I personally hate the winter: the cold, the countless layers of clothing, the cold, the pale and kranky people, the snow which prevents you from riding your bike normally and again, the cold! But I have to admit there is one good thing about the winter and it\u2019s called hutspot.<\/p>\n
Hutspot is made out of potatoes, onions and carrots smashed and mixed together. Many of my foreign friends raise an eyebrow when I talk in ecstasy about this typical cold-weather-meal, but really, it\u2019s delicious in its simplicity. But the invention of this meal was not created by a brilliant mind.<\/p>\n
The history of hutspot is found in 1574.\u00a0 Spanish troops were forced to confiscate the city Leiden after de Geuzenvloot\u00a0 (with enemies of the Spanish) was on its way and the Prince of Orange pierced through the dikes. The troops were aware of the danger and didn\u2019t know how fast to leave the city and left everything behind.\u00a0 The food they left behind were parsnips, smashed carrots and onions, hutspot, which the starving people of Leiden ate with great joy. In the ongoing years the parsnips got replaced by potatoes and were often eaten with a smoked sausage. A lot of Dutch people still eat this traditional meal on the third of October to celebrate the day the Spanish Leiden.<\/p>\n
For those who want to try: a recipe:<\/p>\n
Ingredients:<\/strong><\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1 kg big carrots (winterpeen)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1 kg potatoes<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 500 grams onions<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1 cube cow bouillon (runder bouillon)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Smoked sausage<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pepper<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Salt<\/p>\n Preparation:<\/strong><\/p>\n Boil the potatoes 15-20 minutes. In the meantime cut the onions in pieces and the carrots in slices. Boil the carrots together with the onions and the cube of bouillon for about 20 minutes. Strain off the vegetables and the potatoes and put them together in a pan and smash them together. Heat up the sausage and add pepper and salt to the hutspot as desired. The sausage can be served separate or mixed through the hutspot in pieces.<\/p>\n