Boerenkool (dutch kale)

2 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1¾ pounds Floury potatoes
1¾ pounds Fresh kale leaves; or
1 pounds Frozen kale
½ ounce Butter
Salt
Pepper

Directions

BASIC RECIPE: Peel and quarter the potatoes. If you're using fresh kale, wash and chop the leaves. Put ca. 3 cm of water in a large cooking pot (the amount of water you need depends on the size of the pot. Also, use more water when using frozen kale). Add the potatoes and ½ ts of salt. Then put the kale on top of the potatoes. Put the accompanying meat on top of the kale (see below). Bring the water to the boil on high heat, then lower the heat, close the pot and continue to cook for about 25 minutes or until the potatoes are done.

Remove the meat from the pot and keep it warm. Drain the cooking liquid into a bowl. Mash the potato and kale mixture. Stir in the butter and, if needed, moisten the dish with some cooking liquid or warm milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

ACCOMPANIMENTS: This dish is usually served with very salty tasting meat accompaniments. Most Dutch people use "rookworst", originally a smoked pork sausage that has to be cooked on top of the kale.

Nowadays it's a factory product made mainly from offal (I think) which is ground extremely fine and nauseatingly salty, so you can't taste what animal it was before it got into the grinder (probably everything that didn't run fast enough). It is popular for two reasons: many people don't know rookworst any other way and it is very, very cheap (about 1 Dfl.). I only use traditionally made rookworst from a small butcher's shop, which costs five times as much. Since you obviously will have some difficulty trying to find the real thing, I reckon any smoked pork sausage will do. Another widely used accompaniment is crisply fried cubed smoked bacon.

Vegetarians don't use meat and stir some cubed cheese into the dish instead.

Personal preference: Although garlic is forbidden in Dutch cooking, I like to use a garlic sausage and smoked bacon, both cooked on top op the kale. Submitted By HEIKO EBELING On 06-26-95

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