Perfect Rosti

Never content to accept just one recipe for something I want to make I always search out alternatives. I can never find them again when I want them so I save them here for future testings.
One from The Guardian and another from Channel 4 4Food



From the Guardian food and drink.
Felicity's perfect rösti. Photograph: Felicity Cloake
They're glorious plain, but a rösti can be made into a complete meal with the addition of onion, bacon and nutty Alpine cheese. (Some areas even add coffee; those crazy Swiss, eh?). All you really need for a good rösti, however, is some firm potatoes, parboiled to give a soft, melting interior, and fried in plenty of hot butter and goose fat until crisp, and a few mountains to climb to work up an appetite.
Serves 4 as a side dish, 2 as a main course
2 medium-sized waxy potatoes
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp goose fat
1. Parboil the potatoes in salted water until just tender, but not soft. Allow to cool, and chill for at least a couple of hours.
2. Coarsely grate the potatoes and season. Heat half the fat in a small, heavy-based frying pan until sizzling, and then add the grated potato, allow to cook for a couple of minutes and then shape it into a flat cake, pressing down as lightly as possible. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes, then gently shake the pan to loosen the potato.
3. Continue to cook for about 10 minutes until golden and crisp, then place a plate on top of the pan and invert it so the cake sits, cooked-side up, on the plate.
4. Add the rest of the butter and goose fat to the pan and, when hot, slide the potato cake back into the pan the other way up. Cook for another 10 minutes, then serve.
Is a rösti nothing more than a hash brown with Alpine airs and graces, or a distinctive national dish Switzerland should be proud of? What are your top tips, and what other foods do you favour to keep off the mountain chill?



An alternative recipe from Channel 4 4Food:

Choose the right potatoes and these rosti will be a success every time
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1kg Charlotte, Vivaldi or Desiree potatoes, peeled and coarsely grated
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried mixed Italian herbs (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
Fresh chives, to garnish
METHOD

Dry the grated potato with a clean tea towel - it’s important to remove as much moisture as possible. Mix with the onion, garlic and herbs (if using) and season with salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan. Add mounds of the grated potato mixture, flatten the surface with a fish slice, and cook over a medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. The potato needs to cook and brown on the base, so avoid trying to turn them too soon.

Turn each rosti carefully and cook the other side for a further 10 minutes. Remember to keep the heat low so the inside of the rosti cook without over browning.

Tip: Grate the potatoes by hand rather than in a food processor where they can become too wet. Once grated use right away to prevent discolouration.

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