Tuesday 14 December 2010

Beetroot & Potato Rosti

Beetroot is a funny little thing. It's a violent vegetable, one that stains your skin, nails and clothes a deep, rich pink. In grating it, be it for salads or this rosti recipe, I invariably manage to leave a spray of juice behind; when dried, it looks like I've killed someone. But it has a earthy quality, one that's well paired with Scandinavian flavours of smoky fish and aniseedy dill.

Forman and Field sent me some of their smoked salmon, and their London cure worked brilliantly with the rosti. Supermarket smoked salmon can be aggressively salted and oily; this was melt in the mouth and delicate. I imagine this would make a lovely little starter. I just ate enough for 2 as my dinner.

Beetroot & Potato Rosti

Serve 2

4 large Vivaldi potatoes
2 beetroot
1 small onion
A hefty pinch of salt
Loads of black pepper
1 egg

I didn't bother to peel the potatoes, but do peel the beetroot. Grate into a bowl and then season. Gather in about 4 sheets of kitchen towel and squeeze all the moisture out - squeeze like hell so that your hands turn nice and red.

Whisk an egg in a bowl and add the potato and beetroot. Add the onion, sliced finely and the black pepper. Heat some oil in a non-stick pan and add the mixture to the pan, shaping it into a circle. Fry on a low heat, for about 15 minutes. Slide out onto a plate, then flip it back in, uncooked side down for a further 15 minutes until cooked through and crispy.

Serve with rocket dressed in a dill, yoghurt and lemon rind dressing with curls of smoked salmon.

7 comments:

The Grubworm said...

Simple, straightforward and packed full of taste - I like the (violent and bloody) look of this. It would make a perfect light lunch.

PDH said...

I use a proper fabric towel that just gets washed and put away especially for Rosti purposes... You can get more of the liquid out but doing beetroot that way really would look like a bloodbath. What this needs to be perfect for me is a fried egg.

catty said...

Beetroot is delicious! I love it tossed with sourcream and pickles as a Scandi-style salad. I don't like the stains though :( my cutting boards are forever pink from beetroot juice.

Helen said...

ooh I love a bit of beet. I remember the first time I tried to roast them whole - took FOREVER. Much better grating em. I like them grated raw into salads as well. Nice with the Scandi flavours, very on trend! (can't believe I just said that)

thewanderingfoody said...

that looks so simple but so delicious! thanks for the recipe.

gastrogeek said...

this looks V.tasty and definitely worth the staining.

S said...

oh, i love this combi- i have never had beet with salmon. it looks and sounds delish. have a lovely Xmas and New Year's, Lizzie. x shayma