When planning my HEIDI menu, it was very important to me that at least one recipe include goat cheese. Heidi and her grandfather are always drinking goat’s milk and eating cheese, and, along with soft white rolls, these are the foods mentioned most frequently in the book.

I toyed with the idea of making my own goat cheese, but most stores carry ultra-pastuerized, which is no good for making cheese. Instead I decided to incorporate store bought cheese into my side dish. I already knew I wanted to make a potato/cheese side dish, since Heidi eats them in the winter in Dörfli, so I started researching and discovered potato rosti.

Potato rosti are a traditional Swiss side dish (Heidi lives in the Swiss Alps). They’re essentially hash brown patties, sometimes made with fillings or toppings. I don’t need much of an excuse to make fried potatoes, and I was extra pleased when I found a potato rosti recipe with goat cheese and leeks by Serena from Domesticate Me. The only big change I made was swapping out the thyme for oregano, since I had some leftover from making baked walleye. It turned out amaaazing! I loved how the oniony sweetness of the leeks and creaminess of the warm cheese offset the oil of the fried potatoes.

With a few key tips, this recipe is really easy to make:

• If using cast iron, make sure it’s very well-seasoned. Otherwise your potatoes will fuse to the pan, and there’s NO WAY you’re flipping that thing in one piece.
• When adding your layers, move fast. Each side only needs to cook for a few minutes. You don’t want it to burn while you’re arranging leeks.

Enjoy!

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