Rösti is a Swiss shredded potato casserole that's perfect for brunch. It comes out of the oven, brown and crisp on the edges, melting cheese in the middle, soft-cooked eggs on top.
Imagine a giant potato pancake - crisp on the outside, tender on the inside - with onions, ham and melting cheese mixed in, and soft-cooked eggs baked on top. Doesn't that sound amazing? This recipe is inspired by a very old and popular Swiss dish called Rösti.
Rösti is up there with fondue and raclette as one of Switzerland's most iconic dishes. The traditional Swiss Rösti recipe is more like a pancake than a casserole. It's made by pressing shredded potatoes into a cast iron skillet to form a cake, and cooking it in hot butter until it's brown on the outside and soft inside. Back in the early 1800's this was a common farmer's breakfast - cooked over the fire in a wood stove.
Nowadays in Switzerland rösti is served for breakfast, lunch or dinner and sometimes as a hearty side dish with meat.
How to make Rösti:
- Boil and shred the potatoes
- Sauté the onions and ham
- In a large bowl, mix the shredded potatoes with the onions and ham, yogurt, mustard, shredded cheese and spices. Spread the mixture into a baking dish and bake for 25 minutes at 400ºF. Remove the casserole from the oven and, with the back of a tablespoon, make 8 indentations in top of the casserole.
- Crack 1 egg into each indentation. Return dish to oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until egg whites are firm and yolks barely move when pan is jiggled. Cut into 8 pieces. Garnish with chives, parsley or scallions, sour cream or yogurt, if desired. Serve immediately.
I love the making a rösti into a big casserole. I got the idea from Cooking Light. I tweaked the recipe quite a bit, mostly by adding ham and cheese and mustard to the mix. My version is not as "light" but it is definitely a worthwhile splurge!
A note about how to shred potatoes
I want to call attention to this step. I a lot of research for this rosti recipe. Mostly I focused on how to shred the potatoes to achieve the desired texture for the potatoes. I wanted them to be crisp on the outside, tender inside. I came away with two choices: grate raw potatoes or to go the extra step of boiling and cooling the potatoes before grating them. I tried both methods. The boil first method was the clear winner. You can throw potatoes into boiling water, skin and all. Once boiled, the skin practically falls off by itself. Chilling the boiled potatoes in the fridge for an hour or so makes them easy to grate by hand. When you cook them, they are the perfect texture inside and out. I'm so happy with this new discovery, I now make potato pancakes this way too.
Rösti is one of my favorite brunch recipes. It always stirs up a lot of excitement and happiness at the table.
More Delicious Savory Brunch Recipes To Try:
- Eggs Mimosa with Tuna [French Deviled Eggs]
- Chopped Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
- Gallo Pinto: Costa Rican Rice and Beans Breakfast
- Smoked Salmon Quesadillas with Goat Cheese
Here's the Rösti recipe. If you try this I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and comment. I'd love to know what you think!
PrintRecipe
Rösti: Shredded Potato Casserole with Ham and Eggs
- Total Time: 4 hours 10 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Shredded potato casserole with ham, cheese, and eggs baked on top. Perfect for breakfast or brunch.
Adapted from this Cooking Light recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds russet potatoes (about 4 large)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 large white onion, finely chopped (2 cups)
- 6 ounces smoked ham, such as Black Forest, diced (¼-inch dice)
- 1 cup low-fat Greek-style yogurt
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 6 ounces grated Emmentaler Cheese (or substitute Gruyere)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 8 large eggs
- Optional garnish of fresh snipped chives, chopped parsley, sliced scallions, sour cream or plain yogurt.
Instructions
- Cook & Grate Potatoes: Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and boil them for ½ hour. Remove potatoes from pot and cool them in the fridge for at least two hours or as long as overnight. Once cooled, peel potatoes and grate them into a large bowl using the large holes in a cheese grater.
- Saute Onions & Ham: Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes, until translucent. Add ham and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Scrape the mixture into the bowl with the potatoes.
- Assemble the Casserole: Preheat oven to 400°F. Add yogurt, mustard, cheese, salt, pepper and cayenne to the bowl with the potatoes, ham and onions. Toss gently to combine (I like using my hands for this) Spread potato mixture evenly into a baking dish (about 13 x 9–inch) coated with cooking spray or lightly oiled. Bake for 25 minutes. Turn the heat up to broil and cook for 4-5 minutes longer, checking every minute, until the top is lightly browned. Turn the heat back down to 400. Remove the casserole from the oven. With the back of a tablespoon, make 8 indentations in top of the casserole. Crack 1 egg into each hole. Return dish to oven. Bake at 400° for 10-12 minutes or until egg whites are firm and yolks barely move when pan is jiggled. Cut into 8 pieces. Garnish with chives, parsley or scallions, sour cream or yogurt, if desired. Serve immediately.
- For brunch or lunch, a simple green salad or steamed asparagus would be a good accompaniment.
Notes
Nutrition Information: The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and is not a substitute for the advice of a professional nutritionist.
- Prep Time: 2 hours 30 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 40 mins
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Swiss
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