Potato rösti with soured cream, chives and a little lemon zest

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 800g floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper
• 1 small onion, very finely grated
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 tbsp olive oil or neutral oil, for frying
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

For the topping
• 150ml soured cream
• Small handful chives, finely chopped
• Zest of ½ lemon
• Black pepper

Method

1. Get the potatoes sorted

Peel the potatoes and coarsely grate them into a clean tea towel. Gather up the towel and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. This bit matters more than people sometimes hope. The drier the potatoes, the crispier the rösti, and that is very much the point.

2. Make the mixture

Tip the grated potato into a large bowl and add the grated onion, flour, beaten egg, a good pinch of salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Mix everything together well. It should hold together when pressed, rather than feeling wet and unruly.

3. Make the topping

In a small bowl, stir together the soured cream, most of the chives, the lemon zest and a little black pepper. Keep a few chives back for the finish. It wants to feel fresh and sharp enough to lift the rösti, not just sit there looking decorative.

4. Shape the rösti

Divide the potato mixture into 4 portions and shape them into rough round patties. Do not worry about making them too neat. Rösti suits a slightly rustic look far better than anything overly tidy.

5. Fry until properly golden

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the rösti and cook for 5–6 minutes on each side until crisp and deeply golden. Do this in batches if needed rather than crowding the pan and ending up with something soft and slightly defeated.

6. Let them drain

Lift the rösti onto a plate lined with kitchen paper for a moment. They should be crisp at the edges, soft in the middle, and looking exactly like the sort of thing you want to get to the table quickly.

7. Serve

Serve the rösti warm with a spoonful of the soured cream on top, then finish with the remaining chives and a final little grating of lemon zest if you like. Very good on their own for lunch, or alongside a green salad if you want to make a bit more of a meal of it.

A couple of helpful notes
- Squeezing out the potato properly is the key to a good rösti, so do not rush that part.
- If you want them especially crisp, keep the shaped rösti fairly thin rather than making them too chunky.
- A little grated hard cheese in the mixture would not hurt if you wanted a slightly richer version, though the simpler one has a lot going for it.