If you’ve ever been in the Netherlands, you’ve probably tried some form of Hutspot. Hutspot is a dish of mashed potatoes boiled to the point of softness. Carrots (wortel) and other vegetables like onions (ui) are also added to the mix. It’s one of those hearty dishes that fills you up and satisfies your stomach. I just love it!
If you ask the people in the Netherlands about the origins of Hutspot, people wil tell you that it’s been popular since the Nazi takeover of the Netherlands. During the Nazi occupation, Dutch crops were confiscated. Everything was confiscated, except for the potato. Supposedly, potatoes (aardappel) can be grown underground, hidden from sight; especially from the Nazis. The potato rose to become a symbol of resistence against the Nazis. Soon after the war, Hutspot came to represent the national cuisine of the Netherlands. The carrots In hutspot came to symbolize the Dutch royal family or the House of orange. Since carrots are orange, and the royal family traces their lineage to the House of Orange, the two came to symbolize the pride of the Netherlands. Kind of a neat story if you ask me.
Then there’s stamppot. Stamppot, like hutspot, contains mashed potatoes. Unlike hutspot, stamppot has cabbage (boerenkool) and brussel sprouts (spruitjes). Some people eat it with gravy and get this, with applesauce as well. There’s also the folks who like it with bacon and onions. Stamppot is usually served with some sauerkraut (zuurkool) or sausage (rookworst). Stamppot is great because you can easily get it anywhere for a good low price.
So the next time you visit the Netherlands, Bon Appetit or Smakelijk eten!
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2 Comments
Hi. What is the history behind the hutspot dish
BEFORE the war? Here in the US we’ve been
told that a hutspot is a one-pot meal containing
a meat and a few spices, possibly with a
vegetable added, but not always. I was shocked
to see it described here as being made with potatoes (and maybe carrots)!
You were ’shocked’ ( or in Dutch: onthutst) to see that HUTSPOT was made with potatoes and maybe carrots. Well, that is how it is made.
Tatoes and carrots boiled together in about an inch of water, with some salt. Pour off the water, add some (warm)milk and a lump of butter or marg and some ground pepper. Mash the lot but do not make it too creamy. In separate pan fry cut-up onions until they just get dark edges. Fold fried onions in the mash. In the onion pan fry some finely cut bacon or pork and keep the fat hot! Fold the meat into the mash. Serve it and with a special sauce spoon (like a little ladle) make a little well in the middle of your heap of mash. Then use the little ladle to fill the little well with the porkfat.
Your one-pot dish is ready! Smakelijk! Huuuuyi