It’s been nearly 12 years since I last visited Switzerland, but I can distinctly remember each and every mouth-watering flavor that I savored during my 3 year stay in the valley of the great Alps! Those of you who know me are surely wondering, what flavors she is talking about when she is a hard-core vegetarian! Yes my friends, for a short moment while I lived there, let’s be honest I couldn’t identify that cheeseburger actually had meat in it…laugh all you want… but that’s a haunting truth that I have to face every time I bump into an old friend of mine from my Swiss school days!
I did give in to occasional slips; I had to, as I was studying in a Swiss hotel school, what you expect! It’s in Switzerland I realized (during one my non-vegetarian binges) that I was allergic to Shell-fish… and since I despised the smell of fish, sea-food was naturally out of boundaries for me, thank-god! But I still didn’t know how to avoid the Cheeseburger! A committed vegetarian living the Swiss life with all kinds of beef, pork, ham and chicken thrown out in front of you, blanketed with your favorite cheese, can actually make you go weak in the knees, until of course you hear the innocent moos and cow bells grazing in a near-by farm and you are slam-dunk back to reality!! Let’ stick to being a vegetarian J and that I did!!
Apart from a few friendly Sri-lankans who would cook up an occasional Veg Indian meal, I never really got the chance to ever have a complete meal! I would always find myself ordering from the Side Menu (read Carb haven!). A breakfast of Muesli loaded with nuts and fruit yogurt and a Cheese sandwich, lunch of grilled Cheese sandwich with side of Roesti potatoes, Kase Omelet mit Pommes fries (Cheese omelet with thick French fries) and Spaetzli (Swiss pasta) Chocolate Fondue for dinner!! Hey… no complaints, I relished every nibble of Potato, Pasta, Cheese and Chocolate dish that one could find in these Menus….and eventually the Sides found their way into my system and helped me gain a not so healthy 20 kilos!!
I could have positively stuck to a healthier diet, options were definitely available, but when you are in THE land of Cheese, Potato and Chocolates, you better not think about any other option! Twelve years later, I still find myself constantly craving Kase Omelet, Pommes Fries, Roesti Potatoes, Schokolade Kuchen, Chocolates, Sauerkraut, Spaetzli, Fondue, Muesli, Gruyere & Emmentaler cheese, Nusskuchen, Brunsli, Magenbrot and did I mention Chocolates! I have tried to replicate these dishes many times in my kitchen, but I never find the same taste. The eggs never taste as fluffy and creamy as they did there, however I make my fries they are never the same, thick – perfectly crunchy outside and a melt in your mouth soft inside, the Cheese, Oh my god the Cheese after all the carbon-dating it goes through from Switzerland to India… can never be the same freshest best ever!!
Just this week, I had a friend over, a friend with whom I have relished many of the above mentioned delicacies and I decided to impress him with my Swiss cuisine…Roesti Potatoes for breakfast! Sadly, didn’t quite turn out the way I wanted them to be! I’m sure he noticed but he was nice enough to not mention, but simply appreciated my efforts …thank god for good friends! J But I knew I had to perfect it, now that I’m into a full-fledged gastronomical expedition in my life, I knew I had to perfect my Roesti!! And so I did! My poor father may never want to see another potato dish in his life, but nonetheless, I made the perfect Roesti yesterday, just like how I had it back in Switzerland! A proud moment folks – do I hear a drum roll!! Anyway…I thought of sharing it with all of you, so here it goes – my perfect Roesti recipe or Roschti as the Swiss like to call it –
Roesti Potatoes
Ingredients
6-8 Large par-boiled Potatoes (older the better)
1 Large Onion
1 tablespoon of salt
3 Tablespoons of Butter
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1¼ cups of Grated Smoked Mozzarella cheese (optional)
Method
- Peel potatoes and onion. Finely chop onion and coarsely shred potatoes. Combine onions, potatoes, and salt.
- Heat 2 skillets. Divide the butter and olive oil evenly between them. Heat until the butter is slightly brown. Then divide the potato-onion mixture evenly between them. Cook both for 8 minutes, stirring once or twice.
- Add Smoked Mozzarella to both skillets. Firmly press potatoes into pancake shapes.
- Press the two pancakes together.
- Cover and cook for 5 minutes until the bottom becomes crispy. Then flip and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Serve hot and relish immediately!
Now I’m craving some more… back to the kitchen! Happy Cooking folks J
