Stamppot Boerenkool (Kale Hash)

Stampot Borenkool with turkey sausage

A popular Dutch winter food is stamppot (hodgepodge). It is an easy dish to prepare. Stamppot consists of mashed potatoes mixed with either raw or cooked vegetables and (not necessarily) meat. There are several variations such as endive, hutspot (carrots with onions), sauerkraut and cabbage.

The best-known stamppot is stamppot boerenkool (kale or farmer cabbage).
Kale is a like a leafly version of cabbage and you usually find the green curly leaf here in the United States and sometimes you can find it frozen. There's something about the taste of kale that made it become a national dish in three different countries. But it is a taste most Americans are not accustomed to.

Boerenkool is usually prepared the same way throughtout the Netherlands, but how boerenkool is eaten varies a lot. There are people that like to eat boerenkool with steak, others prefer a fried sausage and still others serve it with meatballs.

With traditional Dutch Food restaurants becoming more popular in the Netherlands you can now enjoy it if you visit there.

3 lbs potatoes
2 onions
1 bay leaf
1 lb kale*
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground pepper
1 lb smoked sausage ( turkey, beef or pork)
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter

1.Peel and dice potatoes and onions.
2.Clean, trim and slice kale.
3.Add the potatoes, onion, kale, a bay leaf, a pinch of salt and just enough water to cover all in a 3 quart pan.
4.Cover and boil gently for about 25 minutes.
5.Meanwhile steam the smoked sausage for the same amount of time and slice.
6.Remove the bay leaf, drain the vegetables, and mash them.
7.Add milk and butter.
8.Stir in the hot, sliced smoked sausage, add salt and pepper to taste

* you can use frozen kale