As the son of a Swiss chef, I’ve been eating rösti my whole life. My favorite personally is Rösti mit Speck, where you start out with the traditional method, but you mix crushed crispy bacon into the potatoes before they go in the skillet, and cook it in the bacon grease. A fried egg on top with a runny yolk is the final touch!
RECIPE
- Potatoes (1/2 lb, 227g per person, I like Yukon Golds)
- Fat/oil (I like clarified butter)
- Salt
Peel the potatoes if you want to (I don't), grate them, rinse them in a little cool water, squeeze the water our of them, toss a little salt through them. Heat some fat in a pan over moderate heat, drop in the potatoes and spread them in an even layer. Cook until the bottom layer is golden brown, about five minutes.
Transfer the pan to the oven at 350ºC/180ºC (convection, ideally) and bake until it feels solid enough to flip, 10-20 minutes depending on how thick it is. Turn the cake out to a plate or a board, put a little more fat in the pan, and slide the cake back in to brown the other side, about 5 minutes.
Slide it out to a cooling rack, and if you want you can put the rack into the oven again for a few minutes to crisp the exterior and soften in the interior.
Let it cool a bit before slicing.