When we need dinner quick, we think potato rosti. The ingredient list is short—just grated potatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper—and since the potatoes are grated, cooking time is dramatically reduced. You can have a small crisp potato rosti on a dinner plate in under fifteen minutes. It’s like fancy hashbrowns or home fries with high flavor toppings.
How to Serve Your Potato Rosti
Before we became Planetarians, we’d top our rosti with smoked salmon, sour cream, and a sprinkle of dill and diced red onion. But we’ve been exploring many different Planetarian toppings for our rosti – our current favorites are Caramelized Onions and either plant-based yogurt or regular sour cream and a sprinkle of thyme or Roasted Cherry Tomato Confit and any one of our pestos, a good one for this time of year is Kale-Walnut Pesto. But you could also top it with a simple Tomato Sauce with black olives and Caramelized Onions stirred in or even a 15-Minute Skillet Stew. The possibilities are endless: a rosti is a thick, crispy potato canvas compatible with almost any flavor combination. And I always have the ingredients to make it.
I like to serve these with a hearty green salad on the side or a heaping portion of Steam-Sautéed Veggies – incredibly satisfying and delicious. Easy, too! Our kids love these, especially when I liken rosti to french fries!
Potato Rosti topped with Cherry Tomato Confit and Pesto.
Cooking for 1, 2, or 4?
We give three different sizes, so you can make it for one person, two people or four, depending on how many you’re cooking for.
If making a potato rosti for one, reach for a small 8-inch non-stick skillet. When it’s for two, grab a 10-incher. For four, choose a large, twelve-inch skillet. Slowly heat the pan and oil over low heat while you grate the potatoes.
Best Potatoes for Potato Rosti
High- and medium-starch potatoes—Idaho and Yukon Golds, for example—make the best cakes, but we’ve made perfectly fine ones out of red boiling potatoes. No need to peel the potatoes but give them a quick rinse (and the dirty ones an extra scrub).
For fewer than four potatoes, grate them on the large holes of a box grater. For bigger jobs, bring in the food processor.
Getting it Nice and Crispy!
So that they crisp up and brown more quickly, squeeze as much liquid as possible from the grated potatoes. You can do it by hand, but a potato ricer is the best tool for extracting every last ounce of liquid.
A minute or two from cooking, increase the heat to strong medium. When the oil is good and hot, swirl it around the pan bottom and up the sides and add the potatoes, pressing on them with a spatula to make a compact cake. When the potatoes turn golden brown on the bottom, invert the cake onto a plate and add another bit of oil to the skillet, quickly sliding the cake back into the pan. Continue to cook the cake until it turns golden brown on the other side. As long you turn it occasionally, the potato galette can sit in the pan over low heat for half an hour or more.
How To: Crisp Potato Rosti
Recipe Notes
Ingredients
Rosti For 1
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 8- inch skillet
- 8 ounces baking potatoes, washed, scrubbed if necessary, and coarsely grated
- Salt and ground black pepper
Rosti for 2
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 10- inch skillet
- 1 pound baking potatoes, washed, scrubbed if necessary, and coarsely grated
- Salt and ground black pepper
Rosti For 4
- 6 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 12- inch skillet
- 2 pounds baking potatoes, washed, scrubbed if necessary, and grated in the food processor or on the large holes of a box grater
- Salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat oil over low heat—1 tablespoon in the 8-inch skillet, 2 tablespoons in the 10-inch skillet, and 1/4 cup in the 12-inch skillet. While oil heats, grate potatoes, squeezing as much liquid as possible from them, either by hand or using a potato ricer.
- A minute or 2 from cooking, increase heat to a strong medium. Add potatoes to the pan, pressing on them with metal spatula to form a flat cake. Cook until bottom of cake is golden brown and crisp, about 4 minutes for the 8-inch skillet, 7 to 8 minutes for the 10-inch skillet, and about 10 minutes for the 12-inch skillet.
- Place a plate over the pan and invert the cake onto a plate. Add remaining oil to the pan—1 1/2 teaspoons for the 8-inch skillet, 1 tablespoon for the 10-inch skillet, and 2 tablespoons for the 12-inch skillet, sliding cake back into the pan. Continue to cook until golden brown on remaining side, about 4 minutes longer for the 8-inch skillet, 7 to 8 minutes for the 10-inch skillet, and 10 minutes for the 12-inch skillet.
- Slide potato cake from the skillet onto a cutting board; sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Leave 8-inch cake whole, halve the 10-inch cake, and quarter 12-inch cake. Serve with toppings of your choice.
