Bernese Roesti (Rosti)

This is what the Swiss eats for breakfast. Rösti, Roesti or Rööschti is a Swiss dish prepared with potatoes, sautéed or shallow-fried in a pan typically served during breakfast.  Bernese Roesti adds bacon to it.

Switzerland is well known for watches, Swiss knives, banks and chocolates but little did we know that Roesti did placed Switzerland in the world cuisine, the only popular authentic Swiss dish that I know of.  A dish which consists mostly of potatoes but there are some regional variations which adds ingredients such as bacon, onion, cheese or herbs.  Here are some variations and what is called:

Roesti: Just the normal roesti
Bernese Roesti: Bacon and Roesti
Basilean Roesti: 1:1 Ratio Onions and Potatoes
Valaisian Roesti: With tomatoes and melted cheese on top

This dish is not just popular in Switzerland as a breakfast item but as well as other western countries, it’s the Europe’s counterpart to the American’s hash browns.  It originated in the canton of Bern served as a breakfast for farmers, it became widespread in Switzerland and now it’s mostly considered by the locals as Switzerland’s national dish.

It’s funny that I knew roesti just a couple of years ago when I was still in Malaysia, I said funny as my mom and sister lived in Switzerland for more than 20 years now and never did I heard of this dish from them.  Imagine that I learned this dish in Malaysia! In a small food stall in Midvalley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur, then I went to “The Curve” in Damansara where they have a Swiss restaurant called Marche Movenpick and checked whether they have “Roesti” in their menu, which they have and it is accompanied by Cervelat (a type of Swiss Sausage, made out of bacon and beef, yum!).

Now if you are running out of what to serve for breakfast try this one out, it will definitely make you full at the start of your day.

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Bernese Roesti (Rosti)

Bernese Roesti (Rosti)

  • Author: Raymund
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
  • Total Time: 30 mins
  • Yield: 3 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Cuisine: Swiss

Description

Rösti, Roesti or Rööschti is a Swiss dish prepared with potatoes, sautéed or shallow-fried in a pan typically served during breakfast.  Bernese Roesti adds bacon to it.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 500 g potatoes, boiled (half cooked) with skin
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 white onions, finely sliced
  • 1/2 cup fried bacon bits
  • 1/2 cup Colby cheese

Instructions

  1. Peel the cooked potatoes, place them in a fridge for 30 minutes then grate using a coarse grater.
  2. In a pan add butter and onions, cook until onions are transparent.
  3. Add grated potatoes and bacon according to your liking.  Mix well for around 3 minutes.
  4. Press the potato mixture to form a flat cake, fry one side until its golden and crunchy then flip the pressed potato to its other side and cook until golden and crunchy.
  5. Top with Colby cheese while hot then serve.

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10 Responses

  1. This is similar to the potato rosti that we make using raw potato and onion which is also super delicious.
    🙂 Mandy

  2. kiwidutch says:

    I’ve had both the ones made with raw potatoes and the swiss type make with cooked potatoes and both are wonderful. Hmm three guesses what might be making it onto our menu this week? Roesti yum!

  3. I sincerey didn’t know that in Switzerland they ate rösti as a breakfast dish, in most of mainland europe potato-dishes are dinner things. (which reminds me, I should make rösti again some time, I usually make it with bacon bits and onion as a heavier side dish with a somewhat lighter dinner)

  4. Judy says:

    Potatoes, cheese, and bacon … what’s not to like?! Seems to me no matter how you dress a fried potato, it’s good. 😉

  5. While I was living in Spain I tried to perfect the “tortilla,” which is eggier obviously, but it is fun to experiment with the different “versions” from different areas, such as the addition of peppers or more onions, or cheese.

    I think the version with 1:1 potato-onion sounds deLISH!

  6. purplebirdblog says:

    1:1 potato and onion ratio sounds like HEAVEN to me!

  7. Interesting, now that you brought it up, I never really gave any thought of foods from Switzerland other than cheese and chocolate. My husband would definitely love this (especially the bacon part).

  8. Hilah says:

    Holy mackerel! That looks perfect for dinner on this cold and crappy evening. I have all of the ingredients! Yippee!

  9. This looks delicious. I have a similar recipe for rosti in Martha Stewart’s book ‘Cooking School’ that I’ve been meaning to try, but I didn’t know there were so many variations!

  10. How to top a plain potato roesti ? Adding BACON. Brilliant !

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