Rösti: A Study in Pommes
Everyone loves potato pancakes, right? All different kinds of them. From the filling, Eastern European ones made with both potatoes and batter to the thin dentelle lace of rösti, there is something for everyone. That’s presuming we can even call something like rösti a pancake! Indeed, they are much more similar to hashbrowns than pancakes. They occupy a space between and perhaps that mystery is what makes them special…
Where the Rösti Reigns
With that in mind, I think it’s important to talk about precisely what rösti is and where it comes from. What it certainly is, is a symbol of Swiss cuisine. Along with fondue and raclette, rösti is one of the most iconic dishes of the country’s culinary heritage and, though less so than its neighbours, Switzerland (for such a small place) packs a real punch when it comes to famous recipes. Fondue and rösti are both well-known foods and raclette had a real moment in the spotlight around 2017. All of these dishes represent this alpine nation very well. High-quality dairy and starch for filling winter meals. No wonder this stuff speaks to me!
However, in Switzerland itself, rösti has a more regional character. The traditional line dividing German-speaking Switzerland from la francophonie is known as the Röstigraben, or ‘rösti trench.’ This humble potato food being a dividing cultural feature between the two groups. Rösti has grown to be a symbol of the Swiss for the outside world but, even though now of a more national character, it is a stereotypical dish of Berne. From here comes the classic dish of parboiled grated potatoes fried in a flattened round and served for breakfast.
If only it were that simple…
My research into this dish has taken me a few places and certainly a few dead ends. And, like Felicity Cloake before me, diving into a murky world of potato, I have found a real lack of resources. Like any great student, I immediately headed to Wikipedia but both the English and French language versions of the article gave scant evidence for what actually makes a great rösti. The German version assures us that the classic Bernese version is always made from potatoes boiled the day before. So what is going on with all the vague or conflicting info? Well, if you will allow me to answer your question with my own:
What Makes a Rösti a Rösti?
Röstihood is attained through a relatively strict set of criteria. Much like Enlightenment, there is a difficult path to well-formed and well-cooked rösti. It’s something that took me quite a while to get right, and I’d like to help you avoid the same mistakes. The First Noble Truth of Rösti-making is to trust in the potato. There should be nothing else in the damn thing! No flour, egg, no binder of any kind. We should also trust that potato skin is delicious and healthy and leave it on. Whole, grated potato is the order of the day.
Röstihood is attained through a relatively strict set of criteria. Much like Enlightenment, there is a difficult path to well-formed and well-cooked rösti.
The potatoes must be grated and the strands separate, this gives the familiar texture to this dish. This is the major problem I run into when boiling them first. One ends up with mashed potato cakes, delicious but all wrong! Though some have complained about the gummy, raw texture that comes from using raw potato. What can we draw from that?
The type of potato matters!
Parboiled and cooled (so the starch recrystallises) waxy potatoes will maintain their shape in the finished product. This is the authentic recipe for the original Bernese version. However, Ms. Cloake has very adequately discussed this version and I could fail to offer anything much new to the discussion. Precooked whole grated waxy potatoes in a hot pan until rösti-like. An easy deal. I highly recommend listening to her if you have some waxy potatoes knocking around and several hours to patiently wait for cold potatoes.
Still, if this is so seminal, why do we end up with a clear lack of guidance on the potato varieties and cooking methods we should use? There is very little definitive information. Yet, I have a hunch. The German Wikipedia specifically says that floury potatoes are inferior. But if you are anything like me, the potatoes nestled in your cupboards or drawers are mostly floury… And I guess this is not such a rare phenomenon if so many people are using raw potatoes to get a non-mashed rösti. Accordingly, it seems to be the residents of Zürich who don’t preboil the potatoes. And I’d wager about 5 francs that this is why!
Making a Cracking Rösti from Floury Potatoes
This, then, will be my contribution to the field of rösti nirvana. Using nothing more than what you have on hand and no precooking, can you make a great plate? Of course!
Skin-on floury potatoes, any kind you’d use for chips make a good rösti in my eyes. They are a little gummier than the waxy version but I actually find this to be a pleasant texture. There are a couple of quick things we can do to improve the outcome, though. Grating the potatoes onto a clean towel and ‘wringing them like your enemies neck’ is pretty much step one. As the potatoes are not cooked they will be fine. After squeezing them dry you will notice the texture is noticeably different and more similar to cooked potato. Easy hack…
Next, put them into a hot, oiled pan and start frying. Quickly press this all down into a rösti shape. My pan takes one large potato per portion to do this. Ideally, these röstis will be a little thinner than those made with cooked potato to avoid excessive gumminess. To reduce this effect further I figured that we want to actually cook the potatoes with some water to imitate the boiling effect. Dropping a couple of tablespoons of water into the pan and covering it have mostly solved the gumminess issue for me. This steaming effect cooks the whole thing through much quicker and leaves a better final texture. It also has the secondary benefit of gelatinising some of the starch so the whole thing adheres to itself better.
I also see many people using a plate to flip the ‘pancake’ (more evidence for my theory!) when, if well executed, you can simply do it in the pan, exactly like a pancake. You see, the whole cake will be fused due to the cooking process if your rösti is of sufficient quality. Flip it, pat it down flat for maximum pan contact and continue to fry. Mine always get cooked twice on each side for maximum crispiness. Another tip I picked up from the German Wikipedia article was to glaze the surface with a little milk for extra browning and crispness before these second flips. This is a great idea, though until today I’d been tossing in a small amount of butter for each side to achieve the same effect. Either way, or any other, simply cook until golden and crunchy on the outside and soft and melting inside. And only one thing remains…
Toppings Time
While rösti may have emerged as a breakfast in Bern, it has become an accompaniment to all manner of things in Switzerland. Classic Swiss toppings like cured meats and alpine cheeses are a natural partner. As are fried eggs, traditionally served also with spinach in Switzerland. My own theory was that it would complement a creamy mushroom stew very well, much as the straw potatoes that commonly accompany stroganoff. This was thankfully confirmed by the fact that rösti is often served with Zürcher Geschnetzeltes or Zürich-style sliced meat, which is basically a veal stroganoff. Really though, rösti is as versatile as any potato dish. Being a neutral flavoured, starchy food, it is a natural partner for anything you wish. Get creative and tag me in some pictures of your rösti creations on Social Media, I’d love to see!
For the recipe see Atlantic to Adriatic
