STAMPPOT BOERENKOOL | MASHED POTATOES WITH SHREDDED KALE

What better way to debut a Dutch food recipe on my website than to show you my FAVOURITE Dutch food of all time?! This is ... Stamppot Boerenkool !!

Stamppot literally translates to stamped pot, which is the act of mashing the potatoes and the vegetables together. Boerenkool translates to the farmers kale. A lot of internationals I met here actually don't like boerenkool. They said that the kale that they've had before is a lot less bitter than the kale here in Holland. 

The first time I tried this dish was a few months after I arrived in the Netherlands. I joined my sister to a bible study hosted by a dutch friend of ours from church. After the bible study, he prepared and cooked this for about 10 people. I don't remember why I loved it so much on the spot when I ate it but I remember craving it and asking my sister the next week "Hey, why don't we cook boerenkool for dinner tonight?" Since then I cook boerenkool every week or every two weeks. 

The fresh boerenkool only available on wintertime here in Holland. During the spring-summer time the frozen version is available, not as great but still.. So.. It's March now, the wintertime is almost over get your boerenkool on! 

The meal is actually pretty easy to make, however there are a few added elements to it. You are basically making mashed potato and then you make all the sides. It takes less than an hour to make it and if you're like me, you can save the leftovers for dinner the next two, three days. I'll tell you secret of mine, when I cook boerenkool, I eat some of them in the morning for breakfast! :P That's how much I love stamppot! But then again, I'm Indonesian and we eat warm meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And when I'm in Jakarta, my Mam would prepare some leftovers from dinner and we'd eat them for breakfast. 

The way I prepare stamppot boerenkool is slightly different than the way the Dutch people cook it. They cook the boerenkool for about 20 minutes until it is wilted, soft and lost it's color. I like my boerenkool still crunchy and green, so I cook them only for 10 - 12 minutes. And I don't put all the boerenkool together with the potatoes, I save the rest to be sautéed with some smoked bacon. In this way you're not only eating soft mashed potato but you're also creating some texture to the dish with the crunch. 

This one is also one of my comfort food. There's nothing more comforting for me when I'm having a difficult day at school or just having a bad day, than the process of cooking stamppot. I don't stock potatoes in my place, so I always buy about 1 - 1.5 kg, cook them all and I will eat stamppot for dinner for a few days. It's therapeutic and soothing getting the potatoes and taking out a bag of boerenkool from the store fridge, and then I would be smiling, "I'm eating stamppot tonight." 

Stamppot Boerenkool Recept | Mashed Potatoes with Shredded Kale Recipe:
30 - 45 minutes
Serves 4 - 5 
Tools

• 1 large stock pot 
• 1 potato masher
• 1 large teflon pan
• 1 sauce pan
• 1 small teflon pan

Ingredients

• Stamppot Boerenkool
• 12 medium sized potatoes / about 1.5 kg 
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 300 gr shredded kale
• 50 gr butter
• 150 ml milk
• Bacon and shredded kale
• 300 gr cubed smoked bacon
• 200 gr shredded kale
• Fried sausage
• 4 sausage
• 100 gr butter
• Meat gravy | Vleesjus
• 2 package of instant gravy
• 300 gr kielbasa / smoked sausage / rookworst

Method

• Stamppot Boerenkool (45 minutes)
• Peel and cubed the potatoes. Wash and run the under the water for a few seconds. Dump all the potatoes to the pan and add water until the potatoes are covered by at least 5 cm. Add the salt and garlic. Turn on the heat to high and bring the water to boil (you can put a lid here to speed up the process). Reduce the heat and keep simmering for about 20 - 30 minutes.
• When the potato is ready, dump the shredded kale (boerenkool) in the pot. Put the kielbasa/smoked sausage on top of the kale and put on the lid. The kale (boerenkool) and sausage should just stay on top of the potatoes. Keep the heat low and let it simmer for another 10 - 12 minutes or until the kale is soft but still green. 
• Remove the sausage and set aside for serving. Drain the potato and kale. Return them back to the pot, add in the butter and milk. Mash the potatoes with potato masher until there is no lump.  
• Fried sausage (25 minutes)
• Melt the butter and add in the sausage. Keep the sausage on medium low heat for 20 minutes turning every 5 - 10 minutes. 
• Increase the heat the last 5 minutes and keep turning so you can get some color on the sausage. When they're browned on each sides it's ready.
• Take out the sausage from the pan. Transfer the butter and fat from the pan to a small gravy bowl. You use this fat also as jus for serving. 
• Bacon and shredded kale (10 minutes)
• Fry the bacon on medium - high heat for about 5 minutes. Gradually add in the kale while stirring. Reduce the heat, cook and stir for another 5 minutes until the kale are slightly soft. 
• Instant gravy / jus (2 minutes)
• Make the gravy according to the package instruction. 

Serving

• Serve the dish similar to the pictures. Make a small well in the mashed potato and put in the jus in the well and on the sides of the potatoes. Depending on your preference, you can use the instant gravy or the clear jus you get from cooking the sausage.