It has been a little less than a month now since I moved to the Netherlands and it was an exhilarating time for me. Moving, in general, is exciting. It comes with new surroundings, new people and new experiences. The downside of it is all the stress until you are settled in but I have my ways of calming my nerves, and they are cooking and eating. Especially comfort foods like soups and I had a lot of them the past weeks. This hearty potato and mustard soup is something that I came up with after eating a very Dutch dish here in the Netherlands which is a clear broth, seasoned with a generous heap of mustard and it's scrumptious.
This country might be small, but it sure has a lot to offer and even more to discover. Just recently I have been to a local flour windmill, yes you read that right. A mill that not only looks straight out of a storybook but also serves the purpose of milling flour. In fact, there will be a small series on here soon about the local flour windmills in this area and other provinces of the Netherlands. Apart from them being worth the travel just because they are beautiful and situated in picturesque areas they also are the best place to go when it comes to buying flour. It doesn't get fresher and better than stoneground flour straight from the source.
Taking a trip to the windmill was both for sightseeing and for buying flour. I used it to bake a lovely loaf of bread to serve with this potato and mustard soup. There are few things I find as comforting during these cold November weeks as a steaming hot bowl of soup, served with a slice of bread. I tend to make potato or root vegetable soup, in general, these days. My go-to recipes are a rustic potato soup and a carrot soup with ginger and turmeric that is great for fending off colds.
When it comes to soup, I love to try new recipes and always get excited when I get confronted with new flavour combinations so you can imagine my joy when I stumbled upon mustard soup here in the Netherlands. It is traditionally made by adding mustard to clear broth, and it's quite delicious - granted you like mustard. I took the idea of mustard soup a little bit further since I love thicker soups and stews.
For the sake of speeding things up and getting great flavour in a shorter amount of time I grated my potatoes and gently sauteed them before adding the vegetable stock and mustard to them. You can, of course, adjust the amount of mustard in the soup and opt for a milder mustard if you are worried about the intensity of the mustard flavour. Once it is done, you can blend the soup, but I find that unnecessary since the grated potatoes break down wonderfully while cooking which leaves you with a deliciously thick potato and mustard soup.
Potato and Mustard Soup
Ingredients
- 500 g potatoes peeled
- 100 g red onion about one large onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 L vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter or oil of your choice
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper ground
- 2 ½ tablespoon mustard grainy, mild
- 1 teaspoon mustard hot
Instructions
- Grate the potatoes and finely chop the onion and garlic. I usually do this by hand, but If you are in a hurry, you can grate it all using a food processor.
- Add the vegan butter, grated potato, onion and garlic to a pot. Saute gently over medium heat for about five minutes while gently stirring the mixture.
- Once it starts sticking to the bottom of the pan add 1L hot vegetable broth and the remaining ingredients. Simmer over medium heat for about 25 minutes until potatoes fall apart, and you are left with a creamy and thick soup.
Nutrition
Caroline
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
I am temporarily living in Bermuda and food is very expensive, even compared to the UK. I have just made this soup and it is divine! I had to substitute the mustards for a cheaper (at least by Bermudian standards) spicy brown mustard, but the resulting flavour combination is simple but so AMAZING. I will definitely make this again once I return to chilly UK, and with the proper ingredients so I bet it will be even better!
Thanks again! All the best to you in the Netherlands. I look forward to seeing more dutch inspired recipes! xxx
Susan
This sounds so delicious. Thank you. I will make it soon
Leslie H Stafford
Yummy! Thank you for your great recipes!