Best Flemish Hutsepot Recipe

Savory hutsepot, a Flemish vegetable stew with mashed potatoes, bacon and fresh vegetables such as carrots, Brussels sprouts and turnips! Top this mash off with a sizzling fatty pan fried pork sausage…

Absolute heaven on a plate!

This Belgian classic dish is a very old fashioned one as well. You hardly see it on a restaurant’s menu. Although this is fantastic pub grub!

So what do we do when we can’t find it anywhere?

We prepare it at home of course!

My Mom’s Hutsepot Recipe

My mom made this dish quite often, in the pressure cooker.

She would add all the chopped up potatoes and vegetables, close the lid and then let is all cook and simmer for hours.

She still makes hutsepot to this day!

Only I grew up in a vegetarian family, which means that there was no bacon or sausage anywhere near our plate of food. My mom would add boiled eggs and sometimes even soy chunks to it instead. Not that I minded.

Versions

She still makes her version of this classic when it is a family reunion. Me and my siblings we are all in our thirties and forties now but we still love it.

And so do the grandchildren!

Now depending on the chef who is preparing it, this hutsepot recipe comes in different versions.

Some chefs keep it quite moist. Then you got chunkier versions, more like an Italian bollito misto. And then there is the mashed up one, mainly because the potatoes cook for so long until they fall apart.

Best Flemish Classic Hutsepot

But where does this funny word come from actually?

Hutsepot (hochepot in French) comes from the Flemish verb hutsen, meaning shaking something vigorously. In this case the pan containing the cooked veg is shaken in the end and the cooked potatoes are crushed against the sides of the pan.

Do you love this Belgian dish?

Then you should also take a look at another Belgian classic that is very similar: stoemp!

Enjoy!

Best Flemish Classic Hutsepot Recipe

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Hutsepot

Prep Time

40 mins

Cook Time

1 hr 30 mins

Total Time

2 hrs 10 mins

 

Hutsepot, a Flemish vegetable stew with smashed potatoes, carrots, bacon, Brussels sprouts and turnips! And a sizzling baked sausage...

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Belgian

Servings: 4 people

Calories per serving: 648 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 ⅓ lbs floury potatoes (600 g), peeled and chopped
• 7 oz fresh carrot (200 g)
• 7 oz yellow turnips (200 g)
• 9 oz Brussels sprouts (250 g)
• 7 oz salted bacon (200 g), diced
• 4 fresh sausages
• 1 small onion
• 4 large garlic cloves
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 2 ½ cups chicken stock (600 ml)
• 1 tbsp strong mustard
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• pepper
• salt

Instructions

1. Add the diced bacon and butter to a large casserole.
   

2. Place it over medium-high heat until hot. Fry the bacon for 4 minutes. Then add the chopped potatoes, bay leaves and thyme.

   

3. Stir well. Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Add both to the pan.

   

4. Stir again. Then add the chicken stock.

   

5. Cook the potatoes for 5 minutes. In the meantime peel and trim the Brussel sprouts, carrots and turnips. Slice the sprouts in half. Chop the carrots and turnips into bite-size pieces. Then add these vegetables to the potatoes and bacon. Add the mustard and season with pepper and salt.

   

6. Stir all the ingredients well and then cover pan. Cook the hochepot for 40 minutes until all the vegetables are cooked through. Stir regularly. Add extra water if necessary. In the meantime bake the sausages in a little oil until cooked through.

   

7. The hochepot is ready when the potatoes start to fall apart and turn it into a mushy vegetable stew. Then check the seasoning and add extra pepper, salt or mustard to taste.

   

8. Scoop the hutsepot onto plates and top with the sausage. Serve hot.