It’s freezing outside, you’ve just got home from a terrible bike ride through the snow, or you’ve been walking the dogs through the cold. Maybe you went ice skating or had a snowball fight. You waited for the train to take you home, but the slipperiness had slowed it down. You are cold to the bone and you are hungry. What could be better than a stew?
Origin of the stew
The stamppot a typical Dutch dish ?? However? Well no, not quite. When the Eighty Years’ War came to an end, the Spanish occupiers had to leave the Netherlands. In October 1547 the Spaniards left Leiden headlong, leaving their camp behind. When the people of Leiden walked into the deserted Spanish camp the next day, they found, among other things, a jar containing parsnips, onions, carrots and meat. When they had tasted it, they were immediately enthusiastic, it was delicious. They changed the content a bit and called it “stew.” The stamppot was born. The now indispensable ingredient, the potato did not come to Europe until after 1570. From then on, the real traditional Dutch variant was born. Everyone knows the sauerkraut stew, the endive stew, the stew and the kale stew. However, there are many more options for stews. Below are some of them in a row.
Hot lightning (4 persons)
- 1 ½ kg of potatoes
- 1kg sweet apples
- 2 onions
- 2 lumps of butter
- 1 dl milk
- Nutmeg
Preparation:
Peel and wash the potatoes, cut them into pieces and cook them for 20 minutes in a pan with water and salt. Peel and core the apples and cut them into thin slices. Peel and chop the onions and fry them briefly in a knob of butter, remove them from the pan and add the rest of the butter to the pan. Fry the apple slices alternately brown. Drain the potatoes and mash them with the milk. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Grease an oven dish and scoop in succession: half of the puree, the fried onion, the apple, some salt and pepper and finally the rest of the puree. Cover the oven dish with aluminum foil and place it in a preheated oven for about 25 minutes, at 180 degrees.
American Hess: (4 persons)
- 1 ½ kg of potatoes
- 1 can (340 gr) corned beef
- 2 large onions
- 6 medium pickles
- Pepper and salt
- 2 lumps of butter
- Splash of milk
Preparation:
Peel and wash the potatoes, cut them into pieces and cook them in a pan with water and salt for 20 minutes. Peel the onions and cut them into chunks. Place the frying pan with a knob of butter on the stove and fry the onions in it until they are a nice light brown. Meanwhile cut the gherkins into cubes. Cut the corned beef into chunks. Drain the potatoes and put the pan on the stove over very low heat. Mash the potatoes into puree. Add a knob of butter and a splash of milk. Then add the corned beef and mash it through the mashed potatoes. Spoon the fried onions into the mixture and stir well. Remove the pan from the heat, season the stew with salt and pepper and add the diced pickle.
Tip: If you don’t like pickles, you can of course leave them out. If you like it spicy, you can stir in some chili pepper or sambal if you like.
Brussels sprouts stew: (4 persons)
- 1 ½ kg of potatoes
- 750 gr large sprouts
- 1 red pepper
- 250 gr bacon
- Knob of butter
- Splash of milk
- Pepper and salt
Preparation:
Peel and wash the potatoes, cut them into pieces and cook them in a pan with water and salt for 20 minutes. Peel and wash the sprouts and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until tender. Wash the pepper and cut it into small cubes. Put the bacon in a skillet and fry in their own fat until crispy. Drain the potatoes and put them on the stove over very low heat. Drain the sprouts, add them to the potatoes and mash everything together. Add the butter and milk and stir well. Remove the pan from the stove and add the red pepper pieces and crispy bacon bits. Season with salt and pepper.
More stew
There are a lot of options when it comes to stew. How about:
- Spinach stew with red pepper and cream cheese
- Cauliflower leek stew with mascarpone
- Leek stew with curry, old cheese and cream fresh
- Chinese cabbage stew with pineapple and bacon
Or the old-fashioned stews in a new guise:
- Kale stew with satay sauce
- Sauerkraut stew with pieces of apple
- Stew with bacon and piccalilli
- Endive stew with bell pepper and spring onion
All these stews are even better with sausage! That way we’ll get through that cold winter.