Meatballs with Endive and Potato Puree

Here a very easy recipe for a typical Dutch dish. 

Thank you to Betty Greve for this recipe.

Ingredients

1 kg potato
400 gr endive (because you cannot find endive here, use curly lettuce) 
a small onion chopped fine
500 gr minced meat (carne picada)
1 egg
breadcrumbs (pao rolado)
garlic
salt and pepper
pack of chopped bacon (ready in the supermarket)

Method

To Make the Meatballs

Mix the minced meat with the egg, salt and pepper, garlic and breadcrumps. Knead the meat well. Make balls from the meat (from 500 gr you can make 6-8 balls - so when any left you can eat them cold with a drink later!). Fry the balls in butter (best is lard, but when you don't have use butter) until they are brown. Then add a tablespoon of water with a little mustard or ketchup, and let it bubble for about 20 minutes, turning the meatballs to cook through.

To Make the Endive puree

Cook the potatoes till ready. Take from the heat and drain. Add the lettuce (raw) and the onion and puree it with the hand blender, till you can stir it easily.

Fry the bacon till they have right structure and color (as you like it!). You can stir them thru the puree, or sprinkle on-top after

Serve the puree with the juice from the meat and the meatballs, sprinkle on bacon if this is your choice.

Additional Notes

Note for Portuguese alternative

If you don’t have Endives you can make also puree from the Portuguese cabbage (sliced very fine, and cook it for at least 20 minutes) mix it with the hand blender well through the potatoes with a little butter!