Heydays at the June Motel: Beach Town Classics is a newly published Canadian cookbook celebrating the retro-inspired restaurant and motel by the same names. Located on the shores of Lake Huron in Sauble Beach, Ontario you almost expect to feel a warm breeze wash over you as you peruse the pages of photographs. Beach and pool life are celebrated with food styled on sand, wood, and natural fibers plus dishes and tiles in tones of turquoise, copper, and gold.
Heydays, the restaurant, reinvents coastal classics and elevates comfort food. It’s a place to come together with friends and family to enjoy their mouth-watering signature buttered Hot Lobster Rolls and Charred Broccoli Caesar Salad or Old Bay Fried Chicken and béchamel-covered Classic Mac and Cheese. They balance nostalgia and modern elegance with panache.
I have a few hundred cookbooks but I can always find room for one more if I think I’ll make several recipes within. Hot Smoked Salmon Fishcakes, Shaved Fennel and Mushroom Salad, Lobster Bisque, Vegan Mushroom TLT, Moules Marinières, and their “Key” Lime Parfaits are on my must-try list from this cookbook. I’ll publish the “Key” Lime Parfaits in the next post. But, let me start off by sharing their Two-Potato Rösti. Enjoy and ask for the book at your favourite bookseller.
PrintHeydays’ Two-Potato Rösti
Hints for flipping the rösti. Let it cook for longer than you think it should. The bottom will get crispy while slowly cooking off the water in the potato. Once nicely brown on the bottom when you lift it with the edge of a spatula, it’s time to flip it. Commit and go for it. And maybe use a non-stick, low-edged pan while you are at. These also make a great base for eggs benedict!
- Yield: 2 to 4 servings 1x
- Category: lunch
- Method: frying
- Cuisine: Canadan
Ingredients
2½ teaspoons kosher salt
3 Tablespoons salted butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
7 ounces hot-smoked fish
½ cup full-fat (14%) sour cream
1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
Instructions
1 Using the large holes of a cheese grater, grate the potatoes on their long side (if you get some smaller strands of potato, that is completely fine, but aim to get some nice long strands). Place in a large bowl. Stir the salt into the potatoes and let them sit for about 10 minutes (we are extracting water from the potatoes, and the salt does a bang-up job doing that).
2 One handful at a time, ball up the grated potato and squeeze out as much excess water as you can and then transfer to a new bowl.
3 Place a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Melt the butter in the oil, and heat until the butter gets frothy. Arrange all of the grated potato evenly over the base of the pan and, using a rubber spatula, gently press it into a pancake-like form until it’s no more than a ½-inch thick. Cook until the top of the grated potatoes becomes translucent, about 10 minutes.
4 Big moment here: it’s time for the flip. It is most exhilarating if done by tossing the rösti into the air and catching it back in the pan. We usually do this over the sink in case of any accidents.
Otherwise, flip it with the help of two spatulas. Either way, it’s a bit tricky. Good luck and have fun!
5 Once safely flipped, cook the other side until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Gently slide the rösti onto a cutting board and, using a sharp knife, cut it into four equal pieces.
6 Garnish each slice of rösti with 1.7 ounces of the smoked fish, topped with 2 Tablespoons of the sour cream and a good sprinkling of chives. Please enjoy!
Keywords: Heydays’ Two-Potato Rösti
Note: This cookbook was a gift to me from the publisher and the recipe was excerpted from Heydays at the June Motel: Beach Town Classics by Freddy Laliberté and Evan Baulch, with Katie Laliberté and Emma Baulch. ©2024 Home Phone Holdings Inc and 2745690 Ontario Ltd. Published by House of Anansi Press www.houseofanansi.com
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