I had a simple meal of Rosti: shredded, fried potatoes with cheese and bacon. Add a bottle of the local Appenzeller beer and the spectacular setting, and it was a memorable meal.
Turns out Switzerland is a lot more than fondue!
Two potatoes
salt, pepper
butter
thick sliced bacon
green onions
cheese (I used gruyere)
First I made the hash browns:
Two russet potatoes, peeled and shredded.
Salt, pepper, Butter
I put the shredded potatoes into a large bowl filled with cold water. Stir until the water is cloudy, drain, and cover potatoes again with fresh cold water. Stir again, drain again, and maybe a third time to dissolve the excess starch. Drain the potatoes well, and squeeze out any excess moisture. This part is important. I even put them between paper towels and dried them more!
In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium heat, drop in the potatoes, salt and pepper and flatten them out into a large "pancake" shape. When a light brown crust formed on the bottom I flipped it as much as possible, and stirred them, trying to brown them all over.
Meanwhile I cut the bacon into one-inch pieces and fried it.
I thin-sliced the cheese.
I also chopped up the green onions.
I spread the bacon over the hash browns, topped with the cheese, and stuck it under the broiler in the oven for about a minute or two.
When I pulled it out, I topped it with the onion for garnish.
A good German wheat beer (try Schneiderweisse) and there you go!
Greta on a cold, rainy day.
Above are photos of the original Rosti and the hut, and more photos of my recipe.