Sunday Morning Activity

There are some foods I just never think of making. Rosti falls into this category. When I thought rosti, I pictured an entire day spent matchsticking potatoes. But lo, this was not the case.

The first time (and one of the few times) I had rosti was at a buffet, which inevitably meant it was not of very good quality. But it was still potatoes, so how bad could it be? I gobbled the whole thing down. Litre of oil and all.
Now, that hits on what is wrong with most rosti. I imagine most are fried, and so the result is too wet, as well as being a calorie bomb. This rosti, however, is popped in the oven for about an hour, and so it crisps up very nicely. Heck, maybe most rosti are popped in the oven - I am certainly no expert on rosti - but this one tastes like it went in the oven, not for a long dip in canola central.
As I was matchsticking the potatoes (which shockingly, took about five minutes) John said something so perfect. "It's like an aero. The flavour is in the spaces." I couldn't have said it better myself.

We ate our rosti with two poached eggs each and some dressed spinach. The ultimate, unassuming comfort food.
And, just because, I had to add this photo of poaching eggs. They look like little ghosts:

One final note: the recipe says to cook the rosti in an ovenproof frying pan. I didn't have one on hand, so after frying the potatoes in the pan, I transferred them to an 8inch pie dish, and pushed the potato down to fit with a spatula.

Potato Rosti
From Jamie Oliver's Cook With Jamie


olive oil
a small knob of butter
1 1/2 pound floury potatoes, grated and cut into matchsticks
salt and pepper
3 or 4 springs of rosemary, leaves picked
6 cloves of garlic, peeled (this stuff is strong is the rosti, so if you're not big on garlic, reduce amount and cut into smaller bits)

Preheat the oven to 400F. In an ovenproof non-stick frying pan, and about 8inches wide, heat a splash of olive oil. Add the butter and toss the potatoes in it with a pinch of salt and pepper, the rosemary leaves, and the whole garlic cloves. Fry on medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring all the while, until the potatoes start to soften. Then place the pan in the oven for 25 minutes.
Take the pan out of the oven and cover it with a damp piece of wax paper. Wrap your hand in a tea towel, and press down on the paper to flatten and compact the rosti. Remove paper, and return to oven for another 25 minutes. Cut into slices and serve.