Rösti
Serve rösti on a warmed platter. Pass the “Clabber,” Chive & Caper Tater Sauce.
The power of salt to season is nowhere clearer than when it graces hot, crisped potatoes. The best I’ve ever had were served to chef Edward Lee and me when we landed at The Hütte Swiss Restaurant after a roller-coaster ride down the two-lane-with-coaltrucks-roaring-by that leads into the tiny Swiss-Appalachian village of Helvetia, West Virginia.
Giddy, we may have ordered everything on the lunch menu. All of it was good, but what we could not get enough of was the perfectly balanced crisp and tender, sublimely salted rösti.
This recipe is my homage. The secret is in the squeezing, essential for the quickly browned crust with tender potatoes inside. Oh—and maybe a little credit to the bacon grease. Serve this with “Clabber,” Chive & Caper Tater Sauce.
Rösti
Rösti is traditionally made as a single “cake” in a wide, heavy skillet, but if you are concerned about breaking the cake when you flip it, do what I often do and fry in four individual patties.
Serves 4
You Will Need
- 2 pounds russet potatoes
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons bacon grease
- “Clabber,” Chive & Caper Tater Sauce, for serving
To Prepare
1) Peel the potatoes and grate them on the large holes of a box grater. Lift a handful of grated potatoes and squeeze it over a bowl or the sink to drain off as much liquid as possible. Drop the squeezed potatoes into a bowl and continue until the potatoes are squeezed.
2) Sprinkle the salt over the potatoes and add black pepper to your taste. I like a lot, some like less. Toss to distribute the seasoning.
3) Place a wide, heavy skillet over medium heat and melt the bacon grease in it. It should cover the bottom of the pan, about 1⁄8 inch deep. When it begins to shimmer, flick a piece of grated potato into the hot grease. If it sizzles instantly, add the rest of the potatoes, a spatula or spoonful at a time. Do this gently as you don’t want the grease to burn you.
4) When all the potatoes are in the pan, use the back of the spatula to gently press down and form them into a compact round “cake.”
5) Cook until the underside is a deep, crispy brown and the top potatoes are turning translucent; this takes 10 to 15 minutes. Keep an eye on the potatoes and turn the heat down to keep them from burning, if needed. Conversely, if the top potatoes are translucent but the bottom is not crisply brown, turn the heat up a bit to quickly darken it.
6) Gently move a spatula underneath the potato cake and around the skillet to loosen it, and then lift the whole cake, turn it over, and slide it back into the pan. (If this seems awkward, you can remove the cake to a large plate, place another plate over the top, and, holding the plates together, invert them, flipping the cake over. Then slide the cake, uncooked side down, back into the pan.)
7) Cook the second side for 7 to 10 minutes, until brown and crisped. Remove the rösti from the pan, let it drain briefly on paper towels, and then serve it immediately on a warmed platter. Pass the “Clabber,” Chive & Caper Tater Sauce.
“Clabber,” Chive & Caper Tater Sauce
Clabber milk was a common ingredient in the homes of folks who had a dairy cow. Fresh raw milk left out would naturally ferment and sour, creating a tasty and nourishing ingredient, similar to Greek yogurt. Clabber milk was frequently eaten for breakfast or as a snack with some sweetening and cinnamon sprinkled on top. It also was used as an ingredient in baking and in making sauces such as this one. If you favor raw milk, you can try to make your own clabber by leaving a bowl out on the counter, covered with cheesecloth.
It’s universally recommended that you not use pasteurized milk because it will simply spoil. Clabbering is unpredictable, though, so I use plain wholemilk Greek-style yogurt to make this sauce. It’s great for potatoes of all kinds.
You can substitute 1⁄2 cup of buttermilk for the equivalent amount of yogurt to make a yummy buttermilk dressing for salads or chicken wings.
Makes 1 3⁄4 cup
You Will Need
- 1 cup plain whole-milk Greek-style yogurt
- 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh chives
- 1 tablespoon minced brine-packed capers
- 2 teaspoons juice from caper jar
- 1⁄2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Salt
To Prepare
In a small bowl, mix the yogurt, mayonnaise, chives, capers, caper juice, and vinegar together. Taste, and add salt according to how you are going to use the sauce (less if a dip for salty chips or on top of well-salted rösti, a bit more if dressing potato salad or a baked potato). It can be served immediately, but is best if covered and refrigerated for at least an hour.
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Recipes and photos reprinted from VICTUALS: An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes. Copyright © 2016 by Ronni Lundy. Photography copyright © 2016 by Johnny Autry. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.