Peel the onions (also called Bollen) and do not cut them into small pieces. Remove the sinew skin and excess fat from the lamb (in the past, real mutton was used, but it is hardly available any more). Put together with the onions in a large saucepan and fill up with the meat stock until everything is just covered. Season with salt and pepper, plenty of caraway seeds and bay leaves and add the halved cloves of garlic. Bring the Bollenfleisch slowly to the boil, skim thoroughly over and over again and cook on a mild heat for 60-75 minutes until the meat is tender. It must no longer be firm to the bite.
In the meantime, knead the flour butter from the butter and flour and set aside until the meat is cooked through. The flour butter then binds the meat stock without a sauce thickener.
Peel and wash the potatoes and cook them in salted water. After about 20 minutes, drain the water from the potatoes and place the potatoes in a bowl. Pour a little meat stock over the potatoes and roughly mash. The potatoes must have a creamy consistency. Keep the mashed potatoes warm. If you like it, you can refine the mashed potatoes with sweet cream or with golden-brown, crispy fried diced bacon and onions.
Remove the meat, let it cool down a little and cut into bite-sized pieces. Remove the bay leaves and stir the flour butter into the broth, spoon by spoon. Cook for another 10 minutes so that the broth is thick and creamy. Add the meat again and season to taste again. Distribute the mashed potatoes on the plates, make a well and put the Bollenfleisch into it.
The real Berliner eats this specialty with a sour york (a spicy pickled cucumber) as a luxury.
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