16th C German mashed root vegetable recipe.
Earth apples. Peel and cut them small/ soak (simmer) them in water/ and press it well out through a hair (fine) cloth/ chop them small/ and fry them in bacon/ that is cut small/ take a little milk thereunder/ and let it simmer therewith/ so it is good and welltasting. (Marx Rumpolt, Vegetables 37)
My Redaction
There is much debate about this recipe. I have seen it done with sweet potatoes, white potatoes and a couple of different type of gourds (squash). I have always fallen into the gourd category with this recipe. I chose butternut squash as it was readily available and cheap during this season.
We peeled and cubed the squash. We then boiled till soft, drained well and mashed a bit. Bacon and bacon drippings were mixed in and heavy cream added.
Sources
Marx Rumpolt, Ein new Kochbuch, Frankfurt a.M. 1581, Translation by Ranvaig Weaver, copyright 2013