Ardèche potato cake

PHOTO: SIMON LAMBERT
PHOTO: SIMON LAMBERT

This potato cake is one of  my favourites. 

You could serve this simply with a frisée salad or a perfectly grilled steak and you might even find it transcends you all the way back to Paris, with the aromas and flavours so reminiscent of  France.

Serves 6-8

Prep time 20 min

Cooking time 15 min

Skill: Moderate

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1kg potatoes, peeled

3 onions, sliced thinly

3 spring onions, cut into 1 cm slices

3 Tbsp chopped chives

1 and ½ tsp salt

½ tsp cracked black pepper

Olive oil

Method

Grate the potatoes and add to the bowl with the beaten eggs, add the remaining ingredients except the oil. Stir well to combine.

Heat a 25cm non-stick fry pan with enough oil to generously cover the base of the pan. Heat over a moderate heat until hot.

Carefully pour in the egg and potato mixture. Once all in the fry pan, press down the potato mixture with the back of a spoon or spatula so that the cake presses together and the sides are tidy. Cook for about 7-8 minutes, moving the pan to keep the potato cake from sticking.

Now for the tricky part!

Remove the pan from the heat, place a large plate over the frypan, hold it with a dry cloth and carefully but firmly turn over the potato cake onto the plate. Return the pan to the heat and slide the potato cake back into the pan to continue cooking the other side for a further 7-8 minutes.

Sprinkle with a few sea salt flakes and cut into wedges.