Crispy on the outside, tender at its heart and gloriously satisfying. You won’t believe how you can turn such simple 3 ingredients into a magical comforting, buttery side for your breakfast and honestly for any time of the day.
Jump to:
My Crunchy Potato Rosti
Let's be honest, who doesn't like a crispy potato dish? I haven't met someone who does. If you want to impress your guests, make this Rosti recipe.
The potatoes turn out beautifully browned and crisp outside, but perfectly tender in the center. The ghee gives it an unmatched richness and buttery crunch.
Pro Tip
Use ghee or clarified butter, it truly helps with making the perfect color.
Ingredients
Potato rösti
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 medium-sized Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes 460g
- 3 Tablespoons clarified butter or ghee divided (42g)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 cups water for parboiling
Instructions
Prepping Potatoes:
- Scrub and wash potatoes. Do not peel.
- Add water and potatoes to a large pot to your stove top. Over medium-high heat, cook until you can pierce with a large fork, but the potatoes are still firm and not falling apart. The peel should still be intact. The potatoes are not cooked fully throughout like mashed potatoes.
- Carefully drain hot water and run cool water on the potatoes to help cool.
- Place potatoes in a dry bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Peel potatoes and grate on a box grater on the large grate holes. Do not wash potatoes once peeled. Because the potatoes are parboiled they should not brown once peeled.
- Once shredded, pick up potatoes with both hands and squeeze out any moisture left in the potatoes. Even if there is very little liquid, do not skip this step.
Cooking Rösti:
- Melt 2 tablespoons of ghee in your skillet over low to medium-low heat.
- Shape potatoes into a circle for your skillet, about 6 inches wide and ½ inch thick. Sprinkle salt over the top.
- Add potato rösti round into the skillet. Allow to cook for about 8 minutes undisturbed. Try not to touch too much with your spatula and do not raise the heat. You should be able to shake the pan gently and the potato rösti should slide back and forth.
- Once the edges start to brown on the bottom, it’s time to turn it on to the other side. Avoid flipping like a pancake.
- Use either a dinner plate or cutting board. Carefully place it on top of your skillet and turn the skillet over so the rösti is now on your board cooked side up.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of ghee and slide the rösti back into your skillet to cook the other side. Use a fish spatula or slotted turner to shape the rösti into a circle if any stray potatoes have escaped.
- The second side should take about 7 to 8 minutes, cook until golden and crisp.
- Slide off onto a plate or a baking rack. Repeat cooking with a second swiss potato cake.
- Cut into quarters to serve. It should have a yummy crunch.
- Serve as breakfast with an egg or as a side dish or app with sour cream and chives.
Notes
- Use a smaller skillet to have more control over the skillet and inverting onto the cutting board.
- The cutting board or plate should be larger than the skillet.
- It is recommended not to use the shredding blade on the food processor as it makes the potato slices too thin and watery.
- This recipe is easily doubled or tripled.
- An easy make-ahead recipe. Parboil and grate the potatoes and store in a resealable bag until you’re ready to cook for up to 2 days.
- Do not wash the potatoes after they are shredded. It will wash the starch off the potatoes and they may have trouble holding shape when cooked.
How to Make
1- Scrub the unpeeled potatoes, then boil in a pot over medium-high heat until a fork can pierce them but they're still firm and the peel is intact.
2- Drain, rinse with cool water, then refrigerate in a dry bowl for at least 2 hours or overnight then peel.
3- Grate on a box grater's large holes. After shredding, use both hands to squeeze out all moisture from the potatoes, don't skip this step, even if there's very little liquid.
4- Melt ghee in a skillet over low heat, then shape potatoes into a circle, sprinkle with salt, and cook until the bottom browns and the rösti slides when shaken.
Carefully flip the rösti onto a board, add the remaining ghee and slide it back in to cook the other side until golden and crisp.
Slide the finished rösti onto a plate or rack, then repeat with the second potato cake.
FAQs
Starchy potatoes, such as Russet potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes, work best for making Potato rösti.
Yes, when I was testing this recipe I tried multiple recipes with raw potatoes. You do need to work quickly as the potatoes brown quickly. I would suggest scrubbing the potatoes, washing with the skin on and then peel and shred on the box grater. Finally, squeeze out any excess moisture after shredding. Do not wash again. They take a few extra minutes but cook up wonderfully
Once you can pierce a fork into them, take them all out right away. They should not be falling apart or peeling.
Store shredded parboiled potatoes in an airtight container or resealable bag for up to 2 days. When the potatoes are parboiled, there will be no need for a water bath, no texture loss nor discoloration.
Store leftover cooked potato rösti covered in your refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheat: warm in your microwave or put in a skillet with a little bit of clarified butter to gently reheat.
These should not be flipped like a pancake. Instead, place a cutting board or plate over the skillet, flip the skillet over, then slide the rösti back into the pan uncooked-side down. Be sure to add clarified butter each time you put the rösti in the pan. This keeps it from sticking as well as making the potatoes crisp and golden!
I like to put a cutting board over the skillet, flip it onto the skillet and then slide it right back into the pan, uncooked side down.
Tips for getting the best golden brown potato rosti
- Small skillet, low heat, allowing it to cook on the first side without trying to fix it too much.
- Use ghee or clarified butter, it truly helps with making the perfect color.
- Squeeze out as much moisture as possible before cooking.
- Invert quickly onto a larger than skillet sized cutting board or plate. Also try to keep straight to avoid allowing it to slide back into the pan before you’re able to put a touch more of ghee into the pan before cooking the 2nd side.
Serving suggestions
- Eggs (fried or poached)
- Sour cream or crème fraîche
- Chives or green onions
- Smoked salmon
More Sides and Snacks
- Bruschetta with Mozzarella.
- Spanakopita Triangles.
- Pizza Balls.
- Little Smokies with Crescent Rolls.
- Cheese Stuffed Breadsticks.
- Cheese Pretzel Bites.
More For Potato Lovers
Would you like to save this post?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Leave a Reply