Bird’s nest potatoes
By Simon Holst
This recipe has been popular in the Holst family for more than 40 years.
A food processor makes light work of grating the raw potatoes and a large electric frypan will do a great job of cooking them (you will need a large pan unless you are just cooking for one or two people).
Ingredients
- One large potato per person
- Enough oil for frying
Method
1. Scrub, then grate a large all-purpose or floury potato for each person.
2. Pile the grated potato in the centre of a tea towel. Squeeze the tea towel to remove most of the liquid from the shredded potato.
3. Heat a little canola or olive oil in a very hot frypan, then drop handfuls of potato into the pan. Flatten each cake lightly, but do not pack the shreds too tightly.
4. Turn cakes over when they are golden brown, adding more oil when cooking the second side if necessary.
Note: Work fast, putting the potato into the pan soon after grating, or it will turn brown while standing.
Make small potato cakes using spoonfuls of grated potato and top them with sour cream and smoked salmon once they’ve cooled for a quick nibble to enjoy with drinks.