Ilona's Westphalian Potthucke

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1.2 kg potatoes
• 3 onions
• 4 eggs
• n. B. Flour
• 3 Mettenden
• Breakfast bacon, a few slices
• e.g. cream or milk
• salt and pepper
• nutmeg
• Fat for the mold

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 50 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes

typical former poor people’s food from Westphalia

Peel and wash the potatoes. Peel and dice the onions. Grate and squeeze the excess water from approximately 800g of potatoes. Cut the rest into small pieces, boil for 15-20 minutes until soft, then mash, stirring in a little cream or milk if desired. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Grease a loaf pan or line it with baking paper. Mix together the raw potatoes and mashed potatoes, add the diced onions, and stir in the eggs. Add the required amount of flour for the desired consistency. The dough should not be too soft, but not too dry. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg and fill half of the loaf pan. Place the Mettenden sausages on top and spread the other half of the potato mixture over the mixture. Place a few slices of bacon on top. Bake for approximately 90 minutes. After cooling briefly, slice and serve with beetroot syrup, applesauce, and mixed salad. A Pilsner is delicious with this dish, and if you like, you can round off the meal with a clear schnapps. If there are any leftovers, the slices taste great pan-fried the next day. Variations: Chop the Mettwurst sausages into small pieces, stir fried bacon cubes into the potato mixture, or line the bottom of a loaf pan with bacon. A more unusual variation is the use of smoked eel in the potato mixture instead of the Mettenden sausages.