Saturday, March 10, 2012

Rösti (Swiss Fried Potatoes)

Growing up in a large family,
potatoes were a staple in our diet.
Mom and Dad grew huge patches
of spuds 
and kept them all winter long in the 
root cellar.

Some time ago we ate at a Swiss Restaurant
and they served a huge platter of Rösti.
I wasn't surprised that this reminded me of
my Swiss Mennonite roots and
how "fried potatoes" regularly
appeared on the family supper table at home.
Mother simply fried the, left-over from a previous meal,
cooked potatoes with a bit of salt and pepper and sometimes
some diced onion.
And, of course, this was fried with lard as was almost
everything in those days!
The well seasoned cast iron frying pan was the utensil of choice for
making this "stir fry" version!

The Rösti is basically the same thing except that
the potato/onion (and sometimes bits of bacon) are 
pressed into a "cake" and cooked in a hot buttered frying pan for approx.
10 minutes on each side until crispy brown and 
served in wedges.

I made this to go with our fried eggs and sausage for breakfast
this morning.
I need a bit more practice to keep the potatoes pressed into a 
round disc but they were very tasty!
Of course, a cast iron frying pan and some lard might have
made them turn out a bit better?

I love rediscovering simple hearty recipes that remind me of home. 

A recipe I found on-line:
6 Potatoes - cooked till tender and peeled
1 onion - finely chopped
4 sliced Bacon - finely chopped (optional)
1/4 Cup butter or lard
Salt and Pepper to taste
Grate potatoes coarsely, add onions and bacon.  Heat fat in skillet, add potato mixture and lightly pat mixture into a round cake with spatula.
Fry over low heat until underside is crusty and well browned.  Flip over and fry gently until second side is also crusty (about 10 min. on each side).  Turn out onto a heated platter, cut into wedges and serve.  Simple as that!


Next I would like to try the "Spanish" version of a hearty potato dish called Spanish Tortilla. 

What are some of your favourite international versions/experiences of traditional potato dishes?

Till next time..... cookin' up some spuds!

3 comments:

  1. Fried potatoes are one of my favourite comfort foods. Hubby's are potato pancakes. Thanks for another yummy looking recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  2. We eat a lot of potatoes at our house, and I'm always looking for new recipes to please the family. This look just wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mmmm I've made this, but not for a very long time. They look delicious!

    ReplyDelete

Leaping into February!

  Just turned the calendar page for February and LOVE the caption for this LOVE month on the doorstep. ...  and, there were tulips at the gr...