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1. Drop the potatoes into enough boiling water to cover them completely and cook briskly for about 10 minutes, or until the point of a knife can be inserted about 1 inch into a potato before meeting any resistance.
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2. Drain the potatoes. When cool enough to handle, peel them with a small, sharp knife, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
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3. Just before frying the potatoes grate them into long strips on the tearshaped side of a four-sided stand-up grater. Toss lightly with the salt.
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4. In a heavy 10-inch slope-sided skillet (preferably one with a nonstick cooking surface), heat the oil and butter over moderate heat until a drop of water flicked over them splutters and evaporates instantly. Drop in the potatoes and, with a spatula, spread them evenly in the pan.
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5. Fry uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes, using a spatula to gently lift up a side of the potatoes to check their color as they brown.
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6. When the underside of the potato cake is as brown as you can get it without letting it burn, place a plate upside down over the skillet.
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7. Grasping the skillet and plate firmly together, invert them quickly. Then carefully slide the potato cake, browned side up, back into the skillet.
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8. If you are not using a pan with a nonstick surface, add more butter and oil before returning the potatoes to the pan.
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9. Fry for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the bottom side of the potatoes is as evenly browned as the top and the edges are crisp.
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10. Slide the potato cake onto a heated platter and serve at once.
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NOTE: Rostipotatoes are often made with onions or bacon. Saute ½ cup of finely chopped onions in 3 tablespoons of butter until they are soft and transparent. Drop half the shredded potatoes into the skillet, pat them flat and smooth and spread the onions evenly over them before adding the remaining potatoes, patting them down as before. Or fry ½ cup of finely diced bacon until the bits are crisp, drain on paper towels and spread the bacon over half of the potatoes as described for the onions.
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