Rösti - German (or Swiss) Hash Browns & Eggs

Eggs & Potatoes. That's a hearty breakfast! For the last few Sundays, the men in my life have requested my "Best Pancakes". They really are good, but sometimes I need to eat protein with my carbs! It must be the Bavarian in me, but I'm a potato lover. Potatoes and eggs, is exactly what I was craving, when I thought of this dish. I haven't made Rösti in quite a while. They really are similar to American-Style hash browns, and they are quite easy to make-- especially while, in the middle of grumbling how much I hate to hand grate potatoes, my husband points out where the shredding blade to my food processor has been hiding for months!

(Thinking to myself "it's been hiding because it's been put where it doesn't belong"... grumble, grumble.) I happily abandoned this task and set up the food processor.

Much easier! Since I was cooking for two, I used three Yukon Gold Potatoes. Not having to peel potatoes is a shortcut that I'll take, any chance I can get.

Here's where the rubber meets the road. Potatoes have a lot of moisture in them. If you've ever tried to make homemade hash browns, and they turned out gummy... you can avoid that problem by squeezing the excess water from grated potatoes. If you own a potato ricer, the job is done very easily. Otherwise, you need to use a cheese cloth (or tea towel) and a lot of elbow grease. Look at all that water!

By the way, I use this technique with thawed or cooked spinach.

There are different variations of Rösti. You can add bacon, cheese or onion. Or, all three.

Since the Cuisinart was already used, I grated 1/2 an onion. Drizzle a bit of olive oil, and season with pepper and go light on the salt. You can always add more. Toss to distribute.

I'm using a non-stick skillet, but a cast-iron does a great job, too. I add a little more olive oil and one pat of unsalted butter. Evenly spread the potatoes and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. You can press down on the potatoes, but I use a bacon press. Lift a corner, and when the potatoes have a golden brown, flip over with a large spatula. The total cooking time was 20 minutes.

Adding eggs on top is an option. Sure, you can cook eggs on the side, but I thought I'd test a theory that I could cook the eggs on top-- thus one less pan to clean up.

I decided to put a lid on top...and I waited, and crossed my fingers. It took a few minutes...

Whew. It worked.

Breakfast is served.

If runny egg yolks make you squeamish, skip the eggs on top. Serve this with scrambled eggs. This is a great side dish for dinner, as well.

VERDICT: Pancake loving husband was very quiet. This is a good sign, as all I could hear was the fork hitting the plate. After cleaning off his plate, I got a big "thank you". The potatoes weren't gummy, and they were flavorful. Who needs to buy frozen grated potatoes? Sure, it took a little more prep work, but it's cheaper and just plain delicious.