Last winter, I had the bright idea that we should learn how to cook like the Dutch cook, just so we could make use of all that kale and rootworst and cabbage and endives we were seeing in the store. This lasted for about two meals, after which Jeff and I decided there was a reason why (1) the Dutch have a growing obesity problem and (2) most of the restaurants around town are Italian and Indonesian.
But during my short-lived enthusiasm for learning Dutch "cuisine", I did find a few helpful websites with collections of traditional recipes. Of the handful of recipes we tried, we actually really liked a couple of them - we just decided they were a little too heavy for everyday use.
This dish combines almost all the favorite Dutch food groups: smoked sausage, leeks, mashed potatoes, and cheese. It's also an example of the standard "stamppot" approach to Dutch cooking (that vegetables always taste better when mixed into mashed potatoes). I presume there is a significant ethnographic link between Dutch dishes like this and the casseroles of the American Midwest.
Who says cabbage can't be bad for you? Note that the "bacon" used by the Dutch is the thick slab kind that you cut into cubes (but regular American bacon should work fine). I would cut back significantly on the amount of jam the recipe calls for; otherwise, this dish can taste like candy.
You'll notice these recipes - like most of the recipes we encounter over here - measure amounts not by volume but by weight. At first this caused us some consternation, but then we bought a cheap kitchen scale at Ikea, and Jeff now swears by the greater precision that comes from weighing ingredients.
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