Ingredients

• 800 g floury potatoesMaris Piper or King Edward; waxy stays dense and never goes fluffy
• 1 small onion
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 30 g butter
• 15 ml neutral oilwith the butter, which would burn alone over a twelve-minute fry
• 1 garlic clovegrated
• 120 g mature cheddargrated
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 10 g chives, finely choppedoptional

Method

1. 01

   Grate and salt

   Coarsely grate the potatoes and the onion into a bowl, toss with the fine salt and leave for 5 minutes. The salt pulls the water out so you can get rid of it.

   800 g floury potatoes · 1 tsp fine salt

2. 02

   Wring them dry

   Tip everything into the centre of a clean tea towel, gather it into a bundle and twist hard over the sink. Keep twisting until barely a drop comes out. You are aiming to remove a surprising amount of liquid, easily half a cup. This is the whole recipe: wet potato steams, dry potato crisps.

   Squeeze harder than feels reasonableNear half a cup of liquid from 800 g. Whatever stays behind turns to steam.

3. 03

   Season the raw mixture

   Loosen the squeezed potato with your fingers and mix through the onion powder and black pepper, so the inside of each cake is seasoned rather than just the crust.

   1/4 tsp onion powder · 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

4. 04

   Infuse the butter

   Melt the butter with the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over low heat, add the grated garlic and let it sit for about 20 seconds until it smells sweet but has taken no colour, then lift the garlic out with a spoon. You keep the perfume and avoid burnt specks. The oil raises the smoke point so the butter can take the longer fry.

   30 g butter · 15 ml neutral oil

5. 05

   Fry until crisp

   Raise the heat to medium and form four thin cakes directly in the pan, pressing them to about 1 cm. Cook for 5-7 minutes a side, and do not touch them in between. Flip only once a firm, deep golden crust has formed and the edges lift cleanly. Thin cakes cook through; thick ones stay raw in the middle.

   Thin cakes, about 1 cmThick ones brown outside long before the middle cooks.

   One flip onlyIf it sticks when you lift it, it is not ready. Another minute and it releases itself.

6. 06

   Melt the cheddar

   Scatter the cheddar over the cakes, cover the pan for 60-90 seconds off the direct heat and let it melt. Do this only once the potato is crisp. Cheese added earlier steams the crust away.

   120 g mature cheddar

7. 07

   Fry the eggs and serve

   Fry the eggs in a separate pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, set an egg on each hash brown, and finish with black pepper and the chives.

   4 large eggs