Rösti

Ingredients

• 800 g potatoes (firm/waxy)
• 2 carrots
• 500 g peas or spinach
• 4 eggs
• 2 onions (medium size)
• butter

Method

Rösti is built on a single principle: you're crisping shredded potato in pan-frying fat until the starch gelatinises and browns. Use waxy potatoes — Charlotte, Désirée, or fingerling — because they hold their structure. Floury varieties collapse into paste. Shred them coarse on a box grater into strands roughly the thickness of a matchstick, then squeeze them dry in a clean cloth. Moisture is the enemy of crust formation.

Dice one medium onion fine and toss it through the shreds with sea salt and black pepper. Heat a large heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium-high heat with a generous knob of butter — roughly 50g to start. Once foaming, tip in the potato mixture and let it sit undisturbed for the first two minutes. The base needs direct contact with the hot pan to develop a crust. Stir once, lightly, just to prevent sticking, then sauteing|sauté for another 3–4 minutes until the raw potato smell fades and the edges turn translucent.

Now compact the rösti into a cake filling the pan, roughly 1.5 cm thick. Dot another 30g butter around the perimeter and slide it under the rösti with a spatula if you can reach it — if not, tilt and let it run through. Turn the heat to medium and leave it alone for 8–12 minutes. Listen for a gentle sizzle; if it's silent, the pan isn't hot enough. The bottom surface should be golden-brown with a thin potato-cooking|potato crust beginning to crisp. Test by lifting a small edge with a thin metal spatula.

Meanwhile, dice the second onion and the carrots into roughly 1 cm pieces. Steam them together with 2–3 tablespoons of water in a lidded pan over medium heat for 6–8 minutes until the carrot is tender. If using spinach instead, wilt fresh leaves in a dry pan for 90 seconds, or warm through creamed spinach gently.

To flip, slide the rösti onto a large plate, wipe the pan with a little extra butter, and invert it back in. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook the second side for another 5–7 minutes until golden. The rösti should yield slightly when pressed but hold its shape. Slide onto a serving plate, top with the fried eggs — yolks runny — and serve the vegetables alongside.