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Restaurant Brasserie Anker Bern

Rösti recipes

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Restaurant Anker Bern
B. + S. Bill
Kornhausplatz 16
CH-3011 Bern
T. +41 (0)31 311 11 13
F. +41 (0)31 311 11 71

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The traditional breakfast from days of old

The dish of fried parboiled potatoes became the typical breakfast fare for country folk in German-speaking Switzerland at the beginning of the 19th century, replacing the traditional cereal porridge in many places.

From Zurich to Bern

Starting from the rural areas of Zurich, the native breakfast spread out towards the Alpine region and towards Bern, where the dish got its name of Rösti.

From Bern to Western Switzerland

From Bern to Western Switzerland: Rösti continued to extend its reign across the Bern region south west towards Welschland, where it replaced the morning soup that had been the regular breakfast dish there.

To this day, it has kept its original name: Rösti.

Rösti is served as either a main dish or a side dish and can be made from raw or cooked potatoes. It can be varied by adding the ingredients and seasonings of your choice.

With our basic Rösti recipes and variations on the Rösti theme from various regions of Switzerland you too will be able to create the perfect Rösti. Try it and see.

Rösti from raw potatoes

Ingredients (for 4 people)

1 kg raw potatoes
1 tablespoon salt
3-4 tablespoons fat (oil or butter)

Preparation

Peel the potatoes and use the Rösti grater to grate them into fine strips. Heat the fat in the frying pan. Add the potatoes, sprinkle with salt and stir well to mix them in with the fat.
Cover and fry for 20-30 minutes over medium heat, turning regularly. Then uncover the pan, turn the heat up and fry for a further 20 minutes. Towards the end of this time form the mixture into a cake shape. Do not stir!

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Rösti from boiled potatoes

Ingredients (for 4 people)

800 g potatoes, cooked in their skins the day before
1 tsp salt
50 g butter
3 tbsp water

Preparation

Peel the potatoes, then either grate them on a coarse grater or quarter them and slice them thinly. Sprinkle salt between the layers. Put the frying pan to heat without the fat in it then add 1/3 of the butter (moving it round so that it comes right up to the rim of the pan). Add the potatoes, spread them out and press them down slightly.

Fry for about 10 minutes over low heat. Now press them into a compact pancake shape and add a further 1/3 of the butter all round the edge of the pan.
Cover with a plate and fry for another 10 minutes over a low heat until the underside has formed a golden crust. Turn the Rösti over by tipping it onto the plate that has been used as a lid and sliding it back into the pan.
Add the remaining 1/3 of the butter and leave to fry for another 10 minutes. Serve the finished Rösti on the plate that was used as a lid.

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Berner RöstiBerner Rösti

Ingredients (for 4 people)

1 kg parboiled potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons lard
50 g diced bacon
1-2 tablespoons milk

Preparation

Peel the parboiled potatoes, grate with the Rösti grater into thin strips and mix with the salt.
Heat the butter and lard in a frying pan. Add the diced bacon and potato and fry gently, stirring frequently.
Bring together into a cake and cover with an upside-down plate. Fry over gentle heat for 20 minutes.
Pour the milk over the top and fry, covered, for about another 10 minutes. Tip out onto the plate and serve with milky coffee.

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Emmentaler Rösti

Preparation

As for Berner Rösti (without the milk). At the end lay a few thin slices of Emmental on top and cover the pan for a moment. As soon as the cheese begins to melt turn the cake out onto a plate and serve the Rösti straight away.

Basler Rösti

Preparation

Mix the potato with finely chopped onion rings and fry to a crispy golden Rösti cake.

Tessiner Rösti

Preparation

Prepare a Rösti with diced bacon and season with some fresh dried rosemary.

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Urner RöstiUrner Rösti

Ingredients (for 4 people)

1 kg parboiled potatoes
1 tsp salt
300 g Alpine cheese
5-6 tablespoons melted butter
3 onions
1 cup of weak coffee (makes the Rösti moist)

Preparation

Peel and grate the parboiled potatoes. Chop the onions finely and fry gently in the melted butter until they are pale gold but not brown.
Add the grated potato, season and allow to brown over a higher heat. Shortly before the Rösti is ready, add the thinly sliced cheese. As soon as it begins to melt pour the coffee over the top.

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Appenzeller Rösti

Preparation

For the Appenzeller Rösti half the grated potato is mixed with cooked Hörnli pasta and a handful of diced bacon. At the end some finely diced Appenzeller cheese is added.

Glarner Rösti

Preparation

In Glarnerland, 1-2 tablespoons of grated Sapsago cheese are mixed in with the Rösti. Be careful not to add too much salt.

Zürcher Rösti

Preparation

Fry a finely chopped onion in with a Rösti cake and season at the end with a pinch of caraway.

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Meat platter with Rösti and Apple

Ingredients

One Blutwurst (blood sausage) and one Leberwurst (liver sausage) per person
1 Schweinsbratwurst (pork sausage) or 1 pair pork chipolatas
1 pork chop
4-5 cooking apples
a little sugar
some lemon juice

Preparation

Heat the Blutwurst and the Leberwurst in simmering water. Fry the pork sausages or chipolatas and the chops and put everything onto a large platter, surrounded by crispy, golden brown Rösti. Serve with apple rings that have been cooked in a little water with some sugar and lemon juice.

As a variation on this theme the Meat Platter could be served with sauerkraut and boiled or baked potatoes.