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Potato and taro rosti with smushy peas

This recipe is my effort to create a fritter/pancake/rosti that works as a stand-alone meal, one that feels hearty, and not a snack. I made it with potato and taro, but the idea is that you could use any starchy root vegetables. Sweet potatoes, yams, cassava would be excellent stand-ins for the taro.

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A potato pancake topped with mashed avocado, drizzled with sauce, and garnished with chopped cilantro on a white plate.

There’s no egg, but the moisture from the grated onion combines with the glutinous rice flour or potato starch to form a glue which not only holds the rosti together, but also gives it’s a nice chewy texture.

My favourite part of this recipe could be a “smushy” peas. Inspired by the mushy peas you would find on top of Harry’s Cafe de Wheels pies in Sydney, I find smushed peas totally crave-able. They look vibrant, yes, but they are also creamy and sweet, with a lively savoriness that keeps me coming back for more. I don’t like my peas ‘mushy’ but rather ‘smushed’, where they retain some texture (there’s a smushed peas recipe in Tenderheart where they are served with any roasted veg). I’ve seasoned them with five spice powder and red chili flakes but you could go more traditional with mint, or whatever soft herbs you have on hand.

Potato and taro rosti with smushy peas

Serves

Ingredients

225 g starchy potato such as russet or sebago, scrubbed
225 g taro (or sweet potato), skin removed
1 small onion, any colour, peeled
30 g glutinous (sweet) rice flour or potato starch
1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil
sea salt and black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
tahini, well stirred
chilli oil/crisp, well stirred

Smushy Peas

300 g frozen peas
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chilli pepper flakes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and black pepper

Instructions

Coarsely grate the potato, taro (or sweet potato) and onion using the largest holes on a box grater (or a food processor with a grate attachment, if you have one). Place the grated vegetables into a bowl and add the glutinous rice flour or potato starch, five spice powder, soy sauce, sesame oil and season sea salt and black pepper. Toss until the vegetables are evenly coated.
Heat a small frypan (about 6-inches) on medium high heat for 2 minutes. When hot, drizzle with olive oil and tilt the pan so the base is covered. Add half the fritter batter, and, using a spatula (a flexible fish spatula works well here), flatten the top and tuck in the sides. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook until the base is golden and crispy, about 3 minutes. Uncover and flip it over. Cook uncovered until golden and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and cook the remaining fritter.
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Add the peas and blanch until they are soft and bright green, about 2 minutes. Drain and rinse. Place the peas into a blender or small food processor and add the garlic, five spice powder, and red chili (pepper) flakes. Pulse or blend just until the peas are coarsely pureed - it should be chunky and not smooth. Stir in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
To serve, place the fritter on a plate and top each with 2 big dollops of the mushy peas. Drizzle over some tahini and chilli crisp/oil. Season with salt and black pepper, scatter over the herbs and serve.