Kesselskuchen: a cast-iron potatoe dish from the Rhine region

For many years, Ingo Daniels has invited his former neighbours from Sonnenpütz in Bonn Kessenich to the annual Kesselskuchen meal. Here, hospitality meets Rhine region’s culinary delights. Traditionally, this Rhine region speciality is served on St. Martin’s Day.
In the past, goose was too expensive for the poorer population, so the ‘poor people’s meal’, the Kesselskuchen, was served.

The dish consists of:                                                 

~ potatoes (mealy cooking variety)

~ onions

~ eggs

~ bacon (or sliced sausage)

~ salt and pepper.

The recipes, as well as the names of the dish, vary somewhat from region to region. Alternate names of the dish are: Döppekooche, Dippekuchen, Potthucke or Kesselsknall. To get a nice crust, the dish is prepared in a cast-iron pan (in a cauldron in the Middle Ages) and roasted in the oven at 220ºC for 2-3 hours.

I, the only member of the Greeter family living in Sonnenpütz, supplies the homemade apple puree that is often served with it. I make it using the old apple variety ‘Kaiser Wilhelm’ that are growing in my garden in Kessenich.