Rösti, because today is a swiss day

Today is the swiss national day. When I was younger, I thought it was to commemorate William Tell shooting the apple of his son's head. But i's not, it's some more boring signing of paper apparently. I still like my version better, it's more festive.

I seem to have some swiss heritage, which would explain my slow way of going thru life. Switzerland is just around the corner for me, so I like to celebrate the day my own way, which obviously includes food.

Now I have already shared my favorit swiss dessert: the carrot cake, so this time let's go for something savory. Of course we all think about swiss fondue or raclette cheese, but those are not really summer dishes and my stomach is not very lactose friendly.

An other swiss classical is the Rösti (pronouce raw-ch-tee), which is a potato pancake. It can be made with raw or cooked potatoes, but as the cooked potatoes are better used the day after, and I don't always plan that far ahead, let's go for the raw version.

As it's summer, and I wanted something lighter and healthier than just potatoe, this one includes a vegetable. This is no fast food, it takes a while to get ready, but with minimal effort and ingredients for great satisfaction.

Courgette and Potato Rösti

Serves 1

1 Big Potato
1 Small Courgette
2 Tablespoons of Oil
1 Tablespoon of Chives, chopped
Coarse Salt

Peel the potato well and the courgette partly, so you have a bit of green left. Now grated them roughly, and try to have a half and half ratio.

Press them in between your hands, to try to get as much liquid out of them as possible.

In a non sticky frying pan, on a low/medium heat, put the oil in and add the potatoes and courgette. Try to combine everything well, let it cook for a few minutes.

Then try to form the pancake, by gathering everything in a round shape and pressing it down a little. Leave it for about 10 minutes, and than comes the hard part: flipping it. I use the lid of of a pan, slide the rösti on it and flip it back in the pan.

This should take about 40 minutes, just keep flipping every 10 minutes until it has a nice golden color.

Serve with freshly chopped chives and coarse salt.