Burning Love

Burning Love © kvalifood.com

Burning Love is one of the most beloved Danish farmhouse dishes: a mound of fluffy mashed potatoes topped with crispy fried bacon and soft, golden onions. The name is said to come from the hot bacon fat poured into a well in the middle of the mash. Simple, filling, and good.

Ingredients

Serves 4

  • 750 g floury potatoes
  • 2½ dl milk
  • 15-25 g butter
  • salt and white pepper
  • 4-6 slices smoked bacon or pork belly, diced
  • 2-3 onions, thinly sliced
  • chopped parsley

Instructions

Make the mashed potatoes

Peel and boil the potatoes. Mash them and beat with warm milk and butter until smooth. Season with salt and white pepper.

Fry the bacon and onions

Dice the bacon. Fry over medium heat until golden and crispy, pouring off the rendered fat a couple of times as you go. Transfer the bacon to paper towels. Fry the onion slices in a little of the bacon fat until golden and soft. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

Serving

Arrange the mashed potatoes on a platter. Make a well in the center and pour in some of the hot bacon fat. Scatter the bacon and fried onions around and over the top. Finish with a generous amount of chopped parsley.

Notes

  • The bacon fat in the well is important — that is what gives the dish its name.
  • Use thick-cut smoked bacon, diced — it gives better texture than thin bacon.
  • A variation is to mix fried apple cubes in with the bacon and onions before serving.
  • The dish is best served immediately while the bacon is still crispy.
  • Older Danish cookbooks use the term “flæsk” (salt pork) — it is typically cured pork belly fried until crispy.