Swiss Rosti With Smoked Salmon and Poached Egg Recipe (2024)

I can't look at this recipe without wanting to retitle it "Salmon Rushdie."

This recipe is fine except for one thing, it just says "par boil" without giving any more information. The potatoes need to be par boiled but undercooked so that they are still slightly firm in the center. If they are cooked until done then the starches will be fully gelatinized and the rosti will not hold together. This is key if you are to be successful in making this.

I parcook my potatoes in the microwave (poke a few holes with tip of paring knife) for 5-6 minutes depending on amount. No muss, no fuss, nothing to wash and easy to cool, wrap and chill. Works like a charm.

I have made rösti many times and I parboil the potatoes for 6-8 mins, depending on size.

I prepare this successfully with raw potatoes. The key here is to grate the potatoes onto a dish towel, then gather the edges of the towel and twist to wring out all the moisture possible. I also fry in a mixture of olive oil and butter, which has a higher smoke point than butter alone.

It's pronounced not roosh-ti but reu-shti, with the "eu" sound similar to the French "eu" as in "un peu" and the "i" sound like the i in the English word "machine." And it's absolutely delicious.

For any recipe calling for shredded potatoes, I always use frozen (defrosted) shredded potatoes. They are already par-cooked. They make superb, crispy potato latkes for Channukah, too.

So how long would you parboil a Yukon Gold potato that's about the size of a baseball? How long for one that's the size and shape (more or less) of a Tommy Atkins (not Ataulfo) mango?

Parboiling instructions are in the description:“For best results, boil the potatoes one day (or at least several hours) in advance and chill. Cook them until just done and still firm — check with a skewer or paring knife — or they will be impossible to grate.”

There's a small, shrinking midwestern food chain called Maid-Rite. The locally owned outlet in Cedar Falls, Iowa serves a superb version of American Rosti, "hash browns." Order hash browns and one of the female owners will grate the potato directly onto the grill. This is definitely not fast food but is as close to a Swiss Rosti as you can get in the USA. I lived in Switzerland for 8 years. There, rosti is frequently served in the cast iron skillet, or a skillet resembling a small paella pan.

So—how long do I parboil the potatoes?

That’s a good one.

Am I the only one who has trouble flipping over a 9" cast iron pan? I need to have a burn kit handy. Much easier with a non-stick and the result is pretty much the same! I sprinkle a little onion powder on the potatoes before cooking (not onions as that adds moisture) and I fry in chicken fat! Makes no difference how you pronounce it - it's good!

Clarified butter is the only fat I would opt for with added flavor perk and has a much higher smoking point that any butter/oil combo. Rosti is an upscale version of hash browns and latkes. "Par" cooking is optimal with the chilling being to the cook's advantage. It simply means to "do ahead" to a certain point. The starch on the potatoes will chill, yielding good results. Older method of using raw potatoes and ridding excess moisture is outdated and very messy.

To those asking, par cook potatoes about half way, or just a bit beyond before chilling. Remember that while the potatoes are cooling, they are still cooking a bit. The potatoes should feels fairly to somewhat soft on the outside with a somewhat firmer center. I boil the potatoes with the skin and it easily peels off the next day. Grating should not require much effort, but should not feel at all mush. It is only trick the first time you do it to judge this.

Very tasty. Follow the notes on keeping the potatoes cold before grating. Grating is a lot of work, used about 6 yellow gold potatoes. Served with smoked salmon. Added some fresh rosemary to potatoes before serving. Eggs were good but not necessary. Served with fresh collard greens with red vinegar, which made a nice pairing.

Very easy to parboil and rapid cool the potatoes by leaving them on the porch during this bomb cyclone winter storm! And it’s just the right lunch to have during it as well.

I liked this, the Picky Husband too, but I must admit that I found the flipping maneuver with a hot cast iron pan a bit trickier than I thought I would.

And don't forget a splash of white wine vinegar in the egg water.

I don't understand step 5. Are you poaching the eggs -inside- the teacups? "Break each egg into a teacup, then carefully slip it beneath the water’s surface."

Made this with a bag of frozen, shredded potatoes from the supermarket (pre-seasoned with salt pepper and garlic) because I was too lazy to grate potatoes by hand. When I did this over medium heat it worked well but you want to do it for 9-10 minutes in a cast iron because it started to crisp up a little TOO well. Substituted some butter for some frozen rendered bacon fat and a dash of olive oil before I flipped it. Also goes great with a fried egg, because I was, again, too lazy to poach it.

Used hot smoked King salmon. I'll need more practice with the Rosti :-) More than just watercress sprigs, I wanted a side salad, so found Florence Fabricant's Watercress and Fennel salad recipe which was just perfect with this dish.%20Search%20Recipe%20Card&pgType=search&rank=1

Has anyone tried this with sweet potatoes? Asking for a friend ;)

A splash of vinegar in the water you poach the eggs in is always a good idea. And Greek yogurt can be substituted for creme fraiche, for a bit less fat.

As I am a widow, I cut the recipe by half and used my mother’s ‘single working girl’s 76 year old #8 cast iron skillet for the rosti. Cooked 10 min. a side to have some very dark but tasty potatoes on the surface, but they were so bland! Next time, I plan to add a great handful of snipped chives, more salt and perhaps dill, fresh from my garden or dried.I did not like this method for poaching eggs, and will return to my usual.And smoked salmon — what could be better?!

Smoke point of clarified butter is 482f (super high), so adding olive oil would lower your smoke point. Parboiling is a technique where you boil and then chill a vegetable partially cooked. As boiling is great for cooking but otherwise will murder your vegetable, you get the best of both worlds when you finish it in a more nuanced fashion. Obviously a potato the size of Manhattan will cook longer than a fingerling, which is why almost cooks shutter at the how long question.

Here in Switzerland, we buy the rösti pre-cooked

For any recipe calling for shredded potatoes, I always use frozen (defrosted) shredded potatoes. They are already par-cooked. They make superb, crispy potato latkes for Channukah, too.