Rösti - A Switzerland Speciality

As promised in my previous post, Presenting you the Switzerland's very own "Rösti". Generally pronounced as "Rose-tee", the actual pronunciation would be "Roesh-ti" where you have to twist your tongue a bit when you pronounce 'o' and 'e'. Before going to the recipe, a few facts on Rösti (Ok you know I love to talk, even when blogging! ;) )

Potatoes, we all know, is one of the most versatile vegetable (or rather root) that has a special place in every other cuisine over the world. Switzerland is not far behind in honoring this yummy tuber ecstasy (as I call it!). Fresh potatoes are hand-picked by the farmers and used to make the delicious Rösti for the entire family. It is generally compared with "Hashbrown" but I beg to differ because both of them are different and tasty in their own way.

Ideally Rösti is a complete meal by itself; you can have it with a sauce of your choice. I prefer to have it as such for lunch without any accompaniment, it tastes wonderful! It is usually served in a plate or in the pan itself, in which it is cooked.

The recipe for Rösti also varies based on each Kanton. For 26 Kantons in Switzerland, you can find over 30 different recipes! First time I had Rösti in an Albis restaurant, I could not finish the entire portion because it was loaded with cheese and fat and I had to skip eating for next 2 days! ;) The idea of making it at home was nagging me since long, as I can have a control over the amount of butter I use. Now the time has come! And the best part was the first attempt itself turned out so good!

Since this is a speciality from Switzerland Cuisine, Rösti finds its way to EC's WYF: Speciality Food event.

Rösti
Makes 1 portion

What we need:
Potatoes - 3, medium sized
Butter - 3 tbsp.
Salt - according to taste
Pepper powder - according to taste

How to do:
1. Boil the potatoes in their skin. Cool them and peel the skin.
It would be better if you can boil them the previous night and let them cool. Potatoes must be firm and cooked and should not get mashed.
2. Use the bigger side of your grater and grate the potatoes into thin strips.
When using the grater, use only forward motion to grate the potatoes. i.e, Go from up to down, start again from the upper part without retracing. This way the strips don't break.
3. Season them with salt and pepper and give a gentle mix with a fork or slotted spoon taking care not to break them.
4. Melt the butter in the pan. Once the butter gets melted, swirl the pan so that it gets coated with butter all over including the rim.
5. Transfer the grated potatoes to the pan and let them sit for 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Now, pat them all together to make a pan cake shape and increase the heat to medium-high.
7. After about 4 to 5 minutes, (this is when the lower part starts to turn golden brown) cover the pan with a plate.
8. Hold the plate and reverse the pan. Transer the entire stuff to the plate. Now you will see that the bottom part is nice golden brown.

Don't worry if the shape disintegrates a bit now; it is usual. After putting it back to the pan, you can pat them again to bring back to shape. Grated potatoes are usually sticky and will happily sit together when patted!
9. Now slide the potatoes gently back to the pan and let this side cook for another 5 to 6 minutes on medium-high.
10. If you desire you can do the flipping again using the plate. Or else slide the Rösti to the plate and get ready to serve!!
Variations:
1. You can use raw potatoes (by just peeling and not boiling them). They have a completely different taste.
2. You can also use butter with herbs (what we call here Krauterbutter), add onions, apples and fresh herbs like parsley, basil, thyme.
3. Those who eat non-veg, can add diced bacon to the mixture.
4. If you would like to incorporate cheese, transfer the cooked Rösti to the baking dish, top with grated cheese and bake it for 4 to 5 minutes before serving.
5. For Berner style Rösti, add a tbsp of milk, in Step 9 and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

Readymade Rösti from the Supermarkets come really handy in many times; I use it to make any recipe that calls for mashed potatoes like Bonda's, tikkis etc.

Wanna try some?

Have a wonderful weekend. See you all soon with another interesting post! Till then, happy cooking and happy Blogging! :)