Delia Smith potato rösti are little cakes of grated potato and apple for 4 people, baked in a hot oven instead of fried. You boil the potatoes for 8 minutes and grate them with the apple. Then the cakes need about 25 minutes in a 220°C oven, so they are ready in under an hour.
Page 154 of the Winter Collection (1995) has this recipe, and her website shows it too, taken from a 2003 Christmas magazine. Because the cakes bake in the oven, there is no last-minute frying, which helps when friends are coming. You can also shape them up to 6 hours ahead and chill them, covered, until needed.
She serves them with pork dishes and really meaty pork sausages. In the Autumn Dinner for Six menu in that book, they go with pork braised in cider vinegar and her spiced red cabbage with cranberries. Each recipe is made one and a half times for the six. Her rösti crab cakes use the same trick, mixing crab into grated part-cooked potato before frying.
Delia Smith Potato and Apple Rösti
Coarsely grated part-boiled potato and Granny Smith apple, seasoned with nutmeg, shaped into little cakes and baked crisp in butter.
4
servings30
minutes25
minutes190
kcalIngredients
- For the rösti:
275g Désirée or Romano potatoes (2 medium)
2 medium Granny Smith apples
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
freshly grated nutmeg
1 level tablespoon flour
50g butter, melted
salt and freshly milled black pepper
Directions
- Boil: Put the scrubbed whole potatoes in a pan with some salt and enough boiling water to just cover them. Boil them for 8 minutes, no longer, then drain.
- Apples: Pour the lemon juice into a shallow dish. Peel, core and quarter the apples, grate them on the coarse side of a grater over the dish, then toss them in the juice.
- Grate: Peel the potatoes and grate them the same way into a large bowl. Add the apple, squeezing it in your hand to leave the surplus juice behind.
- Season: Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and toss everything together evenly.
- Shape: Shape the mixture into 8 rounds about 6cm across, squeezing firmly into little cakes with raggedy edges. Dust each one lightly with flour.
- Bake: Heat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7. Brush the baking tray with melted butter, add the cakes and brush their tops. Bake on a high shelf for 10 minutes, then turn them with a fish slice. Give them 10 to 15 minutes more, until crisp and golden.
FAQs
Which potatoes and apples should I use?
Désirée or Romano potatoes are the ones the Winter Collection (1995) asks for, two medium-sized ones of about 275g. The apples are 2 medium Granny Smiths, peeled, cored and grated.
How long should the potatoes boil?
Eight minutes is the limit for the whole, scrubbed potatoes, because the book warns it is important not to over-boil them. They need to stay firm enough to grate, which is why One is Fun! gives its rösti potatoes just 10 minutes.
How do I stop the apple turning brown?
Grate the apple straight over the lemon juice and toss it at once, which stops it browning. Then squeeze the apple as you add it to the potato, so the extra juice stays in the dish.
What tray should I use?
A solid ovenproof baking tray of 35 x 25.5cm holds the 8 cakes, brushed with the melted butter first. Her bubble and squeak version heats the tray on the top shelf while the oven warms up, as do her potato cakes with courgette and feta.
Can I fry rösti in a pan instead?
Yes, the Cheese and Onion Rösti in One is Fun! is fried, as one flat rösti for one person. Grated part-boiled potato, grated onion, 25g of Emmental or strong Cheddar and crisp bacon go into very hot oil in a frying pan.
Then cook it gently over a fairly low flame, 7 to 10 minutes a side. The book warns the oil must be very hot, and a solid or non-stick pan helps, or the rösti may stick.
How do I make bubble and squeak rösti?
Bubble and squeak rösti comes from her Vegetarian Collection (2002), page 185, with 450g of Romano or Désirée potatoes simmered for 8 minutes. Add 75g of shredded spring greens or cabbage, blanched for 2 minutes, and 50g of grated mature Cheddar.
Shape rounds 7.5cm wide and 1cm thick, brush them with butter and oil, then bake them on a hot tray at 220°C. They need 15 minutes, then 10 more after turning, and they are brilliant with pickles.
