Mustard Greens Stamppot

I promised a while ago that I would give some stamppot recipes. I know, I know, too many recipes and not enough acerbic social commentary. I’m sure you all really miss it, ha-ha! As I already mentioned, stamppot is a typical Dutch winter meal, comprised of potatoes mashed with a certain vegetable and served with a certain kind of meat.

Let me start with endive stamppot. Not the small endive that the Dutch call witlof, but the big green kind that looks like a slightly tougher lettuce. So for those of you Americans who want to try the real thing, here’s the recipe. My new and improved Americanized version follows below. Both versions serve 4.

Traditional Endive Stamppot

1 bunch of endive, washed and cut into pieces; 1 big onion, diced; About 6 smallish baking potatoes or more white potatoes (enough to fill half a large pan when cut into half-inch slices); 1 big apple, diced; Dutch cheese like Gouda, preferably aged, grated; spekjes (diced bacon); milk, butter, salt, pepper.

Wash potatoes, cut them into half-inch slices and put them in a large pot, covered with water. Add salt. Bring to a boil and cook until done. In the meantime, heat the diced bacon in a smaller pan and brown the onion, and add the apple toward the end. Place the endive in a sieve in the sink. When the potatoes are done, strain the water from them over the endive in the sieve. That’s all the cooking the endive needs. Mash the potatoes, add grated cheese (as much as you want) and milk and butter (use your judgement), the bacon, onion and apple, and finally the endive. Mix it all up and enjoy.

Americanized Mustard Greens Stamppot

I was going to make endive stamppot yesterday, but there was no endive at the grocery store. So I got mustard greens instead. And then I just ended up making a completely different variation and it was delicious, if I say so myself. Mustard greens actually have more flavor than endive. Any bitterness is counteracted by the apple and and the raisins. Using olive oil instead of butter to make the mashed potatoes is both much healthier and adds a wonderful flavor.

Potatoes (same amount), washed and cut into half-inch slices; 1 bunch of mustard greens, washed and cut up; 1 diced onion; minced garlic; 1 diced apple; a handful of raisins; strong Italian cheese like Asiago or Romano, grated; fully cooked brisket with the fat cut off and diced (as much as you want); salt, curry, regular olive oil and copious amounts of that expensive, super fancy extra virgin olive oil you bought as a tourist somewhere and have been keeping for a special occasion.

Boil potatoes with salt. In the meantime heat some regular olive oil in a smaller pan and brown some minced garlic and the onion. Add curry, the raisins, the apple and the brisket and heat thoroughly. As you do this, also add the mustard greens, a bit at a time, waiting for them to wilt before adding more. When all the mustard greens are added and wilted, turn off the heat and wait for the potatoes to be ready. Strain the potatoes, mash them, and add grated cheese and the mixture from the other pan and heat everything through again, drizzling on your good extra virgin olive oil as you go, until you’ve reached perfect mushiness according to your own taste.

Enjoy!