Parmesan potato pancake is an easy Christmas side dish made with Yukon gold potatoes, Parmesan cheese and fresh basil, ready in 55 minutes. That makes it a simple holiday brunch or potluck dish, since it fries as one big golden cake. Slice it like pie for Christmas morning or Sunday dinner.
Squeeze the grated potato hard in a kitchen towel before anything else goes in. There is no egg and no flour holding this together, so wet potato steams instead of crisping and the cake breaks on the flip.
One tablespoon of oil is all the recipe gives you for a twelve inch pan. That is a thin film under two pounds of potato, and the cake has to release cleanly to be turned, so keep the bottle to hand.
Parmesan Potato Pancake
Course: Breakfast, Side DishCuisine: American, ItalianDifficulty: Medium4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalGrated potato wrung dry and mixed with softened onion, garlic, Parmesan and fresh basil, pressed into a hot pan and fried on both sides until golden. Sliced like a cake at the table.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
1 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
Directions
- Cook the onion: Warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a 12 inch nonstick pan over medium high heat. Cook the onion about 4 minutes until it turns translucent, add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more, then season with the salt and pepper. Tip it all into a large bowl and keep the pan.
- Grate and squeeze: Grate the potatoes in a food processor fitted with the grating disc. Wring the water out of them in a kitchen towel, then add them to the onion with the Parmesan and basil. Stir and taste for seasoning.
- Fry the first side: Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the same pan over high heat. When it is hot but not smoking, add the potato mixture and press it down firmly and evenly. Drop the heat to medium and cook 12 to 15 minutes, until the bottom is golden and the pancake moves in the pan.
- Flip and finish: Put a large plate over the pancake and turn it out of the pan. Set the pan back over high heat, slide the pancake in uncooked side down and cook another 12 to 15 minutes, until golden. Slide it onto a platter, slice and serve.
Notes
- Add more oil to the pan if it looks dry before the second side goes in, since a 12 inch cake needs a full film underneath to release.
FAQs
Why is there basil in a Christmas recipe?
Half a cup of fresh basil is a lot, and it is what makes this Italian rather than a plain rosti. It also blackens in a hot pan, so stir it through at the last moment rather than early. Parsley or chives work if basil feels wrong in December.
Do I need a food processor to grate the potatoes?
The grating disc makes short work of two pounds, but the large holes of a box grater give the same result. What matters is that the shreds are long rather than mushy. Grate straight into a towel so you can wring them out right away.
How do I flip it without it breaking?
Wait until the pancake moves freely in the pan, which is the signal that the bottom has set. Cover it with a plate larger than the pan, invert the whole thing in one movement, then slide it back in. Doing it over the sink saves the floor.
Can I make it ahead?
Not really, because a potato cake softens as it sits and the crust goes leathery when reheated. Grate and squeeze the potatoes an hour before and keep them covered. For a breakfast you genuinely can build the night before, try this holiday sausage strata.
Is this breakfast or a side dish?
Both, and that is the useful part of it. At breakfast it sits under a fried egg, and at dinner it replaces roast potatoes beside meat. A wedge next to a perfect roast turkey works as well as it does at nine in the morning.
