Chinese cabbage with minced meat (tartar) and potatoes

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 3 heads of Chinese cabbage (large heads)
• 1,000 g tartar
• salt and pepper
• Paprika powder, sweet
• curry powder
• some mustard
• 6 m.-large potatoes, floury
• salt water
• 3 large onions
• 3 tbsp vegetable stock powder, possibly more
• salt and pepper
• some paprika powder, sweet
• some Maggi
• possibly sauce thickener, lighter

Instructions

Working time approx. 50 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 10 minutes

Cut the Chinese cabbage into large pieces (including the white stalks) and wash it (the resulting amount looks enormous when uncooked, but it shrinks considerably when cooked). Season the tartar generously with salt, pepper, paprika, and a little mustard (just don’t add egg or bread rolls), and mix with the chopped onions. Peel and dice the potatoes, then cook in a separate pot in salted water. Divide the tartar between two large pots and fry until browned and crumbled. Then gradually divide the Chinese cabbage between both pots, stir, and cover for about 1 minute. Turn the heat up! The Chinese cabbage will now absorb water. Stir again, add more Chinese cabbage, cover, and wait another minute. Continue until all the Chinese cabbage has been used up and has shrunk. Do not add any water (or only very, very little), as the Chinese cabbage is very watery. Once the Chinese cabbage has collapsed, transfer both pots to a single large pot or casserole dish (toss them together). Season the Chinese cabbage and mince mix with vegetable stock and spices and simmer for a few minutes. The Chinese cabbage will soften very quickly; the white stalks can still be a little firm to the bite. Season again generously, as the potatoes will absorb more flavor. You now have a thin Chinese cabbage soup. Using a large ladle, skim off the liquid and pour it into a pot until only a little water remains in the Chinese cabbage. Using the ladle, add 1-2 ladlefuls of the Chinese cabbage and mince mix to the soup (as a garnish, so to speak). You now have a delicious starter soup. Once the liquid has been skimmed off, stir the potatoes into the Chinese cabbage and mince mix and mash them lightly with a potato masher. This thickens the remaining liquid (if necessary, add a little more light sauce thickener).