Serve a pear chutney or salsa on the side of this, if you like.
250g (9oz) potatoes, Desirée or King Edward
salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tbsp groundnut oil, plus extra to deep-fry
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
80g (⅓ cup) clarified butter (see Scrambled eggs ‘magda’ on fried bread), or 80ml (⅓ cup) groundnut oil
4 eggs
40g (1½oz) tender baby spinach leaves, washed and drained
Peel the potatoes, then cut into fine julienne on a mandolin. Place in a salad bowl, without rinsing so that the starch is retained. Salt lightly and leave for 3 – 4 minutes.
Combine the 3 tbsp groundnut oil, the wine vinegar and a little salt and pepper to make a vinaigrette.
To make the Darphin potatoes, use 4 small frying pans, about 10 cm (4in) in diameter if you have them; otherwise, use one large pan. Heat the clarified butter or oil in the pan(s). Squeeze the potatoes in a cloth to dry. Put them into the pan(s) and flatten into uniform cake(s), pressing them with a palette knife. Cook over a medium heat for 3 – 4 minutes, until golden brown, then turn them over with the palette knife and cook the other side for 3 – 4 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper.
Heat the groundnut oil for deep-frying in a suitable pan and cook the eggs to your liking (see Crunchy fried eggs). Drain on kitchen paper.
Delicately mix the spinach leaves into the vinaigrette. If you’ve made a single, large Darphin, cut into portions with scissors. Put a potato cake on each plate and top with a fried egg. Arrange the dressed spinach around the eggs and the potatoes.