Swiss Food Love
The Swiss Flag
When you think Switzerland, think hearty, rustic food. When I travel there it is a case of Swiss Food Love! There are certainly high end eating opportunities, but the daily fare shouldn’t be missed. From Rösti to Wurst and big pots of fondue, Switzerland is a great place to eat.
The Baselstab
For this trip, my traveling companions and I arrived late into Basel. Basel Mulhouse Airport is an easy and efficient airport to fly into. From there, it was a a quick bus ride to the hotel where we slept, showered and left to catch an early train to Zermatt.
Hopping a Train
Breakfast was on the run. A quick stop in the grocery for a fresh Butter Zopf. A delicious egg bread that is buttery and delicious. It would most typically be a sunday morning choice, but who can wait! It has a delicious golden crust and it is tender but chewy inside! Love it!
Mmmm…butterzopf – A little squished from running to the train!
In the train station you can always get a hot pretzel at anytime of day. It makes for a good breakfast! Of course, the pretzel, sliced in half and buttered is a popular foundation for a ham and gruyere or salami sandwich. Tastier then your everyday white bread! Even small sandwich rolls are “laugenized” and turned pretzelesque. Delicious! Oh, you should know, no mustard. Mustard does not go on pretzels in Switzerland! We hopped the train and we were off. The train system in Switzerland is legend for efficiency and cleanliness. It is all true! Train travel is fantastic in Switzerland! It is a definite must do!
Mmmm…hot pretzels for Breakfast!
The train passes through the Berner Oberland, south on the way to Zermatt. The rolling fields and mountains are beautiful and easy on the eyes. So beautiful!
On the way to Zermatt by train!
We switch trains in Visp to a train equipped with cog wheels to make the climbs needed to get to Zermatt. The Matterhorn train line makes regional stops in hamlets like St. Niklaus and Täsch. Täsch is a popular stop since there are no cars allowed in Zermatt. Many visitors park and ride from there.
A few steps from the train station in Zermatt, and a quick turn to the right and there she is. The one and only Matterhorn! It is an amazing site. I am not sure if the rumors that that the Matterhorn is made of gruyere cheese are true, but if it were that would be a lot of cheese! We were hungry and we were off to find a classic of Swiss eats, Rosti!
The One and Only Matterhorn!
What is wonderful about rösti is that it is rustic, but it can be gussied up in so many ways. Rösti is a simple dish, a thick pancake of shredded potato topped with all variety of different toppings.
Here is how it is done…
- 2-3 large starchy potatoes. About a pound
- 3 tbsp of butter
- salt and pepper
- Wash and peel the potatoes.
- Shred the potatoes using a box grater. Use the side with the large grater holes.
- Using a clean towel, wrap the shredded potatoes and squeeze as much water out of the potato as possible.
- In a nonstick pan over medium heat, melt the butter.
- Place the shredded potato mixture into the pan and shape it into a well packed cake covering the bottom of the pan. Heat until the edges begin to brown (peak at the color, when it is golden brown it is ready to flip).
- Flip the rösti out of the pan and on to a large plate then slide it back into the pan uncooked side down. Continue cooking until golden brown and the middle is tender. You may have to lower the heat a little and let it cook slightly slower to get the inside tender without overcooking the outside. Alternatively, you can finish cooking it in a 350F degree oven is using a heat proof pan and cooking until the inside is tender about 10 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve the Rösti hot, cut into wedges. Smaller single serve rostis can also be created.
- A nice addition is to sprinkle a layer of gruyere cheese on top of the rösti and melt it under the broiler.
Most restaurants won’t stray far from plain potato, but many things can be added – onion, herbs, etc. In Switzerland, a large Rösti is typically served as a single portion with a hearty topping. Perhaps the most typical version offered is with ham, cheese (usually a raclette cheese) and fried egg.
Rösti with Ham and Egg or Rösti mit Ei und Speck as the Swiss would say!
Here are a few other options you can find, too…
A Variety of Röstis!
- Rösti mit frischem Gemüse an Champignon-Rahmsauce – Steamed Vegetables and Mushroom Cream Sauce
- Rösti mit Speck, Zwiebeln und Raclettekäse- Bacon, Onion and Raclette Cheese
- Rösti mit Rindsfiletwürfeln und Café de Paris – Cubes of beef and herbed butter
- Rösti mit Rindsfiletmédaillons und grilliertem Speck an Steinpilzsauce Beef tenderloin with bacon and mushroom cream sauce
- Rösti mit Tomaten, Parmaschinken und Mozzarella – tomato, parma ham and mozzarella cheese
- Rösti mit Kalbsbratwurst and Zweibeln sauce- veal bratwurst with onion sauce
Rösti with Veal Sausage and Onion Sauce. YUM!
You can easily dream up all kids of toppings! After a stuffing ourselves with Rösti, we are off to Gornegrot to see the other side of the Matterhorn, up to an elevation of about 9000 ft.
The Other Side of the Matterhorn as seen from Gornegrat!
It is a great view! The air is cool, crisp and clean! Worth a visit!
More To Come! In the next post – Wurst, and more!
Keep Eating! Keep Innovating!
Have you been to Switzerland? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook what you ate while you were there!
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