We have only presented one recipe from Switzerland so far, namely for a Bernese rösti. This is a rösti made from pre-cooked potatoes. It’s best to read this recipe again before you continue, as we explain the individual steps a little more briefly here.
One of Switzerland’s most internationally recognised dishes is certainly Zürcher Geschnetzeltes (‘Züri-Gschnätzlets’) and that’s what we’re cooking today. It also includes a rösti, but Zurich style. Raw potatoes are usually used for this.
These potatoes should be mealy, i.e. quite soft after cooking. Such potatoes contain more starch, which is important for this dish. You can prepare this rösti at the same time as the main course if you are experienced and don’t let yourself get carried away while cooking. If you’ve never done this before, you may prepare the rösti in advance and finish it just before serving.
Zurich Rösti:
The simplest – yet delicious – version is as follows:
Mealy potatoes, as large as possible, are first peeled and then coarsely grated. You also need a clean kitchen towel and a bowl or deep plate.
We grate the peeled potatoes directly onto the spread-out cloth. It’s not a bad idea to have a (very cheap) safety glove in the kitchen for this and similar tasks.
The corners of the cloth are then folded upwards and twisted in so that all the grated potatoes lie in a bag.
Now twist the cloth tighter and tighter and at the same time squeeze the potatoes very hard with the other hand. You will be amazed at how much liquid they release.
The grated potatoes, which are now quite dry, are placed in a bowl and seasoned with salt, pepper and a little ground nutmeg. Then mix everything together very thoroughly with your hands and especially your fingers.
Bring a large pan to a medium-high heat and melt some clarified butter in it. An alternative is neutral vegetable oil, olive oil is not suitable here.
Then spread the grated potatoes evenly in the pan and press into a patty using a spatula. The edges in particular should be compact and about the same thickness as the centre.
The heat is set to just below medium (we: 4 out of 10). The rösti will be crispier if it cooks slowly. Also, if the temperature is too high, the outside will brown a lot, while the centre will still be raw.
It takes about 15 minutes for the outer edge of the rösti to start to crisp up and brown slightly. From now on, simply lift the rösti again and again carefully, just a little, with a kitchen spatula and check the browning on the underside. When it is golden, turn the rösti over. We have also explained how to do this here.
A few flakes of butter are added to the edge of the pan, where they melt immediately. By tilting the pan a little and rotating the rösti in it, you can easily spread the butter over the entire base of the pan. Now it only takes about 5 minutes until all the potatoes are cooked and both sides of the rösti are crispy brown.
If you prepare the rösti first, put the pan to one side after adding the butter and only heat it up again when the main course is ready. And now we come to that:
Zürcher Geschnetzeltes:
Zürcher Geschnetzeltes is tender, briefly sautéed veal with mushrooms in a cream sauce. It first appeared in a cookery book in 1947. Here we show how it is usually prepared today, with very few variations.
The meat should be of the best quality. We recommend using the fine top round from which the best veal schnitzel is cut. Button mushrooms can be white or brown and are only rubbed with a cloth, but not washed wet. We prefer shallots to onions because of their more delicate flavour. You also need white wine and cream. We like to add veal stock for more flavour, but it also works without.
It is important to buy the meat in one piece and cut it yourself, because the thickness is important. This fine meat should end up tender and pink on the inside, but not cooked through. It must therefore never be cut too thinly. We recommend first cutting slices of just under 1.5 cm and then cutting them into strips of the same thickness.
The shallots are cut very finely, the finer the better. Only remove the hard end of the stalk from the mushrooms, then cut them into slices ( we do 3 mm).
Now a heavy pan is heated very high, it must be as hot as possible. We use level 10 out of 10 here. Then some clarified butter is melted and the meat is placed in the pan. The strips must not lie on top of each other, so if you have a larger portion, you should do this in batches.
Very important: the meat is not stirred nor is the pan tossed! It should be seared, which takes less than 1 minute at this heat. Only when it is nicely browned on the bottom are the strips turned over one by one. This is best done with kitchen tongs, otherwise with two forks or spoons.
The other side is also only seared very briefly, then the meat is immediately removed from the pan and placed side by side on plates or a tray so that it cools down and does not cook any further. Under no circumstances should it be placed on top of each other, otherwise it would retain heat and become tough.
The meat is still raw on the inside, which is how it should be. The main purpose of searing is to create flavour, and this is now also in the pan, which is of course not rinsed but used again.
Next, the mushrooms are sautéed over a medium-high heat without adding any more fat until they start to release liquid. Then the shallots go in. If the pan seems too dry at this point, a little clarified butter can be added.
Once the shallots have become translucent after 2 – 3 minutes, pour in the white wine and cook until there is almost no liquid left in the pan. We don’t want that or the alcohol, we want the flavour.
If you are using veal stock like us, now pour in this too and reduce the liquid again. Otherwise, this step can be omitted.
Only then is cream added. Many recipes use flour to thicken the sauce. We don’t particularly like this in terms of flavour and consistency. Instead, we let the cream simmer gently until it has the desired thickness. This takes a little time, but in our opinion produces a better result. If you still want to thicken the sauce, you can dissolve ½ teaspoon of starch in 2 tablespoons of cold water and add to it.
When the sauce is to your liking, season with salt and pepper from the mill. Put the pan on the lowest heat setting so that it only stays warm. Only now is the meat added again, with all the juices it has released while resting. It is stirred and the meat only warms up in the sauce while it gently finishes cooking. This keeps it soft and delicious.
At the very end, you can add some fresh, chopped parsley. If you like, you can use a few dashes of lemon juice to add freshness and acidity.
Serve with rösti, but not on the rösti, which would otherwise become soggy.
Enjoy.
And may the taste be with you.
Ingredients (for 2 people):
For the Rösti:
600 g mealy potatoes (plenty for 2 people, but otherwise it will be too small – the leftovers taste great too)
1 tsp salt
Black pepper from the mill (5 – 6 turns)
A pinch of grated nutmeg
1 tbsp clarified butter
4 tsp butter
For the Zürcher Geschnetzeltes:
1 tbsp clarified butter
400 g veal from the top round
200 g mushrooms
2 shallots
100 ml white wine
100 ml veal stock (optional)
200 ml cream
Salt and black pepper from the mill
Some fresh parsley
Optional: a few dashes of lemon juice
