Ingredients
large potato
1
apple
1
salt, to taste
duck fat or olive oil
1tbsp
large egg
1
kale or cavolo nero, to serve
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A rösti is a beautiful thing: crisp and soft, salty and delicious. It’s the sort of thing I turn to when I’ve been away from home and return to a bread-less house. A plain-potato one is my baseline, the sort of thing I can pull together after weeks away and zero shopping, because there’s basically always a potato lurking somewhere in my kitchen. But what makes this rösti special, worthy of a recipe, is the apple. Apple and potato are friends not because of their contrast but because of their sweet, gentle familiarity; two peas in a pod. They’re both a good foil for bitter greens or oily fish or rich cheese and eggs and fats. Here, that’s what they’ll sit alongside.
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Serves
1
| Time25 mins
large potato
1
apple
1
salt, to taste
duck fat or olive oil
1tbsp
large egg
1
kale or cavolo nero, to serve
Serves
1
| Time25 mins
Method
Grate a large potato, and a moderately sized apple into a bowl. So long as they're clean, don't worry about peeling either one first. Transfer to a sieve over the sink, add a pinch of salt, and squeeze the grated potato and apple together until they feel dry.
Warm 1 tbsp of duck fat (if you have it, olive oil if not) in a frying pan over a low heat, and form the very well-squeezed ingredients (I cannot emphasise this enough) into a ball. Put into the pan and push the top of the ball down until the rösti is 1cm thick. Cook for about 10 minutes, until crisp and golden, then flip and cook for 10 minutes on the other side. When the rösti is close to being cooked, add a little more fat to the pan.
As your rösti is cooking, boil (lower into simmering water for 5½ minutes) or fry (covered, in a little fat) 1 large egg. I also like to sauté a handful of torn kale or cavolo nero to serve alongside; strip the stem out, tear it up roughly, then heat some more duck fat or oil in a frying pan, drop in the leaves and cook for 5 minutes until crisp. Pile everything up on top of each other.
This is the rösti I keep returning to. But don't shy away from playing around with it: try celeriac, try sweet potato, try beetroot, try turnip, try parsnip – they all have their merits, and you'll find your own favourites, too. Whatever you're trying, though, do add some apple; it's a reliable joy.
Ingredients
large potato
1
apple
1
salt, to taste
duck fat or olive oil
1tbsp
large egg
1
kale or cavolo nero, to serve
Method
Grate a large potato, and a moderately sized apple into a bowl. So long as they're clean, don't worry about peeling either one first. Transfer to a sieve over the sink, add a pinch of salt, and squeeze the grated potato and apple together until they feel dry.
Warm 1 tbsp of duck fat (if you have it, olive oil if not) in a frying pan over a low heat, and form the very well-squeezed ingredients (I cannot emphasise this enough) into a ball. Put into the pan and push the top of the ball down until the rösti is 1cm thick. Cook for about 10 minutes, until crisp and golden, then flip and cook for 10 minutes on the other side. When the rösti is close to being cooked, add a little more fat to the pan.
As your rösti is cooking, boil (lower into simmering water for 5½ minutes) or fry (covered, in a little fat) 1 large egg. I also like to sauté a handful of torn kale or cavolo nero to serve alongside; strip the stem out, tear it up roughly, then heat some more duck fat or oil in a frying pan, drop in the leaves and cook for 5 minutes until crisp. Pile everything up on top of each other.
This is the rösti I keep returning to. But don't shy away from playing around with it: try celeriac, try sweet potato, try beetroot, try turnip, try parsnip – they all have their merits, and you'll find your own favourites, too. Whatever you're trying, though, do add some apple; it's a reliable joy.
