Heaven and earth (himmel und erde)

Method

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil over a high heat. Add the potatoes and boil for 10–15 minutes until tender. While they are cooking, put the apples in another pan with a little water and the sugar, then simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until they are soft. When the potatoes are tender, drain off most of the water and mash roughly in the pan. Add the apples and their juices to the potatoes and stir until the apples start to disintegrate, but stop before they become a purée. Keep this mixture warm.

2. Melt half the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and bacon and fry, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft and the bacon has rendered its fat. Melt the remaining butter in another pan and fry the black pudding slices until they are cooked through and hot.

3. To serve, divide the potato and apple mixture, and onions and bacon, equally between four plates, making a pile of the potato mixture. Put a slice of black pudding on top of each one, and finish by pouring over some of the melted butter from the black pudding pan.