Grated potatoes layered with ham and cheese, then fried up in butter until crisp—these have to be the most delicious hashbrowns you've every eaten. Make one large one to slice into wedges, or smaller individual sized ones, which will be easier to flip over. The only thing is that you must make these with a non stick pan, or the potatoes will stick to the pan. Serve with poached or fried eggs so that when you cut into the yolks, they drip onto the crispy potatoes and drench them with richness.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs (750 g) potatoes, peeled (about 5—russet is best)
2 green onions, finely chopped
3 tbsp butter
1 cup shredded cheese-try different kinds, but we like a sharp cheddar best
4 oz black forest ham, chopped—or you could use turkey, even bacon (fried and crumbled)
Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 minutes or until not quite tender. Drain and run under cold water. Let cool and then grate them. In a large bowl mix together the grated potato, green onion, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. In a 9 inch skillet, heat 1 tbsp of the butter and swirl to coat the pan well. Drop in 1/2 of the potato mixture and spread to cover the bottom of the pan. Top with 1/2 of the cheese, all of the ham, and then the remaining cheese. Top with the remaining potato mixture, spreading to cover the layers of ham and cheese. Cook for about 8-10 minutes. Make sure to loosen the rosti by shaking the pan and using a wooden spatula before you continue to the next stage.
Here's the tricky part... To flip the rosti over to cook the other side, place a plate inverted on top of the rosti. Gripping the plate with one hand and the handle of the pan with the other, flip the entire thing over so that the rosti is now sitting on the plate, cooked side up (wear an oven mitt on the hand holding the plate so any extra butter doesn't land on you). Put the pan back on the stove and heat, adding more butter and again swirling to coat. Slide the rosti gently back into the pan to cook the remaining side, approximately another 8-10 minutes or until it's all brown and crispy. Slide onto a plate and slice into wedges to serve. An alternative is to create 4 mini rostis that you can turn over right on the skillet with a spatula, like in the picture. I serve this with fruit salad and poached eggs. It is also quite yummy with home made salsa and leftovers are tasty the next day, although not as crispy.
Makes 4 servings
Adapted from Canadian Living
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