Simple Crispy Swiss Potato Rösti

This easy and simple crispy Swiss potato rösti recipe showcases a delicious way to eat potatoes. Potatoes are a staple and comfort food in many cuisines and hundreds of dishes. French fries to loaded baked potatoes to simple mashed potatoes in European cuisine to batata hara in Middle Easter and potatoes curry and stew in Asian Cuisine.

Rösti are delicious and crunchy fritters made with potatoes. This is a quick and simple dish which is usually eaten for breakfast. For a speedy vegetarian meal, eat with arugula and a poached egg. Or just enjoy them as an appetiser with sour cream or our Vegan Crispy Chilli Garlic Mayo. Naturally gluten free, these röstis only use three ingredients plus some butter and oil, making them an inexpensive dish to make for the whole family.

What is Swiss Potato Rösti?

Potato rösti or Röschti (pronounced “raw-stee”) is a Swiss dish, which originally used to be eaten for breakfast by Swiss farmers. It has evolved to become one of the most popular dishes of the country.

Unlike American hash browns which are loosely sautéed, Rösti is made with coarsely grated potatoes that are compressed into thick disk like pancakes which have been fried in a pan until crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. There is no egg or flour added to bind the potatoes making it naturally gluten free.

Rösti is a very common dish served at ski resorts in Switzerland, often topped with a fried egg, bacon, salad and/or melted cheese. There are different regional variations that may use other ingredients, like the cheese, onions or herbs, but this version is the basic simple recipe that just uses potato.

How make a perfect Simple Crispy Swiss Potato Rösti:

If you have been surfing for rösti recipes, you must have found that röstis are actually cooked in different ways in different places. Some recipes tell you to use waxy potatoes, others say to avoid them. Some recipes parboil the potatoes and others use raw potatoes. Lets break it up for you to make it simple

1. Type of potatoes: It’s best to use an all-purpose potato that’s not too starchy and not too waxy. You need the potato to retain its shape a bit and not dissolve into mush. Maris Piper potatoes works well. They have a very thin golden skin, creamy white flesh and a gives the dish a fluffy texture.
2. Raw or Parboiled: Potato rösti should be crispy on the outside and steamy on the inside while keeping the pancake-like shape. Traditional Swiss Rösti recipes instruct you to parboil the potatoes the night before and cool them overnight before grating them. This process is supposed to help the Rösti cook faster, retain a nice texture and prevents the potatoes from oxidising. But I like to make it with raw potatoes, grate them and then rinse them in boiling water. Remove all the excess water. This removes the excess starch but the remaining starch in the potatoes becomes sticky when cooked and helps the rösti keep its shape while cooking without adding any other binders.
3. Grating:The beauty of rösti is its texture—crisp on the outside, tender but with distinct strands on the inside. Which means shred the potatoes by hand on the large holes of a box grater. Some also recommend cutting them into julienne, or using the grating feature on the food processor to save time. The key is to have more or less a uniform thickness which minimises the risk of burning.

Other Essential points to consider while making Rösti:

• Use Butter: The key to a crispy Rösti is butter, the more the better. Don’t be afraid of it. that’s what makes it crispy and the rich flavour come from the fat. Also make sure to add butter to the pan between the flip, so the second side has enough fat underneath it, not just on the sides. If you don’t, that second side of the Rösti tends to burn instead of getting golden.
• Flipping: Rösti takes time to cook so resisting the urge to poke and prod the rösti while it cooks. Let the rösti cook a full 10 minutes before gently lifting the edge to check its progress. When it’s ready to flip, grab a plate for inverting and repeat. Come time to serve, rösti always pairs well with fried eggs. Or take a cue from Anderson and serve topped with smoked fish, crème fraîche, caviar, and fresh herbs.
• For VEGAN rösti: You can easily make Rösti vegan by cooking it with a plant-based spread instead of butter. Serve it with sautéed mushrooms or a salad instead of eggs.

How to make Simple Crispy Swiss Potato Rosti

1. Grate the raw potatoes using a standard box grater. There is no need to parboil. Transfer to a large bowl and add hot water.
2. Squeeze out the water using a muslin cloth or fine mesh sieve, then transfer to a bowl. No need to be 100% thorough here, squeezing out every drop of water, because we actually need some of that water to help steam-cook the inside.
3. Mix the potatoes with butter, oil, salt and pepper. Making sure potatoes are evenly coated.
4. Scatter – Add butter and oil into a heavy based non stick pan or skillet. Scatter the potatoes lightly, don’t pack it down tightly. We want FLUFFY on the inside! It will seem quite deep – but it cooks down.
5. Cook for 10-12 minutes until golden and crisp on one side. To check if it’s golden, use a spatula to gently lift up the sides. We want the strands to cook through until soft and bond together enough to be sliceable without falling apart.
6. Flip the Rösti – by covering the skillet/pan with a plate or baking sheet. Invert the pan quickly to flip the Rösti onto the sheet.
7. On the skillet, add an additional 2 tsp of oil and 2 tsp of butter. Slide the Rösti back onto the pan, with the help of a spatula if needed. Cook for another 10-12 min, until the Rösti is golden on both sides.

What to serve with Rösti

In Switzerland Rösti is often served as a side or is served with a fried egg, bacon and cheese. Some Swiss mix speck or onions inside the Rösti potato mix, but it’s more common to leave the potatoes plain and add toppings instead. I like to eat my rosti with poached eggs, as when the runny egg yolk soak into the crispy potatoes it tastes so good. Serve yours with your choice of topping.

Helpful Tips and Tricks to Make Crispy Swiss Potato Rosti

• Squeezing out the water – squeezing out most of the water is necessary because otherwise all that water leeches down to the base of the pan as it cooks and it does eventually evaporate, but it takes longer and stops the base from getting really crispy.
• Oxidation – Raw potatoes once cut or grated and are sitting around can oxidise. Don’t worry if your potatoes go brown / reddish while sitting around. Once you start cooking, it will change back to white.

Some other Breakfast Recipes You will Love :

1. Courgette Fritters with Feta Salad and Eggs
2. Shakshuka
3. Huevos Rancheros – Spicy Mexican Eggs
4. Simple Cream Cheese Spread with Eggs

Kitchen Equipments Used

• Box grater – Click on the link below to buy.

• Skillet

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Simple Crispy Swiss Potato Rosti

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cooking Time: 25 Minutes 25 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 5 voted )

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Ingredients

• 3 large (550g) Maris Piper potatoes
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• ½ tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp onion salt
• ¼  tsp salt
• 4 tsp butter +4 tsp olive oil for frying

Optional Toppings 

• Fresh chives
• sour cream - ½ cup sour cream, 1 clove garlic grated, ½ a lemon zest, salt and chopped chives
• Baby arugula
• Poached eggs
• olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste

method

1. Peel and grate potatoes on a box grater.
2. Put the potatoes in a large mixing bowl and pour in hot water. This is to remove the starch from the potatoes. With the help of a muslin cloth or a fine mesh sieve make sure to remove as much water from the potatoes as possible after rinsing - I give them a good squeeze with the fine mesh cloth. Or working in batches, use your hands to squeeze out excess water from potatoes. You don’t need to remove all of it, but ensure about 90% of the water is out a crispier final product. Add grated potatoes a large bowl.
3. In the bowl with the potatoes, add butter, oil, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine, ensuring the potatoes are evenly seasoned.
4. In a heavy based pan or skillet, heat 2 tsp butter and 2 tsp oil over medium heat. Add potato mixture to the pan in an even layer, pressing down lightly. Tidy up the sides as needed.
5. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook the rösti for 10-12 minutes, until golden and crisp on one side. To check if it’s golden, use a spatula to gently lift up the sides.
6. Flip the rösti by covering the pan with a plate or baking sheet. Invert the pan quickly to flip the rösti onto the plate.
7. On the pan, add an additional 2 tsp of oil and 2 tsp of butter. Slide the rösti back onto the pan, with the help of a spatula if needed. Cook for another 10-12 min, until it is golden on both sides.
8. Season rösti with salt and pepper. Top with sour cream, eggs, fresh herbs and salad leaves. Enjoy!

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