Typically Dutch

The Dutch cuisine can be symbolised by one of the famous van Gogh paintings...The Potato Eaters. They are very much a meat-potato -vegetable nation. And they love to mash potatoes with all kinds of combinations of vegetables.
If you ask a Dutch person what they are having for dinner they will generally answer cauliflower, broccoli, or green beans whereas if you ask a Brit it will more likely be chops, chicken or steak. Are the Dutch as obsessed with vegetables as the English are with meat? Well there is an abundance of vegetables growing in Holland and the the Dutch are very proud and fond of their produce but naming a vegetable gives a good indication of what dish is being served. There are certain 'rules' in Holland, for example certain vegetables must accompany certain meats! It is very baffling and I still haven't quite got the hang of it. But I don't really go 'Dutch' too often.
As I mentioned they are very fond of mashed potatoes often combined with vegetables, stamppot, traditionally served with cubed bacon, smoked sausage, or a meatball with a rich jus gravy. It is simple food and can be very satisfying on a cold winters day. I am not a great potato lover, but there is however one dish that is regularly to be found on our menu: Brown beans bruinebonen, potatoes (not mashed), cubed bacon pieces served with fat juices, piccalilli, and onions. It’s simple but delicious.
Bruinebonen soup is also popular but at number one is Erwtensoep (pea soup).
The Dutch are also famous for their dairy products (especially for their cheeses) and generally dessert consists of a dish of yoghurt, kwark (fromage frais/quark) or vla ( cold custard).
But they do have sweet tooth's, they love their cookies / pastries / cakes and I don't just mean the famous 'space cake'! A firm favourite is a piece of apple tart or a stroopwafel which often accompanies a cup of tea or coffee. Their fondness for sweet dishes is also is reflected in the abundance of pancake restaurants (also available with savoury fillings), market vendors selling poffertjes, sweets especially drop (liquorice) and bread toppings for both breakfast and lunch ie hagelslag (chocolate flavoured pieces). Another popular bread topping is peanut butter.
The Dutch are also food junkies, there are numerous snackbars selling many snacks ie frikadel (sausage), bitterballen/kroket (meat ragout) accompanied by patat french fries. Shoarma is equally popular as is coming across a street vendor selling Vietnamese lompias (spring rolls).
A step upwards from a snack bar is an Indonesian/ Chinese-takeaway/restaurant. Holland has a colonial past and have therefore acquired a taste for the exotic, in particular Indonesian cuisine. Indonesian ingredients are readily available in most supermarkets and many have found their way into mainstream cookery. An example is sate (Satay, meat on a skewer with peanut sauce).