it has a real inner geography. I can almost imagine this plate in a simple kitchen somewhere near Amsterdam’s canals, after a crisp, damp day, when you need a meal that warms you without obscuring everything else. Stamppot does not try to impress, and that is exactly what I appreciate about it: it nourishes, brings people together, and leaves room for conversation. In LaBouffe, I like this kind of recipe because it connects the rhythm of the day, the pleasure of eating, and the balance I seek in everyday life. I do not need to turn it into a spectacular story; I simply need it to be good, right, and sincere.
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