Learn French: Il y a beaucoup de pommes de terre et un morceau de viande. - There are a lot of potatoes and a piece of meat.

When using expressions of quantity like beaucoup (a lot) or un peu (a little), they are almost always followed by a simple de (or d' before a vowel). You drop the plural word des, even if you are talking about multiple things like potatoes.

What does pommes de terre literally mean?

It literally translates to "apples of earth" (pommes = apples, terre = earth/ground). This is the standard French term for potatoes!

Why do we use Il y a for "There are"? Isn't Il y a singular?

Unlike English, which switches between "there is" for one thing and "there are" for multiple things, French keeps it simple. You use Il y a for both! It works perfectly here for "there are a lot of potatoes".

Does de work the same way in un morceau de viande as it does in beaucoup de?

Exactly! Un morceau de (a piece of) is also an expression of quantity. Just like with beaucoup, you use a plain de after it, rather than combining it with words like la (the) or une (a) before viande (meat).