How to Make Swiss Potato Rosti

What Are Rosti Potatoes?

Rosti is a Swiss potato dish perhaps best described as a cross between hash browns and a potato pancake. It is popular throughout Switzerland. It's cut into wedges and served with sausages or other meats and cheeses. 

This versatile dish also can be topped with an egg and served with a salad for brunch or light dinner or alongside a steak or other red meat for a satisfying main course.

Gather the Ingredients

• 3 to 4 medium starchy potatoes, like russets (peeled)
• 2 to 4 tablespoons butter
• Salt to taste
• Optional add-ins: parsley, onions, nutmeg, pepper, or ground paprika

Prep

Grate the peeled raw potatoes into a bowl. The grating is usually done by hand and traditionally with a rosti grater with large holes, but a box grater will do nicely. You can do it with a machine, but the results might not be quite authentic.

You may also make rosti with parboiled potatoes. Cook them al dente one day in advance, peel, and store in the refrigerator. Grate them just before you fry them. 

Cook

Start the process by cooking the grated potatoes.

• Melt 2 to 4 tablespoons of butter in an 8-inch nonstick or cast-iron skillet. Add the grated potatoes about 1 inch deep and salt them as desired.
• Add onions or optional spices as desired.
• Cook the potatoes over medium heat several minutes, stirring two or three times with a metal spatula to coat the potatoes evenly with butter.
• Pat the potatoes into a cake with the spatula and let them cook for 10 minutes.
• Cover the potatoes and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Flip

This step can be a bit of a challenge.

• When the bottom of the potato cake is golden brown, place a plate that barely fits inside the skillet on top of the potatoes. Invert the pan, holding on to the plate.
• Remove the pan and set it back on the stove. Add another tablespoon or so of butter to the pan, allowing it to melt.

Slide

You're halfway finished.

• Slide the rosti off the plate and back into the pan, golden side up. Cook for about 15 minutes, pressing down once or twice with the spatula to make the pancake stick together a little more.
• You can cover the pan to get the potatoes cooked in the middle if desired but remove the cover at least 5 minutes before the end of cooking so that your pancake is crispy on the outside.

Serve

Your Swiss potato rosti is ready to eat. It's comfort food European style.

• Slide the rosti onto a plate and cut it into wedges.
• Add more salt and pepper if desired.
• Cut, garnish and serve