These rösti-adjacent potato cakes with capers, which crisp up beautifully at the edges, are an absolute win. I would eat them by themselves standing up at the cooker, but when they’re draped with a little smoked trout, creme fraiche and dill, and served alongside a light salad, they make for an elegant dinner for two. Some shaved fennel (with its frilly leaves) in a lemony dressing wouldn’t go amiss here, either.
Smoked trout and crispy potato cakes with capers, caraway and dill
Prep 15 min
Cook 10 min
Serves 2
400g waxy potatoes (I like alouette)
1 tsp flaky sea salt
5 tsp capers - 3 tsp roughly chopped, the rest finely chopped
1 tsp fresh dill, chopped, plus extra to garnish
5 heaped tbsp full-fat creme fraiche
½ tsp caraway seeds
1 medium egg
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp butter
100g smoked trout
Juice of ½ lemon
Green salad, to serve (optional)
Wash the potatoes, but don’t bother peeling them. Now’s the time to use the grating attachment on your food processor, which will grate the potatoes in seconds; otherwise do so by hand. Tip the grated potatoes into a bowl with the sea salt, mix well, then leave to sit for five minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the roughly chopped capers, dill and creme fraiche in a small bowl, and set aside.
Tip the potatoes on to a clean tea towel, then wrap and twist it over the sink to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Return the potatoes to the bowl, and stir in the caraway seeds, finely chopped capers and egg.
Heat half the olive oil and half the butter in a large frying pan. When the butter starts foaming, add heaped tablespoons of the potato mixture, flattening each to about 1cm-thick and the size of a jam-jar lid (you will most likely need to fry them in batches – I can fit five in my largest pan). Fry on a medium heat for three minutes on each side, until crisp and golden brown all over, adding the remaining oil and butter to the pan as needed. Transfer the cooked potato cakes to a plate lined with kitchen paper, and keep warm in a low oven if need be.
Serve the potato cakes topped with the creme fraiche mixture, and divide the smoked trout equally between them. Squeeze over a little lemon juice, garnish with dill, and serve hot with a green salad alongside, if you wish.
