Leek & Herb Rosti Bake

We call this dish mock whitebait in New Zealand its absolutely delicious with grilled bacon & poached eggs.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 leek – finely chopped & washed
  • 500g potatoes – (red roosters are awesome) peeled & washed
  • 1 small white onion – peeled but left whole
  • Huge handful parsley – washed picked & chopped
  • 10 chives finely chopped
  • Salt & pepper – (go generous)
  • 1 large free range egg
  • 1 ½ tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Olive oil for cooking

Method

  1. Pre heat your oven to 180°C.
  2. Add your leeks to a bowl. Grate your potatoes on the large part of a grater, grate the onion as well add both to the bowl. Add your chopped parsley & chives, using your hands mix really well. Leave to the side for 5-10 minutes while the starches settle & do their magic.
  3. Squeeze the excess liquid/starch from the potatoes using your hands or pushing into a colander. Get as much out as you can or you will struggle to get the rosti to crisp up.
  4. Put the mix back into a clean bowl with no starch or liquid & add the egg, again mix thoroughly. Add the flour, baking powder & season really well. Mix again.
  5. Heat two non stick, oven proof pans over a high heat covering the bottom of the pans with olive oil. When the pan & oil are hot, split the mix into the two pans & using the back of a spoon smooth the mix out.
  6. When the underside is golden brown & crispy, flip over with a fish slice. Once the other side is golden brown pop pans into the oven for 15-20 minutes until you have a lovely golden brown crisp rosti.

KJ's Tips

  • If you are not confident with pan cooking you can place the mix into a greased roasting dish & bake until golden brown. You will get a less crispy texture but it still tastes as good. You will need to bake it for about 1 hour.
  • If you want to make this gluten free use gluten free flour & add ½ tsp of xanthum gum to the mix.
  • This is really nice with ham & a handful of smoked cheddar in the mix after you have squeezed the starches out.

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