Plain in Pigna
Rösti.
...a Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes, in the style of a fritter.
Simple, right?
Wrong.
Rösti is my nemesis. Whether grating the boiled potatoes myself, or frying them right out of the bag, I always manage to fail spectacularly. You should be able to crisp up one side to a nice golden brown, flip it over with the help of a plate, and then crisp up the second side, but mine always ends up breaking and we have potato hash for dinner.
So, imagine my glee upon discovering Plain in Pigna a traditional recipe from the Engadine valley in the canton of Grabünden. Apart from having breathtaking scenery, and keeping Switzerland's fourth official language alive, they also have an idiot-proof Rösti.
Plain in Pigna removes the two most annoying aspects of Rösti-making. Having day old boiled potatoes on hand, and the dreaded flip. Instead, you grate raw potatoes and spread them on a baking sheet. Throw in some bacon, and some cornmeal for a nice crunch. Finito.
I used a mix of the recipe from a lovely book on Bündner cooking that Sam gave me for my birthday, and Betty Bossi's version in Schwiizer Chuchi.
800 g potatoes
1 tbsp flour
3 tbsp coarse cornmeal
nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste
50 g Bündnerfleisch (or similar), in pieces
100 g bacon, cubed
50 g butter
Preheat the oven to 200 C / 400 F / gas mark 6.
Peel and grate the potatoes.
In a large bowl, mix together the potatoes, flour, cornmeal, nutmeg, salt and pepper, Bündnerfleisch, and bacon.
Spread the mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
Break the butter into little pieces and sprinkle over top.
Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until desired crispiness.
If you don't have Bündnerfleisch or a similar dried meat, just up your bacon by 50 g.