Stoemp

= Stoemp =

Food
Stoemp (pronounced “stoomp”) is a popular, rural, and simple Belgian dish. It consists of pureed or mashed potatoes with many added ingredients, typically including cream, onion, shallots, herbs and spices, and bacon. Other vegetables that are commonly added are carrots, leeks, spinach, green peas, cabbage, or whatever else that can be found in the kitchen. The vegetables are chopped and boiled then added to the mashed potatoes. The sub-name typically is an indicator of what kind of vegetables are in it. It is often served as a side along with sausage, braadworst, grilled bacon, fried eggs, or anything else that may go well with potatoes and vegetables. Stoemp and similar dishes were created as results of food rationing during WWII, when there was low access to meat. People during this time used whatever vegetables and scraps of meat they had and made stoemp. Today this simple and cheap dish is popular comfort food that is served in many restaurants as side dishes. Similar dishes include Stamppot from The Netherlands and Hash from the United States.