Although the Netherlands isn’t really known for it’s haute cuisine dishes, there are quite a few traditional dishes that I absolutely love, like raw herring, kroketten or pea soup with smoked sausage for example. Another one of my favourites is stamppot, which literally translates to ‘mashed pan’. It’s mashed potatoes flavoured with butter, salt and pepper and nutmeg and mixed together with vegetables. One of the best known stamppots is with kale, but there are a lot of other options like spinach or carrot & onion.
Today I made a stamppot with andijvie (also known as endive, depending one where you’re from), you mix it through raw, with only the heat of the steamy potatoes wilting the andijvie a bit, but leaving the leaves crisp and full of flavour. I also mixed through matured cheese cubes which give a ovely flavour and melted cheese texture (and when I’m feeling really indulgent some crispy fried Smokey bacon is a must as well). I served it with homemade meatballs and gravy made from the pan juices. A real wintery dish, perfect for these rainy days.
Chicory & Cheese Stamppot with Meatballs and Gravy
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...Ingredients
- Meatballs
- 500g mixed beef & pork mince (or just beef mince)
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp breadcrumbs
- Pepper & Salt to season
- Stamppot
- 1 kg peeled floury potatoes
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 grated nutmeg
- ±200g cubed aged cheese
- 400g shredded raw endive (andijvie)
- Gravy
- 1 cup stock (chicken, beef or vegetable)
- 1 tbsp flour
- Juices of the pan
Instructions
Meatballs
Mix together all the ingredients until a smooth consistency.
Divide into 8 equal portions and roll into balls.
Tip: wet your hand slightly while rolling to get a perfectly round ball and smooth finish.
Place in the fridge for ± 15 minutes on a plate to set.
In a heave based pan or skillet heat some olive oil and add a knob of butter (this is optional, but gives great flavour).
Add the meatballs to the pan on medium to high heat, making sure it browns all over. ± 2 min on each side.
When browned all over turn the heat down, add a splash of water or stock, cover and let simmer for ± 10 minutes.
Stamppot
Peel the potatoes and cube them into ± 4cm pieces. Boil in a pan of well salted water for ± 20 minutes or until a fork pricks through easily.
Drain the potatoes, leaving a little bit of the water behind in the pan (±1/4 cup).
Add the milk, butter and nutmeg and mash with a potato masher. Add more milk or butter if it seems to dry.
Taste and season with pepper and salt.
Place the pan back on a low heat and stir through the raw endive until starting to wilt. Make sure it doesn't burn to the bottom of the pan.
Just before serving add the cheese cubes and/or crispy bacon bits.
Cover pan to keep warm while you make the gravy.
Gravy
Move the meatballs to a plate and cover to keep warm.
To the pan juices add 1 tbsp of flour and stir through well, cooking it for ± 1 minute.
Deglaze the pan with the stock, scraping up all the lovely goodness from the bottom of the pan, making sure there are no lumps left.
If it's too thick add some more stock or water.
Taste and season and if you really want to indulge add an extra know of butter to make it glossy and rich, but this is optional 😉
