Bratkartoffeln (German Fried Potatoes with Bacon and Onion)

Ingredients

• 1 kg potato, waxy
• 150 g bacon, cut into short strips
• 2 onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 30 g butter
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper

Method

1. 1.

   Boil and cool the potatoes — Boil the potatoes in their skins in salted water for 20-25 minutes, until a knife meets only slight resistance in the middle. Drain and leave them to cool completely — overnight in the fridge is best, as cold potatoes slice cleanly and fry crisp.

2. 2.

   Slice the potatoes — Peel the cooled potatoes and cut them into slices about 5 mm thick. Keep them in one layer on a board rather than a heap, so they do not steam each other.

3. 3.

   Render the bacon — Heat the oil in a heavy 28 cm skillet over medium heat and fry the bacon for 4-5 minutes until the fat has run and the edges are crisp. Lift the bacon out and set it aside, leaving the fat in the pan.

4. 4.

   Crisp the potatoes undisturbed — Add the butter and lay the potato slices in a shallow, barely overlapping layer. Now leave them alone for 7-8 minutes over medium-high heat: the crust only forms if you stop stirring.

5. 5.

   Turn and add the onion — Turn the potatoes over in sections with a wide spatula, scatter in the onion and caraway, and fry for another 8-10 minutes, turning only two or three more times, until the onion is sweet and golden and most discs carry a lacquered crust.

6. 6.

   Season and serve from the pan — Return the bacon to the pan, season with the salt and pepper, toss through the parsley and serve straight from the skillet, with a fried egg on top if you are making a meal of it.