According to the Health Council, we should eat more plant-based foods. But a kale stew is very tasty with bacon, smoked sausage and gravy. Isabel Boerdam, known for the website ‘De Hippe Vegetarian’, gives tips for a tasty Dutch stew, without meat.
Tip 1 Add other vegetables
Boerdam: ‘People often think very narrowly when it comes to vegetables in stews. They only stir endive through the stew or red cabbage. A shame, because there are many more vegetables that are very tasty in a stew. Take a handful of cherry tomatoes, arugula, celeriac, fresh peas or black beans and stir them into your stew. Not only the vegetables, you can also vary with the potato. For example, opt for sweet potato or celeriac instead of regular potato.’
Tip 2 Nuts instead of bacon
‘Instead of crispy bacon over the stew, you can also add a handful of roasted kernels, seeds or chopped nuts. What is very tasty: cut sun-dried tomatoes into strips and stir through the stew like bacon. Fresh herbs (chives, parsley, celery) look very nice and fresh in a Dutch dish.’
Tip 3 Choose your meat substitute
‘Would you rather have bacon? You can try vegetarian bacon bits, such as those from De Vegetarische Slager or those from GoodBite. In recent years, a huge range of tasty meat substitutes has been added. I try them out for my website The Hippe Vegetarian. I’m a big fan of Garden Gourmet’s vegetarian balls (Tivall’s new brand name). But the chicken pieces from this brand or those from Vivera are also delicious. Fish lovers can try SoFine’s vegetarian fish burger. If you are looking for a sausage, I would choose a vegetarian bratwurst instead of a vegetarian smoked sausage. They are often less fat and have a nicer bite, I think. But it’s just what you like. The meat substitutes are certainly worth a try!’
Tip 4: Make your own gravy
‘Even without meat you can serve a little gravy with the stew. Bake a meat substitute, for example, with an extra knob of butter and make your own gravy. An alternative is a dash of coconut yogurt through the stew, which gives a slightly sweet taste. Regular yogurt with some mint is a bit fresher again. A spoonful of humus through the stew is delicious. Finally, the vegetarian meatball from GoodBite already has a ready-to-eat gravy in the package.’
The Hip Vegetarian
Isabel Boerdam is known from the website www.dehippevegetarier.nl. There she shares recipes, visits restaurants and tests meat substitutes.
