The original German name of this dish is “Himmel und Erde“. The heaven ingredient is the apples and the earth part are the potatoes. The dish is traditionally served with blood sausage or clotted blood. However, since I do not eat those things, both are left out. Additionally, blood sausage is heavy for the summer heatwave we are experiencing. So this Heaven & Earth Wurst Plate uses union flavored Mett sausage or Mettwurst. Mettwurst is a raw minced pork sausage, often smoked.
This dish has several separate parts. However, all are easy. Boil the potatoes, then mash with cream and butter. Cook chopped sour apples in apple juice with brown sugar and then mashed them as well. Fry the sausage in canola oil. Then saute the onions in the sausage drippings
The last step is to fry apple pieces in butter until golden brown. All in all, there are five items to the dish. This Heaven & Earth Wurst Plate is a hearty meal and does not skimp on the calories. However, there are several ways you can lighten up this recipe.
Firstly, skip frying the sausage altogether. Boil bratwurst or your favorite wurst variety in water. Then slice it on the plate. Secondly, use a low-fat butter substitution in the potatoes. Additionally, swap out the heavy cream for a lower fat version. Thirdly, skip frying the apple pieces in butter. Serve them raw or skip them altogether.
Now that I have said all of that. I’m just going to tell you how incredibly delicious the original version is. This Heaven & Earth Wurst Plate is pure comfort food.
Heaven & Earth with Wurst
Ingredients
- 1+1/4 lbs potatoes
- 3 large Granny Smith apples
- 1 cup apple juice
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 lb wurst
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 4 onions
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 4 tablespoon butter divided
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- ground nutmeg
Instructions
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Peel the potatoes and cut into pieces.
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Boil the potatoes in salted water for 20 minutes.
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Peel, core and quarter 2 of the apples, then cut into small pieces.
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Place the apple in a saucepan, cover with the apple juice. Add the brown sugar and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 20 minutes or until the apple is mushy. Cover to keep warm.
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Slice the wurst into coins. Heat the canola oil in a skillet. Place a layer of paper towels by the stove. Fry the wurst in the oil for 5 minutes until it starts to brown on both sides. Transfer to the paper towels.
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Peel the onions and slice into rings. Place them in the wurst fat and saute until they start to brown. Season with salt and pepper.
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Peel and core the remaining apple. Cut into slices. Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a separate skillet and fry the apple pieces until brown on both sides.
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Drain the potatoes and mash them with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the cream. Season with salt, freshly ground pepper, and nutmeg.
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Mash the cooked apple.
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Arrange the mashed potatoes and mashed apples on a serving plate. Add the fried apple slices, onion rings, and fried wurst. Serve warm.
Like this Heaven & Earth Wurst Plate? Also, try some of these other hearty German-inspired recipes:
