Sleeves with sash

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 kg potato(s), floury
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 head of lettuce (endive, large)
• 1 onion(s)
• 3 tbsp vinegar
• 4 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 40 g bacon
• 1 tsp butter
• ½ liter of milk
• 8 eggs
• Salt
• pepper
• Paprika powder

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 40 minutes

potatoes with salad

This puree made from potatoes (Ärpel) and lettuce (Schlaat) demonstrates the love of potatoes that people in the Rhine and Ruhr areas share. Not to be confused with Ärpelschlaat, potato salad. Preparation: Peel and wash the potatoes. Cut into roughly equal-sized pieces and place them in a pot with 1/4 liter of water and salt. Bring the potatoes to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer in a covered pot for 20-30 minutes. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the lettuce. First, remove any unsightly or wilted leaves from the endive. Then cut it into strips about 5 mm wide. Start at the top and cut towards the stalk. The lettuce is easier to cut when it’s still held together at the stalk. Finally, discard the stalk. If the lettuce has grown very wide, halve it before cutting it. Wash the strips and place them in a colander to drain. Peel the onion and cut into small cubes. In a large bowl, mix the diced onion with vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper. Add the drained lettuce and mix well. Cut the bacon into dime-sized pieces, melt a teaspoon of butter in a small pan, and add the bacon. Fry the bacon pieces over high heat until crispy. At about the same time as the bacon, heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter in the large pan for the fried eggs. Crack 8 eggs and carefully drop them into the pan. (If the pan is too small, prepare the eggs in batches.) Fry over low heat until the egg whites are no longer sticky. Sprinkle with a little pepper, salt, and paprika. When the potatoes are tender, drain the water and return the pot to the switched-off but still warm stovetop for a short time to evaporate any remaining liquid. Be careful not to let the potatoes stick. Now make a puree from them by first mashing them or briefly (!) blending them with a hand blender. Heat the milk in a separate saucepan and stir it into the potatoes until a smooth batter forms. Be careful, you can’t use the hand blender for this, as if the potatoes are mashed for too long, the mash will become tough. A regular potato masher is best. Serving: Just before serving, mix the mashed potatoes and bacon cubes into the salad and mix well. Then divide among plates and serve with the fried eggs. Eat immediately, as the potatoes will cool quickly in the salad!