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Light lunch for a city summer

August 21, 2012 5 Comments Filed Under: Austria, British food, Budget recipes, Food, Recipes, Vegetarian

What I eat is dictated by the weather and this weekend, despite the muggy suffocating heat in London, I decided to stand by my Aga and cook. My parents had come over and I had no food in the house.
But I do have food in the garden. My dad and I dug up some of the potatoes including the purple skinned heritage spuds. I had plenty of courgette flowers, some tiny cherry tomatoes, a few herbs flowering and going to seed. What can I make?
I’m often inspired by colour when it comes to composing a menu. The purple and green spring onions I have in my fridge and the mauve potatoes….a Swiss rosti? garnished by the purple flowers of Oregano. Where did that idea come from? The last time I had rosti was on the Annapurna trek in Nepal, where every teahouse served it for dinner.
So I grated and chopped. My parents waited. The sweat dripped and the onions sizzled. The air was still as I fried. Even the activity of the flies and wasps seemed half-assed. I had squeezed the liquid out of the strands of potato and onion, the pale green and the purple threads (I kept the skins on). A rosti must be as dry as possible. I was dubious about this rosti however, I’d never made one before. Would it be raw inside?  Does raw potato straw just cook?
I served my purple and green rosti with pale chartreuse coloured cucumber salad and cream, some stuffed baked courgette flowers, a glass of teensy tomatoes picked before blight hits, and sprinkled on the herb flowers.
A clinking of knives and forks, scrapings and sloppings were heard. Then a voice, my mum: “Can I have some more?” My dad and daughter eyed the remaining rostis, awaiting seconds.
I tasted. A rosti has a textural mouthfeel. The crispy strands on the outside were crunchy and satisfying, the insides perfectly cooked. I always want crisps, salty and oily, when it’s hot. The rosti fulfils all of those needs and more.
I made a cocktail of Rhubarb flavoured Chase vodka, frozen flower icecubes and soda water to wash it all down. The parents were impressed.
Pudding was a plate of Smarties.
Print

Rosti Recipe:

Course Lunch
Cuisine Swiss
Keyword Potatoes, Purple onions, Purple potatoes, Rosti
Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 5 purple spring onions
  • 5 green spring onions
  • 6 purple skinned potatoes
  • 6 white waxy potatoes, peeled
  • 3 eggs
  • 100 g of Parmesan, grated
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Instructions

  • Put the spring onions and potatoes through the food processor grater, or grate them by hand.
  • Putting a handful in your palm, squeeze any liquid out of it and put into a bowl. Continue until you have squeezed dry all the mixture.
  • Then mix in three eggs and the parmesan. Season to taste.
  • Squeezing a small handful of mixture, place it in a frying pan of hot olive oil. Press it down with a fish slice. Continue to add small mounds of mixture to the pan, leaving space for pressing down between potato patties.
  • Allow the bottom to go golden then carefully flip over the rosti.
  • Fry until both sides are golden.

Print

Cucumber and cream salad

This is like a really sinful version of raitha, the yoghurt and cucumber salad. Serves 5 or just one person, in front of the telly, bowl in lap. Use a mandoline. Really. Buy one here. I've got an old wooden French one.
Course Salad
Cuisine French
Keyword Cucumber and cream salad
Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 3 cucumbers, peeled, finely sliced into rounds on a mandoline
  • Good sea salt.
  • 300 ml double cream

Instructions

  • Cover the cucumber slices with salt.
  • Cover and put in the fridge.
  • Then drain off the salt.
  • The cucumber are seasoned and crispy.
  • Put in a nice bowl and cover with cream.
  • Add a sprig of herbs or flowers.
Baby tomatoes from my garden

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Comments

  1. Magnolia Verandah

    August 22, 2012 at 7:47 am

    Rosti's sound good. Must admit I have never made them. Zucchini flowers sound good baked to. I have only had them fried. Much to try!

    Reply
  2. Kensalgreens

    August 22, 2012 at 7:55 am

    It was a scorcher of a weekend! The whole meal looks delicious but what did you stuff the flowers with?

    Reply
  3. theundergroundrestaurant

    August 22, 2012 at 7:58 am

    I stuffed them with cream and parmesan but I have to say they weren't as good baked.
    Kensalgreens….great name

    Reply
  4. Ricky Panesar

    August 22, 2012 at 9:34 pm

    The Rostis look really nice…

    Reply
  5. Ricky Panesar

    August 22, 2012 at 9:34 pm

    The Rostis look really nice…

    Reply

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MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

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