In Western Michigan, Mettwurst is considered the Dutch sausage. My favorite sausage maker tells me that Mettwurst is German as is any sausage with "wurst" as part of its name. However, he says the Dutch have adopted it as their own. It is not part of my Michigan family experience. My cousin, who lived with my Grandma from the Netherlands, says that Grandma made her pea soup with Mettwurst that she purchased in the '40's and '50's out in Tucson, Arizona. It always amazes me that she had access to Mettwurst and herring that she pickled in Arizona.
I am always so happy to hear from Karin as I have never had the privilege to travel to the Netherlands so my knowledge with from books and what I can learn here from immigrants and their families. See Karin's COMMENT highlighted at the bottom of this post.
I decided after Karin's COMMENT to investigate Mettwurst in West Michigan. Searching for information is my idea of fun. The complete posting for Stamppot can be found at: http://michigancottagecook.blogspot.com/2010/07/dutch-boerenkool-stamppot-potatoes-and.html
The meatball recipe, Dutch Gehaktballen, can be found at: http://michigancottagecook.blogspot.com/2010/05/gehaktballen-dutch-meatballs.html
Saturday, July 10, 2010DUTCH BOERENKOOL STAMPPOT--POTATOES AND KALE
Stamppot is pure comfort food in the Netherlands. It is considered the most Dutch dish by anyone from the Netherlands or by Dutch-Americans like me. The meaning of Stamppot is “mash pot”. Cheap, hearty and filling, stamppot consists of potatoes and kale or other vegetables mashed together. My Grandma made it with potatoes and carrots. Every family has their own recipes for Stamppot. The following recipe is from the First United Methodist Church in Holland, Mi. They make huge quantities to sell during the Tulip Festival and Kestmarkt.
Potatoes and Kale with Gehaktballen—Dutch-style Meatballs and gravy. BOERENKOOL STAMPPOT is a good way to get vitamin-rich kale in your diet. Even if you don't care for kale, it is good in Stamppot.
Stamppot is usually a winter dish but with beautiful potatoes and kale at the Farmer’s Market and the World Cup Finals featuring the Netherlands and Spain, I think this summer day would be a good time for Stamppot too. Stamppot is usually served with a smoked pork sausages called rookworst or mettworst and gravy. It is also delicious with Gehaktballen—Dutch-style Meatballs which was posted on Michigan Cottage Cook on 5/6/10.
I am sure that in the Netherlands they would use butter in Stamppot as their dairy products are famous the world over. However the Dutch settlers here in Michigan embraced margarine. In all the the church and community cookbooks from this area, margarine is listed as an ingredient rather than butter. If I had to guess why, I would say it is because the Dutch are also famous for being frugal. I use butter!!
BOERENKOOL STAMPPOT--POTATOES AND KALE
3 ½ c fresh kale (1 ½ to 2 c canned)
5 potatoes
1 stick margarine or butter
½ T salt
Freshly ground black and white pepper
Rookworst, Metworst or Gehaktballen—Dutch-style Meatballs
Fresh Kale: Wash kale. Strip greens from stems, remove all hard parts and do not use yellow leaves. Place about 3-inches of water in the bottom of a pot. Add the kale, bring to hard boil then immediately reduce to simmer. Cook on low-medium heat until kale is tender. Stir occasionally. For the Potatoes: In another pot, boil or steam 5 medium potatoes until tender. When both vegetables are done, drain and mash potatoes together with the margarine, salt and pepper to taste. If using canned kale, add to potatoes while mashing. Use lots of freshly ground white and black pepper if you like spices. Serve with rookworst, metworst, a slightly smoky Dutch sausage, or Gehaktballen—Dutch-style Meatballs on the side. To warm rookworst or metworst, simmer in water or beer, or their combination.
Posted by Michigan Cottage Cook at 7/10/2010 03:47:00 PM 2 comments:
Anonymous said...
Hey there, Karin here. Metworst in a stamppot?? As far as I'm aware, 'metworst' is a dried sausage and I've never seen it used in stamppot. As for margarine (yuck!), I never use it, but many Dutch people cook with a liquid margarine called Croma. Mostly when they fry their meat or meatballs. However, here in Holland, most people would use real butter to enrich stamppot.
Mmm, boerenkool stamppot. I should make that again soon... Yum!
November 24, 2010 4:56 AM
Michigan Cottage Cook said...
Karin, you have hit on what has been a big mystery to me. Why did immigrants from a country famous for its dairy products embrace margarine like the Dutch-American here in West Michigan did? My family always used butter. However in all the church cookbooks I have collected that feature Dutch recipes, the recipe always calls for oleo-margarine and not butter. I agree with you, everything is better with butter.
Metworst is not a dried sausage in West Michigan. It can be eaten in a hot dog bun or sliced and served for dinner. I will gather some samples and put them on the blog for you.
So happy to hear from you. Have a very happy first Christmas together.
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