(; ) is a traditional Dutch dish made from a combination of

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

es mashed with one or several vegetables and typically garnished with sausages.

History and description

These vegetable pairings traditionally include

sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , ) 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 ferment the sugar ...

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 ''Cicho ...

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central Asia, Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed eit ...

kale Kale (), also called leaf cabbage, belongs to a group of cabbage (''Brassica oleracea'') cultivars primarily grown for their Leaf vegetable, edible leaves; it has also been used as an ornamental plant. Its multiple different cultivars vary quite ...

, turnip greens, or

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour, though heirloom variants including purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild ...

and

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), 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 onion which was classifie ...

(the combination of the latter two is known as '' hutspot'' 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 are made with fruit and potatoes, such as 'blue lightning', made with pears, and 'hot lightning', made with sweet apples. Pineapple may also be included in sauerkraut or endive . In recent years, variations on the traditional have become more popular with ingredients such as

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

beet The beetroot (British English) or beet (North American English) is the taproot portion of a '' Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'' plant in the Conditiva Group. The plant is a root vegetable also known as the table beet, garden beet, dinner ...

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of ...

, or

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the n ...

s. Sometimes, fish is used as an ingredient in as well. is primarily a cold-weather dish. ' 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, mustard, and pickled onions. Prepared ' can be purchased from shops and supermarkets. It can also be ordered in cafe-style restaurants, but recent, stricter regulations on allowed foods in

tavern A tavern is a type 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 that ...

s versus restaurants have limited the custom of offering simple dishes in many Belgian pubs. The origin of ' is unknown, although legend attributes the invention of to the 1574 Siege of Leiden. 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 ', the first being the more modern form: # ' 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. , a type of smoked sausage, is the preferred piece of meat to be added to the dish in the Netherlands. # ' 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 are not mashed in. An example often cooked by this method is ' with carrots and onions as vegetables. Lardons () 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 'little gravy pit'.

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, northeast

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History and description

Preparation

Similar dishes

References

Further reading