Dutch Delights: Hutspot

What: Hutspot – a dish made from boiled and mashed potatoes (or parsnip when potatoes did not exist in Europe), onion and carrots. Often served with smoked sausage or smoked bacon.


Why: Wikipedia sums it up so well that I have decided not to mess with perfection and just include the full history here.


“According to legend, the recipe came from the cooked bits of potato left behind by hastily departing Spanish soldiers during their Siege of Leiden in 1574 during the Eighty Year’s War, when the liberators breached the dikes of the lower lying polders surrounding the city. This flooded all the fields around the city with around a foot of water. As there were few, if any, high points (and September in the Netherlands is not exactly a warm month), the Spanish soldiers camping in the fields were essentially flushed out.

During the Nazi occupation the dish came to represent freedom from oppression since its ingredients could be grown beneath the soil and thus somewhat hidden from sight, and the carrots gave the dish an orange colour, which represents the Dutch Royal Family.”


Where: You can buy pre-made hutspot in the supermarket in the refrigerated ready meals section but the best option is to make it yourself (or get someone to make it for you!).


When: You can eat hutspot all year round but it is most popular in the winter.


Varieties: Apart from recipe variations there are not any major varieties. However, don’t mix hutspot up with its cousin dish, stamppot.


How Much [Should I Eat]: I might be a little bit biased (I am actually eating hutspot now) but I think you should eat loads. If nothing else you are being patriotic by eating orange food!


Pas Op! (Look Out!): Hutspot is also known as Peen en Ui (Carrots and Onion) or Ui en Peen (Onion and Carrots). Also, be careful with your pronunciation, you might find yourself with a wireless internet connection (‘hotspot’) instead, if you don’t.