Himmel und Erde

TraditionalHimmel und Erdemashed potato and apples, served with blood sausage (Blutwurst) and fried onions

Himmel und Erdewith sausage and onions in bacon as served in Westphalia

Himmel und Erde('Heaven and earth') is a traditional German dish of mashed potato with stewed apples. It is frequently served with slicedblood sausage.

The dish is popular in theRhineland,Westphalia,Lower Saxonyand, historically, inSilesia.It has been known since the 18th century. In the Rhineland the dish is frequently writtenHimmel un Ääd,to reflect local dialect pronunciation.

Name

The name of the dish alludes to "earth apples" (Erdäpfel,a Southern German name for potatoes) and "sky apples", meaning apples from trees. The GermanHimmelmeans both 'sky' and 'heaven'.

Dutch variant

Mashed potato with apples is also popular in theGelderlandandNorth Brabantregions of the Netherlands, where it is known ashete bliksem('hot lightning'). The Dutch variant usually mixes the potatoes and apples together as astamppotand may add stewed pears.