Swiss rosti (a.k.a. fried potatoes)
Ahhh… the mystery of European cuisine. I always thought that only professionally trained chefs could make Swiss rosti until I found out it was just fried potatoes. Amazing how Europeans refer to Asian cuisine as “exotic” and how we Asians, in turn, are awed by their seemingly sophisticated food. When, in fact…
Anyway… so I made Swiss rosti for two nights in a row. The first time wasn’t too great because the chopped onions got too brown but, the following night, it was just right.
I checked out some food sites before I embarked on my Swiss rosti adventure. And it appears that Swiss rosti does not only come plain but may include bacon or chopped vegetables. Well, another time. I wanted to learn the technique first so the simpler, the better.
To make Swiss rosti, boil some potatoes — the kind you’d make into French fries or potato salad; not the kind used for making mashed potatoes. How long should they be boiled? Well, that depends on how large they are. But they shouldn’t be too tender. After about 8 minutes of boiling, pierce the center of a potato with a sharp pointed knife. There should be some resistance near the center.
Cool the potatoes (some say overnight) then peel off the skin and grate. A coarse grate is ideal. Stir some salt and lots of freshly ground pepper into the grated potatoes and set aside.
Chop one or two white onions.
Heat a few tablespoonfuls of butter in a frying pan (a non-stick pan will make the job a lot easier). Cook the chopped onion(s) for about 15 seconds, add the potatoes to the pan and stir lightly to blend. Using a spatula, flatten the mixture to about a quarter of an inch thick. Cook until the underside is lightly browned.
Slide the rosti to a plate. Place another plate over it and flip. Return the rosti to the frying pan and cook the other side until lightly browned as well.
Serve at once. Sprinkle with grated cheese for best results.
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There’s a similar side dish in Indonesia that they call “perkedel” They peel the potatoes, cut in cubes and deep fry. After cooling, the potatoes are mashed and mixed with corned beef or pre-cooked ground beef and onions, salt, black pepper. The mixture are then made into balls and pressed in between the palms of the hands up to 1/2″ thick. These are then dipped in beaten eggs and deep-fried until a golden brown
Hhmmm, it looks so yummy! I’m gonna try this recipe I hope it’s simple just the way I hoped it to be. Thanks!
Rey, sounds like croquettes? I did some fish croquettes a while back. Am not a fan of corned beef but ground beef and spices would be great.
Kookie, I just saw your brownies. Looks delicious!
This reminds me of a favorite Middle Eastern dish I’ve had in a restaurant called “A Thousand and One Nights”. It’s basically cubed potatoes, par-broiled, then sauteed in garlic-infused extra virgin olive oil, until they’re a deep golden brown color, then sprinkled with A LOT of chopped coriander/cilantro. Fresh lemon juice is squeezed liberally unto the potato-garlic-coriander/cilantro mixture right before plating the dish. It’s really yummy and so easy to cook!
even with liver eggs
hi sassy! I haven’t perfected my rosti yet. I’ve cooked this twice, first using boiled, peeled russet potatoes; the second attempt was boiling potatoes with skin on then peeling off afterwards. I was thinking the skin would prevent the potato from soaking up too much water. The second came out better than the first but I got too impatient and put it on high heat… Cook’s Illustrated (mar 07) recommends skipping the boiling altogether and use peeled and shredded potatoes, with excess “potato juice” squeezed out. So far, mine were just plain old rosti. I might go ahead and try stuffing it with some protein or maybe use sweet potatoes…
im gonna try this one too! im the few-ingredients-make-good-cookin type hehe
I’m sure you already make Spanish tortillas, but if you don’t you might like them too, and they’re relatively easy to perfect. I like mine with a bit of chopped chorizo. Important: use a heavy bottomed non-stick pan that’s really non-stick. If the tortilla sticks it’ll be a disaster. Take a number of potatoes (the frying kind), peel them, then cut into small but irregular sized bits (not cubes) (best to hold the potato in one hand and chip off small not too thin pieces with a sharp knife). Chop one or two onions too (at least one big one). Heat some olive oil, put the potatoes in (medium high flame). After a couple of minutes (stir/turn the potatoes so they all start cooking and get the oil) put the chopped onions on top, Leave like this for about 5 minutes, still cooking, then mix everything. Separately, beat a number of whole eggs (number depends on how big you want the tortilla to be, remember the whole thing shouldn’t be eggy. I usually do a minimum of four eggs for a two person tortilla). and leave in a mixing bowl. Salt and pepper the mixture. Salt and pepper the potatoes and onions too. Put in some chopped chorizo if you want. This is important: potatoes must be really cooked, to the point when they get crumbly. Mix once in awhile so it doesn’t burn. When it is done, put the whole mixture (minus the oil, use a slotted spoon) into the cold beaten eggs in the mixing bowl. Let it stand there about 3 minutes. Let the eggs solidify a bit around the mixture. Make sure to fold the mixture into the beaten eggs so there’s no part that just eggs. Keep the pan hot, with the oil that’s left over in it, add some more olive oil if needed. Pour the eggs-potatoes mixture back in the pan. Flame should be more hot than medium. Slide it around so it doesn´t stick. When one side is done (should be somewhat brown), take a plate that’s bigger than the pan. Cover the pan with it. Take the pan and plate off the fire and turn it upside down so the tortilla falls into the plate (all in one quick movement). Put the pan back onto the fire and slide the other side of the tortilla back in it. Keep moving the pan so the tortilla doesn’t stick.About three minutes more and you’re done. Slide it out into a plate. Let it cool a bit, it’s even good cold the next morning. I like eating it with mayonnaise, home made aioli if you’re up to it, but Hellman’s is OK.
With regard to croquetas, there’s a lighter (well, slightly lighter) version here with no potato, they’re also smaller in general. Basically you make a very thick bechamel in which you add a flavoring ingredient (could be chorizo, bacalao, chicken, whatever). You make it so think you can actually hold the bechamel in your hand after you’ve left it to cool overnight in the fridge. Form it into croquetas (small, oval, bite-sized) in your hand, dip in breadcrimbs, then beaten egg, then fried. Really good if they’re well made: a bit crunchy outside and soft and melty inside.
marie, i wanna try that!
liver eggs, sha? and how are you? haven’t had time to chat.
Bernice, I saw a no-boil version once but i wasn’t sure if the potatoes would be cooked through.
joey, i’ve tried making spanish tortilla once. want to do it again too.
lovely, lovely dish.
and I love the bechamel sauce trick. that and marie’s comment = two new dishes to try.
Try ko nga to. heheh
the recipe is good but with pictures… I can’t take it anymore!! I’m gonna make one right now!
wow! South Korea has about exaclty the same dish!! Only the onions are grated in along with the potatoes with the juice being coated over every now and then to retain its consistency (although the last part depends on the person cooking, some ppl opt not to use it too).
never thought of adding parmesan cheese though^^
Hola a todos !
A mi mario y a mi nos encanta la comida Europea y siempre que vamos a Fracia u a otras partes nos encanta el cordero con swiss rosti potato. delicioso!!!! esta noche preparare para la cena esta receta .
Gracias espero disfrutarlo mucho.
Dama
Espero que disfruten casera Rosti suizo, Dama.