Mecklenburg Sour Cream Potatoes: Schmandkartoffeln

This is a potato dish from the Mecklenburg region of Germany. Mecklenburg lies just east of Hamburg and vicinity, and after World War Two it was part of the Communist-dominated "German Democratic Republic" (German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, abbreviated as "DDR," and don't be fooled by the "Democratic" part of the name, as it was a Communist dictatorship, with strong ties to the Soviet Union). As such, it was part of the state of "Mecklenburg-Vorpommern" (Vorpommern is literally "Fore Pomerania," but is more commonly called "West(ern) Pomerania," in English), a state that continued with the reunification of Germany. Within the Mecklenburg region itself, the best known city is Rostock. I had a German friend who lived in Rostock for a while as a child after World War Two, but fortunately, he and his family were able to make it to West Germany; then later, he emigrated to the U.S. 
    
This is an easy dish to prepare. I use beef stock to make it, but you can use vegetable stock, which will make the sauce somewhat lighter in color. The potatoes are often served with Rügenwalder Teewurst* and dill pickles (German: "Salzgurken" (literally, "salt gherkins"), also called "saure Gurken," literally, "sour gherkins"). "Teewurst" is a spreadable sausage available in some German delis, or online from sellers with German or German-style food products. If you don't have Teewust, you can try some ham salad or potted meat. By the way, the standard German word for "sour cream" is "Sauersahne," but in a number of regional dialects, the word "Schmand" is used.  

Ingredients:

2 pounds small to medium potatoes, cook with skins on
1/2 cup chopped smoked bacon
1 large (baseball size) onion, chopped
1 2/3 cups beef (or vegetable) stock
1/2 cup sour cream 
1/3 cup flour (or a little more, if you like the sauce thicker)
1 heaping teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons marjoram leaves (or oregano)
1 teaspoon salt (if your beef or vegetable stock has a good deal of salt, you can omit this)

Wash the potatoes well, cook them, skins on, in lightly salted water, until cooked, but still firm. Rinse the potatoes in cold water and peel them while they are still warm, set them aside for a little while. In a skillet over medium heat, saute the diced bacon for about 2 or 3 minutes. Add the chopped onion and cook until the onion softens. Sprinkle the flour over the bacon/onion mixture, then stir to mix in the flour, and let cook for just a minute or two. Gradually add the beef stock, stirring constantly, until the stock is all added and the sauce begins to thicken. Add the marjoram (or oregano), the salt (if using) and the white pepper, stir to mix in the seasonings. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Make sure heat is turned low, then stir in the sour cream. Slice the potatoes and gently fold them into the sauce. Let the potatoes warm up over low heat, then remove the skillet from the heat. Serve with rye, whole wheat or multi-grain bread, slices of Teewurst and sliced pickles.

* "Teewurst" literally means "tea sausage," as it was often served with afternoon tea.

Schmandkartoffeln (Sour Cream Potatoes) with multi-grain bread, sliced pickles and Teewurst

WORD HISTORY: 
Cannon-This word is closely related to "cannoli," a word English borrowed from Italian, and also to "canon" (church law, standard or guideline for doing something, clergyman), also a borrowing by English. "Cannon" has a bit of a shaky distant history, but it "seems" to go back to transliterated Sumerian "ginah,"^ which meant "reed," which seems to have been taken by transliterated Akkadian as "qanuh," with the same meaning. This gave Hebrew "qaneh" (same meaning). This was borrowed by Ancient Greek from Hebrew as transliterated "kánna," and also meant "reed." Latin took the word as "canna," also meaning "reed," but also used for other "large woody plant stems;" thus also, "tube." This passed into Italian as "cannone," with the meaning "tube," which came to be applied to the barrel of artillery pieces when these weapons came into common use, but then this began to be used for the entire gun in general. This was borrowed by French (1300s?) as "canon," and English borrowed the word, also as "canon," in the early 1400s. The modern spelling "cannon" dates from the early 1800s. (Note: German borrowed the word as "Kanone" in the 1500s, but "perhaps" more so directly from Italian, and with reinforcement from French?)   

^ Sumerian was an ancient language of Mesopotamia in the Middle East from thousands of years ago. It has not been connected to any particular language family, although it came into much contact with elements of  the Semitic languages, especially Akkadian.