Hamburg Harbour Labskaus with Fried Egg, Rollmops and Beetroot

⏱ 50 min · Serves 4

The North German sailor's classic: a rosy mash of corned beef, potato and beetroot, sharpened with pickle brine and crowned with a wobbly fried egg, a rolled herring and a gherkin. Rough-looking, deeply savoury and outrageously comforting.

Per serving: 690 kcal · 42.0g protein · 52.0g carbs · 34.0g fat

Ingredients

• 800g floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 400g corned beef (tinned is traditional), roughly chopped
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 2 tbsp lard or butter
• 250g cooked beetroot, finely diced, plus 4 tbsp of its juice or brine
• 4 gherkins, finely diced, plus 4 tbsp gherkin brine
• 150ml beef stock, hot
• 1 pinch ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• Salt, to taste
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tbsp neutral oil, for frying
• 4 rollmops (rolled pickled herring), drained
• 4 whole gherkins, to serve
• Pickled beetroot slices, to serve
• Chopped parsley or dill, to finish

Method

1. Boil the potatoes in well-salted water for 18–20 minutes until completely tender. Drain and let them steam dry for 2 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, melt the lard in a large wide pan and fry the onion over medium heat for 6–8 minutes until soft and just golden.
3. Add the chopped corned beef and break it down with a wooden spoon, frying for 4–5 minutes until it starts to catch a little.
4. Mash the potatoes roughly — Labskaus should be rustic, not silky — and add them to the pan with the hot beef stock. Stir to combine.
5. Stir in the diced beetroot, its juice, the diced gherkins and the gherkin brine. Season with allspice, plenty of black pepper and salt. Keep warm over low heat, stirring, for 5 minutes until pink, thick and scoopable. Loosen with a splash more stock if needed.
6. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the eggs until the whites are set and edges crisp but the yolks still runny.
7. Spoon the Labskaus onto warm plates, top each with a fried egg, and set a rollmop, a whole gherkin and a few beetroot slices alongside. Scatter with parsley and serve at once.