Clarified-Butter Bratkartoffeln with Caraway, Marjoram and Fried Egg

Method

1. Scrub the potatoes and put them, skins on, in a 18 cm pot with cold water to cover by 2 cm. Bring to the boil over high heat, turn down to medium heat and simmer for 20 min, until a knife goes in with slight resistance.

   Add in this stepWaxy potatoes 500 g

   high heat→medium heat

2. Let them steam dry, peel while warm, then chill for at least 1 h, ideally overnight. Cold potatoes have a drier, starchy surface that fries to a far crisper crust. Cut into even 5 mm slices and press them dry with paper towels.

3. Cut the bacon into thick lardons and slice the onion. Fry the bacon in a dry 28 cm pan over medium heat for 4 min, until the fat runs and it browns, then add the onion, turn down to medium-low heat and cook for 5 min more, until sweet and golden brown. Set aside on a plate.

   Add in this stepThick-cut smoked bacon, in lardons 100 gOnion, thinly sliced 1

   medium heat→medium-low heat

4. Frying pan: 28 cm. Wipe the pan, add the clarified butter and heat over medium-high heat. Unlike ordinary butter it doesn't burn at high heat, so you get buttery flavour and real crispness. Lay the potatoes in a single layer (if '×2', in two batches with half the clarified butter each), leave them untouched for 7 min until deep golden underneath, then turn and fry for 6 min more.

   Add in this stepClarified butter (or ghee) 2 tbsp

   medium-high heat

5. Bring all the potatoes back into the pan with the bacon and onion. Rub the caraway between your palms to crack it, then add it with the marjoram, salt and pepper and toss over medium heat for 2 min. Once the spices coat the potatoes, turn off the heat and keep warm.

   Add in this stepCaraway seeds ½ tspDried marjoram ½ tspFlaky salt ¾ tspFreshly ground black pepper to taste

   medium heat

6. Melt the butter in another 20 cm pan over medium-low heat and crack in the eggs one by one. Cook them gently for 3 min, until the whites are completely set and opaque and the yolks still soft. If the edges of the whites brown and crackle, your heat is too high.

   Add in this stepButter (for the eggs) 1 tspEggs 2

   medium-low heat

7. Pile the potatoes onto warm plates, top each with a fried egg and scatter with parsley. Break the yolk so it runs into the potatoes like a sauce.

   Add in this stepFlat-leaf parsley, chopped 2 tbsp