Most earlier stamppotten consist only of potatoes and veg, and hardly contain any butter or milk. The potatoes are usually creamy enough to make up for the lack of dairy, and the vegetables release enough juices to make the dish moist but not rich. Save some of the water that you pour off the potatoes to add back when you mash them, or heat up a little bit of milk to add to the spuds: it does make it creamier. But because of the lack of butter, this may be a good dish if you want to watch your weight a little bit, eat healthy and still feel like you have a dish full of comfort food! If you are not worried about your weight, feel free to add a tablespoon or two of butter in with the potatoes when mashing.
"Foeksandijvie" is a stamppot made with curly endive, a vegetable easy to grow and readily accessible at your local grocery store. The lettuce-type greens are washed and cut into strips, and mixed ("foeksen" in the Veluwe dialect of the province of Gelderland where this dish is traditionally from) in with the potatoes after they have been mashed. The combination of warm, fluffy mashed potatoes with the crispy, slightly tart vegetables is a winner and will be a new favorite at your family's table.
The dish can be served with or without the added " karnemelksaus", a gravy made with buttermilk and salt pork. If you go without the sauce, fry the salt pork, bacon or pancetta in small strips or dice, and fold them in with the mashed potatoes. You can also leave the meat out altogether and stir in some small dice of aged Gouda or Cheddar, or serve the mashed potatoes with braadworst, fresh sausage, gehaktballen (Dutch meatballs), or a gebakken kaasplak, country-fried cheese patties.
Foeksandijvie met karnemelksaus
1 teaspoon salt
Milk and butter, optional
Nutmeg, optional
Peel the potatoes and cut into regular sized chunks. Bring to a boil in a pan of water, barely covering the potatoes, add the salt and lower the heat to medium and boil for about twenty minutes. When the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, pour off the remainder of the water saving about half a cup (125 ml). Mash and add some potato water, or a little bit of warm milk and a tablespoon of butter, if you want a richer dish.
Wash the escarole, rinse and cut into half inch strips, leaving out the bottom part of the leaves: the white vein is sometimes too hard and bitter. Mix in with the mashed potatoes right before serving. Taste and adjust salt, and add a pinch of pepper or nutmeg if desired.
For the sauce
6 slices salted pork or bacon, diced
1 cup (250 ml) buttermilk
1/2 tablespoon of flour
Slowly render the fat out of the pork. Remove the meat, stir the flour into the fat and add the buttermilk. Stir until the sauce thickens, then add the pork back in. Serve separately, or pour it over the foeksandijvie on a family-style plate.
Peel the potatoes and cut into regular sized chunks. Bring to a boil in a pan of water, barely covering the potatoes, add the salt and lower the heat to medium and boil for about twenty minutes. When the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, pour off the remainder of the water saving about half a cup (125 ml). Mash and add some potato water, or a little bit of warm milk and a tablespoon of butter, if you want a richer dish.
Wash the escarole, rinse and cut into half inch strips, leaving out the bottom part of the leaves: the white vein is sometimes too hard and bitter. Mix in with the mashed potatoes right before serving. Taste and adjust salt, and add a pinch of pepper or nutmeg if desired.
For the sauce
6 slices salted pork or bacon, diced
1 cup (250 ml) buttermilk
1/2 tablespoon of flour
Slowly render the fat out of the pork. Remove the meat, stir the flour into the fat and add the buttermilk. Stir until the sauce thickens, then add the pork back in. Serve separately, or pour it over the foeksandijvie on a family-style plate.
