ideas on a meal i'm planning

[maix27]

Hi Guys,

Not posted in food and drink before so be kind!

I'm cooking a meal at the weekend for the lady and i need some advice.

My plan is this: potato rosti on a bed of spinich blanched in balsamic with caramalised onion and goats cheese on top.

Could this be better adapted by changing any of the ingredents?

Also, my rosti's aren't very good! What's the best way to do them?

Cheers for any advice in advance!

[Bullett]

I think the balsamic will overpower the spinich. I'd probably wilt it in a pan with some salt/pepper and mustard seeds and olive oil.

Rosti is a tricky one. Tastes great if you get them right but a pain in the arse and require too much effort. How about sliced roast potatos, 5-10 minutes pre-boil as whole pots then slice then across and roast with Garlic.

[Akers]

Bullett said:

Rosti is a tricky one. Tastes great if you get them right but a pain in the arse and require too much effort.

Agreed. How about making/buying some puff pastry and making a tart/tartlettes instead?

[Mobile Chicane]

I'm sure you can buy frozen potato rösti.

Concentrate your culinary genius on the caramelised onion and cheese part (try rolling it in chopped nuts - yum).

[grumbledoak]

maix27 said:

My plan is this: potato rosti on a bed of spinich blanched in balsamic with caramalised onion and goats cheese on top.

Hmmm.

Rosti are harder than you'd guess; I seldom get them right. If you are looking for easy you might want to reconsider. (They also cry out for a rare steak on the top and a rich gravy, but maybe that's just me.) Also, it isn't obvious how you'll cook the caramelised onion and goats cheese bit, then assemble it all as a nice plate.

If the onion and goats cheese is due to her being a vegetablist I'd consider a) dumping her or b) a puff-pastry-based onion and goats cheese tart, which is much easier to make. You could put the spinach on the side.


ETA- I'm agreeing with Akers, not ignoring him. Hope that was clear.

Edited by grumbledoak on Friday 12th February 20:13

[hornetrider]

I saw some very nice looking rosti (not frozen) in Waitrose yesterday. In the Valentines section iirc

[bazking69]

It sounds quite a complicated dish if you haven't mastered it. For someone who doesn't seem confident in what they are doing I'd say it could go quite wrong.

I was taught KISS at school. Keep it simple sunshine!

[maix27]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I think i may go and check out waitrose, cheers for the pointer.

I was planning on putting the caramalised onion (i've made loads of this in the past so no problems there then popping it under the grill for a minute or two to melt the cheese.

I was planning on putting a steak on top of mine, but you're right, the missus is a veggie.

Too late to change plans now but will look for fresh, pre-made Rosti.

[maix27]

So, post-event brief

It actually went really well. I spent ages Saturday looking at Rosti recipes until I found one I was comfortable with and it worked perfectly.

I had a steak marinated with white wine, garlic and parsley on the rosti with caramelised onions and I did the original meal above with spinach and goats cheese for the missus.

Was quite surprised in the end!

Made a pear crumble for dessert too, which was also amazing.

All in all some good brownie points!