Tiroler Groestl

Groestl started as a way of using yesterday's boiled potatoes and roast meat, and it is still built the same way: potatoes and onions fried hard until the edges catch, beef or cured Speck cut in, caraway and marjoram, and a fried egg laid over the top. It comes to the table in the pan it was cooked in, usually with a bowl of salad beside it. It is a mountain dish, eaten at midday, and the version served in an alpine hut after a morning's walking is generally better than the same thing down in a valley town. Portions assume you have been outside for several hours.

What to look for

• The pan - served in the iron pan it was fried in, still hot.
• The crust - potato edges browned hard, which is the whole point of the dish.
• Speck or beef - cured bacon in some valleys, leftover roast beef in others.
• The egg - fried, laid on top, broken into the potatoes at the table.

When to go

Year-round, but it belongs to the walking and skiing seasons, when huts serve it from late morning until they shut in the afternoon. Mountain huts stop cooking early, often by three, and many close altogether between the seasons in spring and November. In valley towns it stays on menus all day and all year.

Practical notes

Made carelessly it manages to be greasy and dry at once, with steamed rather than crisped potatoes. It is very heavy for a warm day and sits badly before more climbing. Vegetarian versions exist but are usually just potatoes and cheese. Hut prices are high for what it is, which pays for getting the supplies up there.

Nearby

Huts across Tyrol serve it, and the cable cars above Innsbruck reach several within an hour.