Alsatian minced meat casserole

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 125 g smoked bacon, lean
• 2 m.-sized onion(s)
• some margarine, for the casserole dish
• 500 g minced beef
• 400 g sauerkraut, fresh
• 1 jar red wine
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• Salt
• pepper
• some thyme, freeze-dried
• some oregano, freeze-dried
• Mashed potatoes, prepared
• some Gouda or Emmental cheese, grated
• some butter, in flakes

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

can also be warmed up well

Drain the sauerkraut in a colander or sieve. Depending on your taste, you may want to wash it first to reduce its acidity. I don’t. Peel and dice the onions. Dice the bacon (I also like to use diced ham). Fry the bacon cubes in a pan, then add the diced onions and ground beef. Season with salt and pepper, and fry the beef, turning frequently, until crumbly and brown. Deglaze with the red wine, add tomato paste, and a generous pinch of thyme and oregano (a blend of Italian herbs also works well). Mix everything well and let the mixture simmer briefly. Prepare the mashed potatoes. Grease a baking dish with the margarine. Pour in one layer of the ground beef mixture, spread the drained sauerkraut on top. Add the remaining ground beef in a second layer. Finally, spread a thin layer of mashed potatoes on top. Sprinkle with grated cheese (amount to taste) and dot with butter. Bake in the oven at 200°C (top/bottom heat) for 35-45 minutes, until the cheese is lightly browned. If you’re only serving two people, leftovers of this casserole can be easily reheated in the microwave the next day. Simply drizzle 1 tablespoon of water over each serving, top with a little margarine or butter (or sprinkle with some grated cheese if you like). Heat one serving on a covered plate for about 3-4 minutes at 600 watts. Tastes like it was freshly made; perhaps even better with the warmed sauerkraut (à la Wilhelm Busch).