"Stamppot" is the Dutch way of making a big hearty mashed-potato dish for the autumn/winter months. It's good to serve it with something savoury and "meaty" like a sausage, which contrasts against the texture and flavour of the mash -- but of course we want a veggie version. I invented this lovely umame-packed miso mushroom ragout which works superbly and is no trouble to make.
I also used an old crust of bread to add to the mushrooms and it made a fabulous addition as chewy chunks. Ideal for this is for the bread to be crusts rather than the middle, for it to be old (and thus dry), and also something tasty like a sourdough. It becomes almost meaty in texture when used in the way we do here.
Two veg that Dutch people often add to their mash are witlof (a kind of endive) and kale. We used both, but it doesn't matter much, use what's available. The endive has a more interesting slightly bitter flavour. If you don't have endive, then plenty of kale is also fine.
Serves 2, takes 25 minutes.
For the stamppot:
For the mushrooms:
To serve:
Prepare the ingredients. Wash the potatoes and chop them into ~2cm dice. (I didn't peel mine - you can choose.) Chop the bread into ~1.5cm dice. Clean the mushrooms, then slice them not too thinly e.g. half a centimetre. Slice the witlof, also to about half a centimetre slices. Chop/slice the onion finely.
Boil a large amount of water. Put the potatoes into a big pan with the boiling water and boil them for 20 minutes. Note that you'll be adding more to this pan - but for now, move on to prepare the mushrooms.
In a good-sized frying pan on a medium heat, melt half (25g) of the butter and start the onion frying. After a minute add the mushrooms too. Fry these for a couple of minutes. No need to stir too much.
The pan will dry out, as the mushrooms absorb the liquid. You can then add the other 25g butter to the pan, let the butter melt, and then stir the bread cubes into this mixture too. Once the bread has started to fry, turn the heat down to medium-low, and continue frying but be careful not to let it burn.
It's probably now about time to add the chopped witlof to the potatoes that are boiling (about half-way through, i.e. with 10 minutes remaining). Do that, and the kale too, and stir. Continue to boil this until the potatoes have had their 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, back to the mushrooms. Mix the miso paste with 200ml of boiling water. Once the bread has taken on some colour, add the miso broth to it, plus the maggi sauce. Let this little stew bubble gently for the remaining five to ten minutes. The water will get soaked up quite quickly. Keep an eye on it add add more if it gets too dry.
Once the potatoes are cooked, turn off the heat on both pans. Drain the potatoes and veg, then return them to the pan, add the 50g butter, and mash them with a masher, to a smooth mash.
Serve each portion as a big blob of mash, with the mushrooms laid on top, and a bit of something fresh on the side e.g. a few salad leaves. (I served mine with some fresh soy beans, which adds freshness and also a bit more protein.)