Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Rosti (n) /roh-stee/ - anything shredded and fried in a portland basement

This falls under tasty and somewhat messy. It follows the rule that "even if you don't generally like something, it probably tastes good fried." If you like celeriac and radishes, so much the better.

Celeriac and Radish Rostis

Ingredients:

1 celeriac bulb (sub 3 large potatoes if you prefer)
1 bunch radishes (approximately 250g)
1 small bunch carrots (approximately 300g)

4 tbsp all-purpose flour
salt / pepper to taste
1 tbsp sprinkleable thyme
1 tbsp finely diced (or granulated) garlic

4 individual tbsp olive oil

Shred carrots, radish bulbs, and peeled celeriac bulb into a good sized bowl. Squeeze excess moisture out of mixture (use the bottom of another bowl, or squeeze handfuls of the mixture over the sink. Trust me, this helps). Mix flour and spices into the... mix. Take a picture.
Did you take your picture yet? Here's mine. Yours doesn't need to include a dish brush.

Prep a plate to receive the rostis by layering some paper towels on it. Add one tablespoon of the olive oil to a large, flat pan over medium-high heat. Create smallish patties of the shredded mixture and gingerly place them in the oil once the oil is warm (shimmery). Use a spatula or similar device or you may get injured and I may get sued. That would suck.

Take another picture.


Cook patties for approximately 3 minutes on each side, waiting until underside is brown and crispy before flipping. If you nudge one of the rostis and it moves easily in one piece, it is probably ready to flip.


These ones aren't quite ready to flip.


Here are some flipped rostis. Note the lovely brown color, like McDonald's hasbrowns. If they look like Denny's hashbrowns, you probably should have waited. Actually these ones have some burnt spots... maybe I waited too long? Nah, I like burnt spots.

Scoop out the rostis once they are finished on both sides and place them on the paper towels. Remove any excess bits if you are worried about them scorching, add more olive oil and more rostis, and repeat until the shredded mixture runs out.

Blot and serve. Serving suggestions: Some sort of creamy topping, such as sour cream or a creamy aoili, would be great. They are similar to potato pancakes, so if you have a preferred serving style for those, it should apply. The carrots will make them mildly sweet, maybe like sweet potato pancakes.
I had mine with an avocado aioli mixture, similar to the dipping sauce I use when eating artichokes, except with avocado.

The recipe is add ingredients to a bowl and mix. The ingredients are one avocado, two tablespoons of mayonaisse, a splash of soy sauce, a splash of balsamic vinegar, a few grinds of black pepper, a smidge of spicy mustard, and a tablespoon of diced garlic.


Mush up and enjoy.

This color indicates I added too much soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. The mayonaisse may have also been extraneous given the creaminess of the avocado. If you try it, let me know what you think.

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