Dutch cuisine is not known for its finesse, but more for hearty dishes like stamppot, potatoes and vegetables mashed together. One of the classic winter dishes is zuurkoolstamppot met rookworst, sauerkraut mashed with potatoes and served with smoked pork sausage. Sometimes other ingredients are added like apple, but here is the basic version. Some people say you should cook the potatoes and sauerkraut separately because the acid from the sauerkraut will make the potatoes cook more slowly and sauerkraut doesn’t need as long. Both are true, but not a big deal either.
Ingredients
Serves 2
400 grams (.9 lb) sauerkraut
500 grams (1.1 lb) potatoes
1 smoked pork sausage, about 250 grams (.55 lb)
milk, butter, salt, pepper
Instructions
Peel the potatoes, cut into chunks, put in a pot with the sauerkraut, and barely cover with water. Season with salt.
Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat so that it keeps boiling gently. Cook for 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes, put the pork sausage on top.
After 5 more minutes, the pork sausage will be warmed through. Check with a fork whether the potatoes are done. Cook for a few minutes longer if they need more time.
Keep the sausage warm under the cover.
Drain the water from the pot and add milk and butter to taste.
Mash the potatoes and sauerkraut…
…to obtain potato puree mixed with sauerkraut. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
Slice the sausage and serve.
Flashback
Pasta with sundried tomatoes and olives is a hearty and simple dish with great depth of flavor.
Stefan's Gourmet Blog 
I have never seen the sauerkraut mixed in with the potatoes – what a good idea. This is such a great winter, comfort food dish.
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What a very beautifully plated Northern European ‘stammtisch’! Haven’t mixed the ‘sides’ either but that seems eminently sensible!!
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I would love that but try to skip potatoes these days. I imagine turnip would make a lovely substitute 🙂
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Great comfort food, any day 🙂
Cheers !
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This looks fantastic! Almost like an Alsatian meal but in a different form!!! It’s nice to see you post on a local specialty, since I’m not familiar with Dutch food.
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I have never thought to mix the two vegetables either. And I’d go the easy route like you and cook them together, less pots! Great winter meal.
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My Dutch acquaintances had steadfastly denied that there was such a thing as Dutch cuisine, but finally, after we’d become good friends, one of them broke down and cooked “Hete Blixen” (sp???) for me. I loved it. Hearty comfort food like this recipe!
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My husband’s family makes PA dutch cuisine which I suspect is a bit different than dutch. I like the sound of this dish. Have you ever heard of potato stuffing?
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Stuffed potato, yes, but potato stuffing, no. Tell me more 🙂
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My mother-in-law makes mashed potatoes and then adds stuffing ingredients such as celery, onions but, not the bread. But, I’m not sure. I’ll have to ask her. It is very thick and she bakes it. Everyone likes it.
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Really, who in their right mind could ever say no to these ingredients?! 🙂
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I grew up with zuurkool and boerenkool as hearty wintertime meals. Who can forget the childhood ritual of forming a volcano out of the kale and potato mix and using a ladle to make the crater on top to hold the gravy.
Now that I’m much older I have adapted these meals to a CrockPot. Potatoes are prepared beforehand, boiled and coarsely mashed and the pork sausage fried in Hopjes-size pieces in a fry pan added to the potatoes. Either canned kale or canned zuurkool then gets stirred into this and cooks on low setting in the slow cooker for 1/2 day minimum. Mum used to make gravy out of the sausage drippings but I use packaged gravy mix. It’s common knowledge amongst the Dutch that these meals are tastier when re-heated the following day.
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