A little hip Swiss dish...

After preparing the fabulous Italian pizza last week, I thought I would add another international 'hip' friendly dish, and this time, its one very close to my heart and tummy! My mouth is watering just thinking about it! My mum is from Switzerland, and as kids, my brother and I would head off to school in the UK with the most outrageously embarrassing packed lunches - smelly meat, cheeses, all sorts of goodies, which at the time we thought were just not normal, and of course, as children, its hard to be different. Looking back, I know all my class friends would have actually been really jealous, because the delights my mum created, were just brilliant. How sad.

Whenever I see my mum, which sadly, as I now live in Australia, is not that often, I get her to head straight to the kitchen, and cook me a potato Rösti. Yes, it is just potato, but my word, I love it, or perhaps more to the point, I love the way she cooks it. Depending on where you travel to in Switzerland, you are likely to come across a different version of Rösti. You can have Zurich Rösti with onion and cumin, or Emmentaler Rösti with Emmental cheese, or Jura Rösti with onion, bacon and Gruyere cheese, and so many more, but my favourite is the simple Basel Rösti with sliced onion. 

Basel Rösti - sliced onion

And here's how to make it - its so easy:

Boil potatoes leaving the skin on and then leave to cool. Locals say its best to do this the day before for a fuller flavour.

The next day, peel the skin off the potatoes which really should just slide off.

With a wide hole grater, grate roughly.

Add some oil / butter into a pan, add the potatoes and a pinch of salt.

Add any extras at this point (onions, bacon, pasta, etc)

Press the ingredients down into the pan and cover with a lid if you wish to let it brown.

Use a plate to flip the Rösti over a few times to ensure its cooked properly.

It should take around 15 minutes - cook until brown.

Rösti can be eaten as a side dish or as a meal in itself with a great salad. 

Oh yum, I think I need to make this now...enjoy.

Appenzeller Rösti - with bacon and Appenzeller cheese