It’s the middle of winter and for most people in the Netherlands the choice of what to cook is simple: stamppot. Simply put it’s a mash with vegetables, usually served with a sausage or bacon. It’s simple, delicious, and everyone’s favourite. Making it as a plant-based version is therefore a must.

This is a mash with a twist. Or at least that is if you’re Dutch. This mash uses butternut squash, a vegetable well-loved in the United Kingdom (where I am currently living) but not that popular in the Netherlands (other than to make soup from). This is changing but it certainly isn’t a traditional vegetable to use in stamppot. So when I found a Dutch recipe (link to original recipe — in Dutch) that used butternut squash in a mash, I was intrigued.

There was only one slight problem: the original recipe used bacon rashers. Now you may remember from the introductory article on meat substitutes that bacon (used to be) one of the hardest types of meat to replace. But there is a solution for this thanks to the Vivera bacon pieces.

Curious? Read on for Jenn’s take on a Dutch classic.

---

Pumpkin mash

15 minutes preparation + 15 minutes cooking — serves 2

• 1 pack of Vivera plant bacon
• 1 onion
• 5 cloves of garlic (or 3 if they are big)
• 1 butternut squash
• 500 grams potato
• 1-2 tablespoons ground medium curry spices
• 0.5 tablespoon flour
• 1 pak choi
• Salt and pepper
• Oil
• Plant-based butter (margarine) to fry the plant bacon in (you can use oil if you prefer but you won’t be able to make a gravy)

1. Heat 1.5 liters of water in a kettle.
2. Peel and dice the onion.
3. Finely cut the garlic or press using a garlic press.
4. Heat some oil in a large pot and fry the onion for about 5 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic after two minutes and fry with the onion.
5. Peel the butternut squash and cut into large dice.
6. Wash the potato and cut into large dice (we don’t peel the potato but if you prefer to peel it, then that’s not a problem for this dish).
7. Add the butternut squash to the onion and garlic, fry for one minute.
8. Add the potato and a large pinch of salt. Cover the potato and butternut squash with the pre-boiled water. Cover and leave to cook on a low heat for 10 minutes.

9. Add the ground curry spices and flour to the Vivera plant bacon. Mix it so that all sides of the bacon are evenly coated. Add 2 tablespoons of ground curry spices if you like a punch, and add less if you do not.
10. Melt some plant-based butter in a pan. Once the pan is hot and butter melted, add the bacon and fry for about 8 minutes. Turn regularly. Optional: add more butter to create a gravy.

11. Cut the pak choi in small strips.
12. Drain the mash in a colander and put the potato and pumpkin back in the pot.
13. Coarsely mash the potato and pumpkin.
14. Put the stove back on, on a low fire, to heat through the mash. Add the pak choi and mix it through the mash. Season with salt (and pepper if you wish, but remember that the bacon has been well seasoned too).
15. Serve the mash with the bacon, and gravy if using.

Enjoy your meal!

Did you like this?

Leave a comment below if you made this recipe, and let me know what you think. Tips and feedback to improve the recipe are always welcome too!