The Dutch aren’t exactly revered for their food and cookery techniques.  The most popular dishes include variations on stamppotten – that is, mashed potatoes with different vegetables incorporated.  One of the most popular kinds of stamppot is a hutspot, which is mashed potatoes, carrots, and onions.  The dish is served all around town for free in Leiden to celebrate the end of the Spanish siege.  Other forms of stamppot include apples, sausage, bacon, or today’s star vegetable:  the humble kale, known as boerenkool in Dutch.

When most of us think of Dutch cuisine, our thoughts invariably turn to potatoes.  Most of the folk I’ve met still harbor a particular enmity toward Van Gogh, who created a somewhat unflattering portrait of the Dutch in his painting The Potato Eaters, which rather crudely depicts a group of hunched Hollanders at a dinner table.  Things weren’t always this way, though.  The Dutch didn’t become potato eaters until the late 17th century, and a number of people contend that the introduction of the potato to the kitchen ruined the native cuisine irreparably.  One painting by Guilio Carpioni shows a sad, gas-filled Cupid staring balefully at a potato in his hand.  

At any rate, our good friend kale is related to cabbages, brussels sprouts, and other members of the Brassica family.  It’s also every bit as Dutch as we now perceive the potato to be.  While journeying by train to Groningen (where I’m staying now) we passed several small huts and little patches of garden immediately outside of cities.  My dear Mr. Groenink explained to me that these small gardens are owned by city-dwellers wishing to cultivate their own vegetables.  Of course, every single garden had a patch of kale in it.

My experiences with kale in the past haven’t exactly been positive ones.  I’ve had it freshly picked, mixed into stir-fry, and (oddly enough) simmered with orange juice.  None of these methods failed to produce a satisfactory gustatory experience.  Chuck told me this was probably because the kale wasn’t frozen.  Apparently kale is much kinder on the taste buds after a little bit of time in the deep freeze.  It’s a good thing, too – kale packs a powerful punch, nutritionally.  Even after boiling, about 3 ounces of kale will provide you with most of the Vitamin A and beta carotene you need for the day, and a healthy amount of Vitamin C as well.  Kale’s also got Vitamin B6 in it, making it a good choice for vegetarians.  It’s easy to grow kale, too – it is virtually the most hardy vegetable, and tolerates any number of cold days each year.  

The Dutch most often serve kale in the aforementioned stamppotten, but I decided to take things a bit further in the recipe below.  Obviously, you can leave the bacon out for a vegetarian version of this delight, or serve your veggies with mashed potatoes for a real Dutch treat.  

Boerenkool met mosterd en balsamico-azijn
(Kale with mustard and balsamic vinegar)

1 ½ pounds kale, frozen and shredded
2 small white onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced
6 slices bacon, diced
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
¼ cup mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

First, boil the kale until it’s tender in some salted water, and drain.  Next,  heat the chopped bacon in a medium skillet until it’s nearly crispy.  Add the butter, garlic, and chopped onions, and sautee until the onions are clear.  Combine the bacon/onion mixture with the kale, then stir in mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper.  Serves about 5 people.