Pastei toetoep recipe: Indonesian comfort food from the oven
Sometimes you simply need a warm, spicy oven dish that feels like a big hug. That is exactly what pastei toetoep is. A dish with history, loads of flavor and a mashed-potato topping that will spontaneously make you smile. Comfort food with an Indonesian soul and a Dutch twist.
What exactly is pastei toetoep?
Pastei toetoep originated in the 1950s, when many people from the Dutch East Indies settled in the Netherlands after leaving the Dutch East Indies. At that time, many ingredients from Indonesian cuisine were difficult to obtain, so people improvised extensively with what was available. The result? Creative fusion dishes, of which pastei toetoep may well be the most comforting.
The dish consists of a rich, spicy filling—think chicken, vegetables and spices—that would normally go into a savory pastry. Only this time, it does not go into puff pastry, but is lovingly covered with creamy mashed potatoes and baked in the oven. In other words: Indonesian shepherd’s pie meets grandma’s oven casserole.
Simple, good and incredibly delicious
That comfort food does not have to be complicated is proven by Niven and Virginie van Bronckhorst-Kunz. This Michelin-starred couple received a green Michelin star for their restaurant Triptyque in 2022, followed by the coveted ‘regular’ Michelin star at the end of 2024. But despite all that culinary gold, they know better than anyone how enjoyable simple cooking can be.
In their cookbook Simply good, they show that good food does not have to be complicated. And this recipe for pastei toetoep is exactly that: simple, good and incredibly delicious. A perfect example of a dish that gives you maximum satisfaction with minimal effort.
Making pastei toetoep
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Grease the oven dish with some butter.
- Boil the potatoes, drain and add 80 grams of butter and 100 ml of milk to the potatoes. Mash the potatoes into a smooth purée. If the purée is still a little too thick, add some extra milk. Season the mashed potatoes with nutmeg and salt to taste. Mix well.
- Boil the eggs until hard in 9 to 10 minutes and leave them to cool. Cut the eggs into slices with an egg slicer.
- Briefly boil the diced carrots in salted water. They do not need to be completely cooked, as they will go into the oven as well. Clean the peas and blanch them briefly. Rinse the vegetables under cold water and mix them together.
- Soak the soe-oen (similar to vermicelli) in boiling water (off the heat) with the vegetable stock cube for approximately 4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Cut into small pieces to make it easier to divide and eat later.
- Chop the shallots and finely mince the garlic. Sauté them in a frying pan with some sunflower oil. Add the ground meat to the frying pan and season with salt and pepper. Add the lemon juice, celery, Maggi and sambal badjak. Fry the ground meat until crumbly. Finally, add the mushrooms and cook until done.
- Now layer the ingredients in the oven dish. Start with a layer of ground meat, followed by the vegetable mixture, then a layer of soe-oen, then a layer of egg slices and finally the mashed potatoes.
- Finally, use a fork to make some stripes in the mashed potatoes and place the remaining 20 grams of butter on top in 3–4 small cubes. Bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown.
How do you eat pastei toetoep?
Straight from the oven dish, preferably with a large spoon. Serve it with a fresh cucumber pickle, fried onions and some sambal on the side for extra heat. Add a cold beer and you are all set.
Cookbook Simply good. Cooking for every occasion
Would you like more delicious, accessible recipes like this? Simply good by Niven & Virginie is full of them. Expect no complicated fuss, but dishes with flavor, love and a big, emphatic recommendation from the FavorFlav editorial team.
Title: Simply good. Cooking for every occasion
Authors: Niven and Virginie van Bronckhorst-Kunz
Price: €35.99
Publisher: Blossom Books
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