Beetroot Rosti

A hash brown… but rootier!

With the winter chill and cold biting winds here to stay, for the time being at any rate, a hearty breakfast is just what the doctor ordered. Dairy farmers in the Swiss German Alps would most certainly agree and traditionally start their day with a rosti and a few eggs. Granted this recipe uses raw roots as opposed to the traditional cooked potato, but this breakfast pancake is perfect for a slow start.

While potatoes are a kitchen staple, it can be hard to find the enthusiasm to deviate from the firm favourites. Bringing other season root vegetables along breathes new life into the might spud! The same can often be said for beetroot… so bring them both together! 


Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
400g potatoes +/-
400g beetroot +/-
1 onion
80g butter
1 sprig of rosemary
¼ nutmeg
Lots of fresh ground black pepper
Sea salt flakes
Rape seed oil

1. Begin by melting the butter slowly with the rosemary stalks, keeping the leaves for later. While the butter is melting peel and grate the potato into a small bowl.

2. In small batches, squeeze out as much liquid from the potatoes as possible, then add them to a large mixing bowl. Pour over the butter, removing the rosemary stalks first, and season well with salt.

3. Peel and grate the beetroot, finely slice the onion and mix them both with the potato mixture. 

4. Season liberally with nutmeg and black pepper before mixing in the chopped rosemary. 

5. Heat a generous puddle of oil in a medium saucepan (26cm ish) over a moderate heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer add the rosti mixture a bit at a time making sure to spread it evenly. Once it is all in the pan, flatten and press the mix into the edges. Then simply turn down to a low heat, cover with some baking parchment to trap some steam and leave it alone for 20 minutes.

6. Now to turn it over… remove from the heat and using an oven glove, put a baking sheet on top of the pan, leaving the parchment in place, and turn it all upside down. Remove the pan and then use the parchment to slide the rosti back into the pan. Get rid of the parchment then drizzle a little oil around the edge of the pan and continue to cook for 10 minutes over a medium heat.

7. Once the rosti is sizzling and steaming heavily, turn it out and enjoy!

Serve with a fried egg and beetroot ketchup

Chef Notes:
1. This recipe works for any root vegetables and any combination of roots. It is important to include at least a quarter of the weight in potatoes for their starch content. This helps to hold everything together. 

Robin Popham
Chef at ‘Create Terroir’ and Sandy Lane Farm veg box customer