Potato Rosti, Silverbeet, Pickled Fennel & Yellow Bean Soy
Prep time - 15 minutes
Cooking time - 35 - 45 minutes
Serves 2 - 4 people
This method works with a variety of vegetables - just make sure there are a few potatoes in the mix as the starch is what binds the vegetables together and gives them that crispy texture. Some other vegetables I like to use from time to time include parsnip, pumpkin (a small amount as its quite watery), all sorts of potato and carrots. Capsicum is also a delicious addition - however do not grate it. Use a knife to remove the core and seeds, then finely slice and add to the grated mix for salting.
The garnish, or ‘topping’ is completely up to you. Smoked salmon, capers and dill are delicious with a dash of balsamic vinegar. Sometimes a fresh salad of leafy greens is all you need. Puree’s or dips used as spreads can also be delicious - get creative. Mastering the potato cake is a leap in itself.
Towards the bottom of the page you can find a few of my favourite garnishes and flavours.
Combine the grated potato, sweet potato, carrot and salt in a bowl and gently mix together with your hands. Allow the mix to stand for 10 minutes. Once the vegetables have released most of their water content, use your hands to squeeze the mixture removing any excess liquid - set aside the squeezed vegetables in a separate bowl. Repeat this process for all of the grated vegetables - discard the liquid.
In a large saucepan (the one below is 33cm diameter) add the olive oil and bring to a smoking hot temperature, once the oil is smoking, add the grated vegetables and stir-fry on high heat for about 10 minutes. This process is to remove more moisture and is important to help the vegetables to completely cook through. The edges will begin to caramelise and crisp - this is crucial before we form our rosti.
Once the mixture has dried a bit, and begins to crisp and caramelise, use a spatula to flatten the rosti in the pan. Press it down tight and compact. Once you have an even layer, press the edges back in towards the centre to form a uniform layer. Turn the heat down just slightly - a little higher then medium, but not maximum. Continue to cook for around 10-15 minutes.
Now’s the fun part - you may attempt to flip the rosti like a pancake - or, use a plate, chopping board or baking tray to cover the pan. Using your hands, press the tray like a lid to cover the pan, flip the pan over and the rosti out on to the tray and then slide the rosti back into the pan for the other side to cook. Its a good idea to put a layer baking paper between the rosti and the tray so that it can easily slide back into the pan.
After 10 more minutes of cooking on the other side - the potato cake is done. You can either transfer the rosti to a serving plate or serve it in the pan.
Combine the shredded silverbeet with the pickled fennel. In another pan, add a little olive oil and stir-fry over high heat. It should shrink to around half of its original size. This takes about 3 minutes over high heat. Serve over the rosti and top the whole thing with yellow bean soy dressing, maybe a little extra pickled fennel too.
Ingredients -
1 medium sweet potato, grated
4 small potatoes, grated
2 carrots, grated
10g smoked chilli salt, or sea salt
70ml olive oil
4 large silverbeet stalks, chopped
Tools -
box grater
strainer
mixing bowls
33cm saucepan
Notes -
The above quantities can be halved. This amount gave me around 1.3kg of grated vegetables for the wide sauce pan that I used, however, half of this weight will be removed through salting and cooking.
Making rosti is a great way to become well acquainted with your stove. Learning about the heat it produces and the time it takes to actually caramelise vegetables is a great skill to have as a home cook.
Perfecting the rosti is greatly satisfying. It is an extremely simple recipe that requires quite a lot of attention to the very small details. If not taken care of, it will be unforgiving in the end result.
A few favourites…
Photo 1 -
Potato rosti consisting of potato, carrot & parsnip.
Topped with pan seared pine mushrooms, pickled red cabbage, goats feta and chives
Photo 2 -
Potato rosti consisting of potato, sweet potato & carrot
Topped with smoked salmon, dill & caper salad, mint, balsamic vinegar, cow feta
Photo 3 -
Potato rosti consisting of potato, carrot, pumpkin & parsnip
Topped with wilted kale, pickled carrot, fennel & coriander seed
Photo 4 -
Potato rosti consisting of potato & sweet potato
Topped with gravlax & salsa verde
Photo 5 -
Potato rosti consisting of potato & carrot
Topped with salsa verde, smoked olive & capsicum tapenade
Photo 6 -
Potato rosti consisting of potato, carrot & capsicum
Topped with sauteed shemiji mushrooms,kale & soy mirin dressing
