The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (133 page)
Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
Dumping, instead of meticulously layering, most of the potatoes over a single neatly arranged layer cuts out much of the usual galette-making fuss.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Roesti—a broad, golden brown cake of simply seasoned grated potatoes fried in butter—is hugely popular in Switzerland. We set out to master a stateside recipe with a crunchy, crisp exterior encasing a tender, creamy interior; one with good potato flavor, rich with butter. Producing a golden-brown crust for our roesti recipe wasn’t much of a problem, but the inside always came out gluey and half-cooked. For a better roesti, inside and out, we eliminated moisture by wringing the raw grated potatoes in a kitchen towel. Covering the potatoes to start, then uncovering them to finish cooking created surprisingly light potatoes. Our final breakthrough came when we removed excess starch with a rinse in cold water before squeezing, then tossed the potatoes with a teaspoon of cornstarch to provide just enough starch to hold the cake together.
See “MAKING POTATO ROESTI” illustrations that follow recipe.
SERVES 4
The test kitchen prefers a roesti prepared with potatoes that have been cut through the large shredding disk of a food processor. It is possible to use a box grater to cut the potatoes, but they should be cut lengthwise, so you are left with long shreds. It is imperative to squeeze the potatoes as dry as possible. A well-seasoned cast-iron skillet can be used in place of the nonstick skillet. With the addition of fried eggs, ham, bacon, cheese, cooked onions, and/or tomatoes, roesti can be turned into a light meal.
1¹⁄ | pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and shredded |
1 | teaspoon cornstarch |
¹⁄ | teaspoon salt |
Pepper | |
4 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
1.
Place potatoes in large bowl and fill with cold water. Using hands, swirl to remove excess starch, then drain.
2.
Wipe bowl dry. Place half of potatoes in center of kitchen towel. Gather ends together and twist as tightly as possible to expel maximum moisture. Transfer potatoes to bowl and repeat process with remaining potatoes.
3.
Sprinkle cornstarch, salt, and pepper to taste over potatoes. Using hands or fork, toss ingredients together until well blended.
4.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add potato mixture and spread into even layer. Cover and cook 6 minutes. Remove cover and, using spatula, gently press potatoes down to form round cake. Cook, occasionally pressing on potatoes to shape into uniform round cake, until bottom is deep golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes longer.
5.
Shake skillet to loosen roesti and slide onto large plate. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to skillet and swirl to coat pan. Invert roesti onto second plate and slide it, browned side up, back into skillet. Cook, occasionally pressing down on cake, until bottom is well browned, 7 to 9 minutes. Remove pan from heat and allow cake to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Transfer roesti to cutting board, cut into 4 pieces, and serve immediately.
SERVES 2 AS A MAIN COURSE
Line plate with triple layer of paper towels, place 1 large tomato, sliced thin, on plate, sprinkle with ¹⁄
8
teaspoon salt, and let drain for 30 minutes; pat tomatoes dry. Follow recipe as directed, sprinkling roesti with ¹⁄
2
to ³⁄
4
cup shredded fontina cheese, then shingling drained tomato slices in single layer over cheese in step 5 about 3 minutes before fully cooked on second side.
SERVES 2 AS A MAIN COURSE
Slide 2
FRIED EGGS
onto finished roesti, sprinkle with ¹⁄
2
cup grated Parmesan cheese, and season with salt to taste.
SERVES 2 AS A MAIN COURSE
Cook 3 chopped slices bacon in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper–towel lined plate and pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet. Add 1 large onion, sliced thin, to skillet, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook until onion is softened, about 5 to 7 minutes, topping finished roesti with bacon and onion and sprinkling with sherry vinegar to taste before serving.
SERVES 2 AS A MAIN COURSE
While not traditional, sharp cheddar, Manchego, Italian fontina, and Havarti cheeses are each a good match to this potato dish.
Sprinkle ¹⁄
2
cup shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese over roesti in step 5 about 3 minutes before fully cooked on second side.
SERVES 2 AS A MAIN COURSE
Drape 4 slices prosciutto over roesti in step 5 about 3 minutes before fully cooked on second side. Sprinkle with ¹⁄
2
teaspoon minced fresh thyme or rosemary, season with coarsely ground black pepper, and serve with whole grain mustard.
SERVES 6
Increase amount of potatoes to 2¹⁄
2
pounds. Squeeze potatoes in 3 batches and increase salt to ³⁄
4
teaspoon and cornstarch to 1¹⁄
2
teaspoons. Cook roesti in 12-inch nonstick skillet, adding additional 1¹⁄
2
teaspoons butter per side (5 tablespoons total). Increase uncovered cooking time in step 4 to 8 to 10 minutes and cooking time in step 5 to 8 to 10 minutes.
1.
Shake skillet to loosen roesti, then slide it onto large plate.
2.
Cover roesti with second plate, then invert roesti so that browned side is facing up.
3.
Melt remaining butter in skillet and slide roesti, browned side up, back into skillet and continue to cook on second side.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Often served as a side dish during holidays such as Hanukkah, potato latkes are usually made from grated potatoes mixed with eggs, onions, matzo meal, and seasonings and then fried. Ideally, latkes should be somewhat thick, golden, very crisp on the outside, and very creamy in the center. Medium-starch Yukon Golds produced pancakes with an attractive yellow-gold color, a sweet and mild flavor, and a creamy—but neither gluey nor sticky—texture. The food processor was key to quickly producing large shreds of potato. After shredding, we removed about half of the potatoes, added chunks of onion to the potatoes left in the workbowl, and processed the mixture until coarsely chopped. The large shreds of potato cooked up nice and crisp along the outside of the pancake, while the processed mixture provided the makings of a creamy interior.
MAKES APPROXIMATELY 14 (3-INCH) PANCAKES
We prefer Yukon Gold potatoes here but russet potatoes will also work. Matzo meal is a traditional binder, though we found that the texture of the pancakes does not suffer without it. Applesauce and sour cream are classic accompaniments for potato latkes.
2 | pounds Yukon Gold or russet potatoes, peeled |
1 | onion, cut into 8 wedges |
1 | large egg |
4 | scallions, minced |
3 | tablespoons minced fresh parsley |
2 | tablespoons matzo meal (optional) |
Salt and pepper | |
1 | cup vegetable oil |
1.
Grate potatoes in food processor fitted with coarse shredding blade. Place half of grated potatoes in fine-mesh strainer set over bowl and reserve. Fit food processor with steel blade, add onions, and pulse with remaining potatoes until coarsely chopped, 5 to 6 pulses. Mix with reserved potato shreds and press against sieve to drain as much liquid as possible into bowl below. Let potato liquid sit until starch settles to bottom, about 1 minute. Pour off liquid, leaving starch in bowl. Beat egg, then potato mixture, scallions, parsley, matzo meal, if using, and salt and pepper to taste, into starch.
2.
Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet and line with triple layer of paper towels; set aside. Pour oil into 12-inch skillet to depth of ¹⁄
4
inch and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Gently squeeze ¹⁄
4
cup potato mixture to remove excess liquid, shape into ¹⁄
2
-inch-thick disk, and place in oil. Press gently with nonstick spatula to compact latke; repeat until 5 latkes are in skillet.
3.
Maintaining heat so fat bubbles around latke edges, fry until golden brown on bottom and edges, about 3 minutes. Using spatula, flip latkes and continue frying until golden brown all over, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to prepared wire rack to drain. Repeat with remaining potato mixture, returning oil to medium-high heat between each batch and replacing oil after every second batch. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
TO MAKE AHEAD:
Finished latkes can be cooled, covered loosely, and held at room temperature for 4 hours. When ready to serve, transfer to baking sheet and reheat in 375-degree oven until crisp and hot, about 5 minutes per side.