Ingredients

• 3 -4 potatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon plain flour (all purpose)
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter or 1 tablespoon margarine
• 1 teaspoon dried herbs (optional)
• 1 pinch nutmeg (optional) or 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (optional)
• 1 (125 g) can sweet corn, drained (optional)

Instructions

1. Peel and grate the potatoes and the onion into a small mixing bowl.

2. (I use the grating blade of my food processor but grating by hand works just as well.) Stir in the egg and the flour.

3. If the batter looks to runny add a little more flour- if it is too dry, add a splash of milk.

4. Season well with pepper and salt and any other optional ingredients.

5. Melt oil and butter together in a medium frypan and heat until sizzling.

6. You can now add the batter in one of two ways: Dad's Method- Add spoonfuls of batter to the pan to form circles about 8-10cm (4 inches) in diameter.

7. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

8. Cook in batches of 2 or 3 and keep warm on a plate in an oven set on a low temperature.

9. My Method- Tip all of the batter into the frypan and flatten it out with the back of a spoon so that it fills the whole pan evenly.

10. Cook on one side for about 5 minutes then invert a dinner plate over the top of the pan and tip the potato cake onto the plate.

11. Now, simply slide the cake back into the pan and cook on the other side for about 5 minutes.

12. When both sides are cooked, invert the potato cake onto the plate again and cut it into wedges.

13. Serve topped with mayonnaise, sour cream or ranch dressing and chopped chives or chopped green onions.