What is Rösti, you ask? It’s a Swiss dish of mostly potatoes formed into a large potato cake and fried. There’s a Wikipedia entry about it so I won’t go into all the details, but it’s on most of the menus around here at the traditional Swiss restaurants. I hadn’t really heard of it before we moved here, but potatoes fried in butter? Yes, please.

There are probably lots of different ways to make it, and there are lots of other things you can put in it. I’ve had it with cheese, and I know you can get it sometimes with herbs or meat included. I’ve seen a recipe with a fried egg on top. I made regular potato Rösti with no frills.

First you boil the potatoes. Oh, by the way, you’re supposed to use “waxy” potatoes. I was today-years-old when I learned that there are waxy potatoes and starchy potatoes. Waxy potatoes are more firm and starchy ones are more mushy. So, first you boil the (waxy) potatoes, skins on. Then you drain them and put them in the refrigerator and leave them overnight. The next day, you peel the potatoes, then grate them with a Rösti grater. If you don’t have the special grater, you can use a cheese grater like I did. My recipe called for mixing some salt and pepper into the grated potatoes. Then you melt some clarified butter in a skillet (or you can use regular butter or olive oil). Put the grated potatoes in, and let them fry for about 5 minutes while stirring them a bit. After that, shape them into a cake and let them cook on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes - watch the edges and when they get golden brown, it’s time to flip.

To flip, you put a plate over the skillet and flip it over so the cake lands on the plate. Add more clarified butter to the skillet and slide the cake back into the skillet with the browned side up. Let it cook on that side for 10-15 minutes until the bottom side is golden brown, and then slide it out onto a plate. Guten Apetit!