Crispy Giant Potato Rösti with bacon and cheese by Not Quite Nigella
 | Cooking Time 20 minutes preparation and 45 minutes cooking |
 | Serves 4 |
INGREDIENTS
- Oil for frying
- 200g/7ozs. bacon, finely chopped
- 1 white onion, finely chopped
- 1.2kg/2.6lbs potatoes
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillion powder or Fondor seasoning powder (or to taste)
- 1/4 cup/60ml/2flozs. oil
- 60g/2ozs. butter
- 200g/7ozs. grated cheese (I used a 75%/25% mix of mozzarella and halloumi)
- 1 tablespoon chives
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 | PERFECT WITH |  | ALSO GREAT WITH |
INSTRUCTIONS
Recipe create by Lorraine Elliot – Not Quite Nigella
Step 1 – I use a 28cm/11inch frypan or skillet for this. First fry the bacon and onion in a little oil until crispy and aromatic. Set aside and clean the frypan. Toss the bacon with the grated cheese.
Step 2 – Peel potatoes, cut out the eyes and then grate into a bowl lined with 4 paper towels to soak up the liquid or over a fine sieve. Heat up frypan and add a couple of tablespoons of oil and fry the potatoes in three batches on medium heat. They will turn from pink to yellow-you want them cooked but not necessarily browned but make sure that they are cooked through by tasting a little of the cooked potatoes for doneness. Add oil when necessary. Place each batch of the cooked potatoes in a bowl and season each batch with chicken bouillion or Fondor.
Step 3 – Wash and dry the frypan and then heat on medium high (6 or 7 out of 10) and add half of the butter and 3 tablespoons of oil to the pan. Add two thirds of the potato mixture and press down gently so that it forms a tightly packed cake but add more potato on the sides. Add the cheese and bacon mixture in the centre and then top with the remaining potato sealing up the cheese. Tidy up the sides with your turner so that you get a nice round shape on the edges and press down on the potatoes with an angled spatula so that it is tightly bound. Set the timer for 10 minutes and when it is looking nice and golden place a plate on top of the rosti and then gently flip it over. It should be nice and golden on the upturned side.
Step 4 – Add the remaining butter and some oil to the pan to coat the surface and slide the rosti onto the pan so that the uncooked side hits the pan. Cook for 10 minutes until crispy and golden. To remove from the pan, use the metal tray again and gently upturn. Serve with chives and eat while hot so that the cheese is gooey.
TIP: Save time with grating by using the grating attachment in your food processor. Remove the extra liquid from the potatoes to help the roesti bind together. You can use the potato water in bread and it makes bread more moist. Make sure the pan is hot before you add the oil and butter so that the potato doesn't stick. While rosti is obviously best when freshly fried, you can also cook this and then refry it or place it in the oven to melt the cheese and warm it through again just before serving. I've had it so many different ways over the past two months as we've been eating so much at home and it's so versatile.