Back to school

About four hours ago, I returned from a three day trip to Providence, RI via New York (where I picked up boyfriend). It was a beautiful fall weekend—crisp October air, skies with that silvery fall cast, and leaves changing and fluttering into crunchy piles on the familiar sidewalks between my old house, dreaded chemistry buildings, new campus centers, and beloved latin bagel and coffee joints.

It was a weekend that returned me, through conversations over spicy chais and spicy tuna, to the realities of college life—most of which my recipes, thus far, have pretty much ignored. Challah, though budget friendly, can require hanging around the house or scheduling regular trips back to it during rising; cobblers including blackberries (though the blackberries could easily be swapped for something else) are not the most budget friendly, even in the peak of berry season (which we have long since passed). 

The following recipe, however, comes together quickly, is infinitely flexible according to dietary restrictions (veganism is something one encounters much more frequently in college settings than elsewhere, I find), and calls for ingredients all cheap and abundant at this time of year. It’s a two pot meal, and makes excellent leftovers for toting around campus, to the lab, to rehearsal (I’m looking at you, Higher Keys), etc. It’s mushy and warm—ultimate comfort food.

Stamppot (trans. “mash pot”) is a traditional Dutch dish, which I just grew up with, and loved, as mashed potatoes and swiss chard. When I ended up in Amsterdam at 14, and discovered that it belonged to a whole category of potato-veggie mashes, one of which included sauerkraut, I loved it even more. Traditional recipes call for steamed greens and, frequently, the addition of bacon; here, we (my mom and I) wilt the chard with a little onion, a touch of garlic, and that most American of condiments, Lawry’s Salt.* We use whole milk and butter with the potatoes, but you could just as easily swap in chicken stock for a lighter version, or olive oil and vegetable stock for a vegan one. You can also mess with the ratio of greens to starch—I like mine about 1:1, but adolescent/college-age boys tend to like it a little more skewed toward the starch side.

Why would you throw such pretty things away?

Mashed Potatoes and Chard, aka Stampot

16 oz. swiss chard

½ medium onion, diced

1 tsp. garlic, minced

12-16 oz. potatoes, any variety

2 tbsp. butter

¼- ½ c. whole milk

Lawry’s salt

Salt & pepper, to taste

Wash and de-stem the chard, reserving the stems and chopping them into ½ inch chunks. Chop the leaves into 1 inch thick ribbons. Melt the butter in a large skillet. When it shimmers, add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent (~5 minutes). Add the chard stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until they too are translucent. Add the leafs and wilt (you may want to add some liquid—broth or plain water—to accelerate this process).

Meanwhile, make the mashed potatoes. Scrub/peel (however you like your mash) and coarsely chunk the potatoes. (If you need them to cook really quickly—as I often did—chop them more finely. They’ll get more waterlogged, but since you’re adding liquid to the mash anyway, it hardly matters.) Boil them in a large saucepan until tender.

Drain the potatoes (keeping them in the same pot) and cut the butter into them. Mash the butter into the potatoes. Once the potatoes are pretty well mashed, add your preferred milk/liquid until the potatoes reach your desired consistency—but remember, they’re going to get thicker with the addition of greens, so better to err on the side of thinner than you usually like. Season.

Stir in the greens until incorporated. Mound onto serving plates, with tomatoes (decidedly not Dutch) as a fresh accent, if you like. Wrap yourself in a snuggie, biology textbook, or significant other, and enjoy.

* Turns out not everyone grew up on this. It’s magical on any kind of steamed vegetable, and absolutely necessary in The Best Mac and Cheese Recipe Ever, which I will post soon.