The Traditional: Röstis

See, I am Swiss and vegan, obviously, this doesn’t match quite well. But when I want to add a bit of comfort to my daily-life, nothing works better than röstis.

This dish has everything: it’s cheap, it tastes incredible, and it’s quite easy to make – though it does take some time. So, let’s get down to business!

First, the ingredients:

• Some potatoes (the general public recommend one to two potatoes per person; I usually go for four to five. Just follow your heart)
• 1 onion
• A bunch of (vegan) butter
• Salt
• Black pepper

Here we go for some easy steps:

1. Peel your potatoes.
2. Grate the potatoes.
   If you do not have a grater you can also mince them very thin but the results won’t be as good.
3. Once your potatoes are grated, add a bit of salt and let them sit on  a plate for about 10 minutes.
   Use that waiting time wisely: start cleaning the utensils you won’t use anymore and dice your onion (for tips on how not to cry while cutting the onion, look at “the basic”).
4. Place your grated potatoes in a clean kitchen towel and wring. This is going to remove all the water in the potatoes.
   Don’t forget to do it on top of your sink, unless you were planning on deep cleaning your kitchen while you were at it.
5. Melt some vegan butter in a pan and sauté the onion.
   If you are like me and don’t have a decent big pan, use your best pot.
6. Add the grated potatoes and more butter. Season with some black pepper.
   You might need to add more butter during the cooking process – Swiss cuisine loves its greasy dairy.
7. Let your röstis grill until everything is well cooked.
   Tips: the potatoes will be cooked when golden brown and a bit crispy.
   Point of disagreement: some Swiss like their röstis as a galette, in one big round shape; they don’t touch the potatoes while they are cooking. Others like them more crumbled, with separated pieces of potatoes; they regularly stir the röstis during the cooking process. I belong to the second team, but I would advise you to try both and decide by yourself.

Once your röstis are cooked, serve them on a plate. You can eat them with almost everything, but what takes  me back to my childhood is to have them with (vegan) sausages and some lettuce – with a sauce made out of one portion of vinegar, one portion of (vegan) milk, two portions of oil, and a lot of mustard. Hope you will enjoy adding a bit of Swiss culture to your plate!

by Lu

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