Cookbook:Philosopher's Stew

| Netherlands

Philosopher's stew (Dutch: filosoof) is a dish from the Netherlands. It is an oven-baked dish made of beef, potatoes, onions and apples.

Ingredients

 * 300–400 grams cold, stewed beef
 * 40 grams fat (cold gravy or butter)
 * 4 large onions, sliced into thin rings
 * 800 grams boiled potatoes, cut into slices (about 4 mm)
 * Salt
 * Ground black pepper
 * Nutmeg
 * 3½ dl (350 ml) skimmed gravy
 * 4 spoonfuls of crushed white bread (stale)
 * Apple compôte

Procedure

 * 1) Cut the meat into small pieces (about 5 mm).
 * 2) Heat the frying fat or butter in a frying pan or a small wok. Fry the onions until the are golden brown. Put the onions aside.
 * 3) Put a layer after layer of potatoes, meat and onions on top of each other in an oven-proof dish. Season each layer of potatoes with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Make sure the top layer consists of potatoes.
 * 4) Pour the gravy over the top layer and scatter the bread crumbs over it all.
 * 5) Put some lumps of butter here and there.
 * 6) Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Bake the dish for about 30 minutes.
 * 7) Serve immediately with the apple compôte

Notes, tips, and variations

 * The taste improves if you let the dish rest for a while in the fridge before putting it in the oven.