Dutch beef salad

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 300 g lean beef or beef steak
• 2 kg potatoes, floury
• 2 onions
• 3 large pickles
• 1 jar peas and carrots (approx. 420 g drained weight)
• 4 tbsp mayonnaise (delicate mayonnaise)
• ½ liter of water
• 1 stock cube (beef stock)
• some butter or margarine for frying
• 5 peppercorns, black
• ½ tsp marjoram
• ½ tsp rosemary
• ½ tsp thyme
• 3 carnations
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper
• 1 small iceberg lettuce
• 4 tbsp mayonnaise (delicate mayonnaise)
• 1 pinch of mustard medium hot (delicacy mustard)
• some paprika powder
• some curry powder
• 2 m.-sized eggs or large
• 1 jar of shallots
• 3 large pickles or a jar of small pickles and 2 tbsp of the pickle juice
• asparagus
• Cooked ham (back ham) in slices
• Puszta salad
• Carrot salad
• Celery salad
• Cherry tomatoes
• Iceberg lettuce

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours; Rest period approx. 1 day; Cooking/baking time approx. 3 hours; Total time approx. 1 day 5 hours

You will need: 1 large saucepan, 1 tea strainer, 1 large sieve, 1 pestle, or a food processor with a dough hook. Peel the potatoes. Trim and reserve any excess fat from the meat. If desired, cut the meat into approximately 3 cm cubes. Dice the onions. Dice the pickles. Make stock from 0.5 liters of water and the stock cube. Crush the peppercorns in a mortar and pestle and add them to the tea strainer along with the marjoram, rosemary, thyme, cloves, and bay leaves. Drain the peas and carrots in a sieve. Mix 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise with 2 tablespoons of the pickle juice and 1 to 2 pinches of delicatessen mustard, making sure the mustard does not overpower the dish. Store the mixture covered in the refrigerator. Fry the meat with the trimmed fat in butter or margarine until it is a nice dark brown. Pour in the stock, add the tea strainer, and bring the stock to a boil. Simmer the meat for about 2.5 hours over low heat, until it almost falls apart, then let it cool. Boil the potatoes in water with about 1 tablespoon of salt for about 20 minutes, drain the water, and let the potatoes cool. Then mix with the peas and carrots and mash them slightly (or mix in a food processor with a dough hook). Add the onions and pickles and mix well again. Finely chop the meat, remove any fat, pull it apart with two forks, and add it. Mix well again and add the mayonnaise until smooth. Season with pepper to taste. Let it sit in the refrigerator, covered, for at least overnight. The next day, boil the eggs for 10 minutes, let it cool, then peel and slice them. Cover a platter with iceberg lettuce leaves and arrange the potato mixture on top like a small mountain. Smooth the top and sides with the back of a spoon. Drizzle the mayonnaise mixture over the salad and spread it out with the back of a spoon, creating a layer about 1 mm thick (reserve the remaining mixture). Lightly sprinkle the salad with paprika and curry powder. Arrange the egg slices on top of the salad and spread a little more mayonnaise mixture over them, then sprinkle with paprika and/or curry powder. Garnish with mini gherkins or diced gherkins and pearl onions. Tips for festive decoration: Wrap 3 or 4 cooked and cooled asparagus spears in a slice of ham and place them on the side of the salad. Garnish with Puszta salad, celery salad, carrot salad, cherry tomatoes, and strips of ham, etc. Enjoy! PS: The potato mixture can be frozen (thaw in the refrigerator). The finished salad will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for about 5 days.