Rösti, a Swiss national dish

When I think of Swiss food, I mostly think of cheese – like cheese fondue and raclette and the Swiss cheese as such. Another thing is chocolate, it has a long tradition there as well. Also there are a lot of cakes that are typical for Switzerland, such as the “Zug Kirsch cake” (contains a lot of cherry schnapps, Audrey Hepburn used to love it) or the “Rüeblitorte” (basically a carrot cake).

So where was I supposed to start when I saw Tomateninsels blog event the other day? She is currently on a “vegetarian world tour” on her blog, presenting vegetarian recipes from a different country every month. February is all about Switzerland over at the Tomateninsel.

Obviously the rösti is a Swiss national dish as well – and it consists of potatoes, our Veggie of the Month! It just has to be my dish for Tomateninsel’s Switzerland month. So let’s get right into it!

 

 

 

 

 

Valais style Rösti

What you need:
700g potatoes
2 tbsp clarified butter
salt
pepper
8 slices Raclette cheese
salt
pepper

What you do:
Parboil the potatoes in salted water for 20 minutes. Rinse with cold water, allow to cool a few minutes, then peel the potatoes and let them cool completely before moving on to the next step.

Coarsely grate the potatoes into a big bowl.

Heat 1 tbsp of clarified butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes, spread them to cover the skillet’s bottom, slightly pressing with a spatula. Season with salt an pepper. Let it cook for ten minutes.

After 10 minutes, place a lid of a pan large enough to cover the rösti on top of the skillet and turn it around, so that the rösti sits on the lid.

Add 1 tbsp if clarified butter to the pan. When hot, carefully slide the rösti, cooked side up, back into the skillet (depending on the angle, securing the top end with a spatula to keep the rösti from flipping over). Cook for another 10 minutes. Divide the rösti in four pieces using a spatula. Place two slices of Raclette cheese on top of each piece, let it melt a little, then serve.

Tip!

Parboil the potatoes the day before you plan to cook a rösti. That way, you have cooled potatoes when you want to start making dinner.