Stomping on my food. Vegetable Stoemp.

No I'm not having a hissy fit with a failed dish but the Belgian word Stoemp surely must have it origins in our word 'stomp' meaning to tread or stamp heavily. Actually I had a go at making a very popular dish from Belgium and other European countries like The Netherlands and Germany.

This popular dish comes in a range of colours dependent on the root vegetable that gets mashed. The general colours are green, yellow and white. White is made with potato mixed with celeriac, parsnip, swede or salsify. The yellow stoemp is made with carrot or pumpkin and the green can contain broccoli, leaks, cabbage, peas, courgettes, spinach or sprouts. As with many Belgian dishes like this it can be enriched with cream and butter.

I used potatoes, a whole steamed broccoli and peas in my Stoemp. The sausages were fried but you can also barbeque or grill them if you want less fat.

The consistency is somewhere between a stew and a smooth mash. I guess you could add any sausages but I tried to add something Germanic within the restrictions of what you can buy in a UK supermarket. I went for a pack of Bavarian Bratwurst from Waitrose - part of their unearthed range.

I have to say it was all very nice and a great change from bangers and mash. There are plenty of recipes on the net but this is one I would recommend.