Berliner Bollenfleisch with mashed potatoes

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 kg onion(s)
• 1 kg lamb, shoulder or neck, boneless
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 garlic cloves
• 25 g butter
• 25 g flour
• some salt and pepper
• e.g. meat broth
• 1 tsp, heaped caraway seeds
• 500 g potatoes, floury
• 100 g bacon, diced, optional
• 1 onion(s), finely chopped, for the mashed potatoes, optional
• 1 cup whipped cream, optional
• 1 pickled cucumber(s), optional

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 55 minutes

Berlin specialty, sometimes mistakenly called Zwiebelfleisch

Peel the onions (also called “Bollen” or “Bollen”) and chop them up. Trim the lamb (real mutton used to be used, but is rarely available these days) of any tendon skin and excess fat. Place them in a large pot with the onions and fill with the meat broth until just covered. Season with salt and pepper, plenty of caraway seeds, and bay leaves, and add the halved garlic cloves. Slowly bring the “Bollen” meat to a boil, skimming thoroughly from time to time, and simmer over low heat for 60-75 minutes, until the meat is tender. It should no longer be “firm to the bite.” Meanwhile, knead the butter and flour into a flour mixture and set aside until the meat is cooked. The flour butter will thicken the meat stock without a thickener. Peel and wash the potatoes and cook them in salted water until tender. After about 20 minutes, drain the water from the potatoes and place them in a bowl. Pour some of the meat broth over the potatoes and roughly mash them. The potatoes should have a creamy consistency. Keep the mashed potatoes warm. If you like, you can refine the mashed potatoes with sweet cream or with golden-brown, crispy fried bacon and onions. Remove the meat, let it cool slightly, and cut into bite-sized pieces. Remove the bay leaves and stir the flour and butter into the broth, spoonful by spoonful. Let it simmer for another 10 minutes to thicken the broth. Add the meat and season again to taste. Divide the mashed potatoes among the plates, make a hollow in each plate, and place the meatballs into it. True Berliners enjoy this specialty with a “sauer Jurke” (a spicy pickle) as a “luxury.”