Rösti or rööschti () is a
Swiss dish consisting mainly of
potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...
es, sautéed or shallow-fried in a pan. It was originally a
breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.Anderson, Heather Arndt (2013)''Breakfast: A History'' AltaMira Press. Various "typical" or "t ...
dish, commonly eaten by farmers in the
canton of Bern
The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...
(and parts of the
canton of Fribourg
The canton of Fribourg, also canton of Freiburg (french: Canton de Fribourg ; german: Kanton Freiburg ; frp, Canton de Fribôrg rm, Chantun Friburg it, Canton Friburgo) is located in western Switzerland. The canton is bilingual, with French ...
), but is now eaten all over
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and around the world. The
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
name ''röstis bernois'' directly refers to the dish's origins.
Many
Swiss people
The Swiss people (german: die Schweizer, french: les Suisses, it, gli Svizzeri, rm, ils Svizzers) are the citizens of Switzerland or people of Swiss abroad, Swiss ancestry.
The number of Swiss nationality law, Swiss nationals has grown from ...
consider rösti to be a
national dish
A national dish is a culinary dish that is strongly associated with a particular country. A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons:
* It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs that can be ...
.
Rather than considering it a complete breakfast, lunch or dinner, it is more commonly served to accompany other dishes such as ''Spinat und Spiegelei'' (
spinach
Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...
and
fried eggs, sunny side up),
cervelas or
Fleischkäse. It is commonly available in Swiss restaurants, as a replacement for the standard side dish of a given meal.
Preparation
Rösti dishes are made with coarsely
grated
A grater, also known as a shredder, is a kitchen utensil used to grate foods into fine pieces.
Uses
Food preparation
Several types of graters feature different sizes of grating slots, and can therefore aid in the preparation of a variety of ...
potato, either parboiled or raw.
Rösti are most often pan-fried and shaped in the frying pan during cooking, but they can also be baked in the oven. Depending on the frying technique,
oil,
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...
,
cheese
Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...
, or another fat may be added (and usually
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
and
pepper
Pepper or peppers may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant
** Black pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae
** Bell pepper
** Chili ...
). The grated potatoes are shaped into rounds or patties, usually measuring between in diameter and thick.
Although basic rösti consists of nothing but potato, a number of additional ingredients are sometimes added, such as
bacon
Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sand ...
,
onion
An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...
, cheese,
apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
or fresh
herb
In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
s. This is usually considered to be a regional touch.
File:Küchenreibe 02 fcm.jpg, Grating potatoes
File:Rösti mit Pfannenwender.jpg, Cooking
File:Rösti in der Pfanne.jpg, Cooking
File:Rösti wenden mithilfe eines Tellers.jpg, Serving
Cultural impact
In Swiss popular cultural ethos, rösti are predominantly eaten in German-speaking regions, although they can be found easily elsewhere in the country. Rösti dishes are portrayed as a stereotypical part of the Swiss-Germanic culture, as opposed to Latin culture. The geographic border separating the French and German-speaking parts of the country is therefore commonly referred to as the ''
Röstigraben
(; literally "Rösti ditch" or "Rösti trench" also transcribed in order to reflect the Swiss German pronunciation ) is a term used to refer to the cultural boundary between German-speaking and French-speaking parts of Switzerland, the latter kn ...
'': literally the "rösti ditch".
Classic rösti dishes
File:Röstibraten with eggs and green sauce.jpg, Rösti topped with eggs
File:Rösti mit Bratwurst.jpg, Rösti with veal sausage and onion sauceZürcher Geschnetzeltes
Zürcher Geschnetzeltes (German for "sliced meat Zürich style", ''Züri-Gschnätzlets'' in Zürich German, émincé de veau à la zurichoise in French) is a Swiss dish from Zürich.
The first mention of Zürcher Geschnetzeltes is in a cookb ...
See also
*
Latke
*
Hash browns
Hash browns, also spelled hashed browns, are a popular American and British breakfast food, consisting of finely chopped potatoes that have been fried until browned. Hash browns first started appearing on breakfast menus in New York City in t ...
, a similar American dish
*
Maluns
Maluns are a traditional dish of the Grisons. They are essentially made of boiled and grated potatoes mixed with flour. The mixture is then slowly fried in butter until it breaks into little balls or crumbs. The dish is typically served with a com ...
, a fried potato dish eaten in the Grisons canton of Switzerland
*
Potato pancake
Potato pancakes are Frying, shallow-fried pancakes of grated or ground potato, matzo meal or flour and a binding ingredient such as Egg as food, egg or applesauce, often flavored with grated garlic or onion and seasoning. They may be topped with ...
*
List of potato dishes
*
Liechtenstein cuisine
Liechtensteiner cuisine is the cuisine of Liechtenstein. The cuisine is diverse and has been influenced by the cuisine of nearby countries, particularly Swiss cuisine, Switzerland and Austrian cuisine, Austria, and is also influenced by European ...
* In
Palau
Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...
, it is prepared from
grated taro corm
References
External links
* Wikibooks
/ Cookbook recipe
Rösti on helvetickitchen.comHow to cook the perfect rösti on theguardian.comRösti recipe on youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosti
Breakfast dishes
Culinary Heritage of Switzerland
Culture of Bern
Fried foods
Liechtenstein cuisine
National dishes
Palauan cuisine
Potato pancakes
Swiss cuisine
Vegetarian cuisine