I first came across a rösti recipe while flipping through a British cookbook. That recipe wasn’t a traditional Swiss one—it was a potato and parsnip rösti that was pan fried and then baked. Intrigued by the combination of the root vegetables, I decided to give the recipe a try. Unfortunately, the rösti never turned out the way I wanted. Finishing a large rösti in the oven is actually not a bad idea, considering how difficult it is to flip it over. The problem with the baking though, is that it takes forever for the other side to crisp up. After giving that recipe many tries, I decided to just work on my own version. I have to admit, flipping the rösti is the hardest part. You need to loosen the rösti from the pan, cover the pan with a plate and flip the rösti onto the plate. Then, you transfer the rösti back into the pan to fry the other side. You can image how a large potato fritter can break apart during this process. After about 10 failed attempts, I decided to make smaller röstis (about 7 to 8 inches wide) as they’re much easier to handle. To make these röstis taste great on their own, I also blended in some curry spice and garlic powder. They’re so delicious and addictive! MASTERING MY MISTAKES / COOKING NOTES
Grating potatoes in the food processor versus box grater: As you see in my videos, I prefer grating the potatoes with my food processor because it’s so much faster. I can grate all the potatoes in less than a minute with the food processor. Of course, you can grate the potatoes with a box grater, too. I recommend using the grating surface with the largest holes.Variations: I tried a version with 12 ounces of grated potatoes and 4 ounces of grated parsnips, which tasted great, too. The parsnips add a subtle flavor. I also tried a version with a 50/50 mix of potatoes and sweet potatoes, which I didn’t like as much. The sugars that come out of the sweet potatoes cause the rösti to brown way too quickly.Cooking on an induction burner: For my video, I cooked both röstis on the induction burner. Most of you will probably cook this on a gas or electric stove. For those of you who also want to experiment with induction cooking, my advice is BE CAREFUL. The induction burner heats up very quickly and I actually burned one side of my first rösti. (Shh, don’t tel anyone!) Start cooking at a medium-low heat and check the progress of the röst after 2 minutes or so.
