When we think of Swiss food the first thing that comes to our mind is undoubtedly cheese and chocolate. Actually, Switzerland is quite popular for the diversity of its mouth-watering food. Having a great tradition of farming, it’s not by mere coincidence that the country’s most delicious foods have cheese in it.
Article Guide:
Fondue
Fondue cheese is sort of melted dish with some additional ingredients as garlic, corn and wine. It is served in a caquelon pot and always kept at the same temperature. It is so addictive that you’ll find yourself simply wanting more and more.
Papet Vaudois
Papet Vaudois is what we could describe as a mash of leeks and potatoes that are stewed for many hours. The result is an onion-tinged mixture that makes the perfect base for fat and juicy Vaudois sausages stuffed with fluffy meat, unique to the canton of Vaud (saucisson Vaudois).
Rösti
One of Switzerland’s iconic dishes. Rösti is a potato dish made by frying flat round patties of coarsely grated raw or parboiled seasoned potato in oil. No one really knows when this traditional food came into being, but farmers in the canton of Bern would traditionally eat it for breakfast. It is now found throughout the country and across mealtimes. Eat it as a side dish to accompany fried eggs and spinach or a sausage meat called fleischkäse.
Basler Behlsuppe
It’s basically a Basel-style roasted flour soup. It was once said that a girl from Basel could not marry until she knew how to make this recipe. Luckily for her, it is quite simple : it consists of flour, butter, onion and beef stock, topped with a reserved grating of Gruyere. Legend has it the soup was created when a distracted cook was chatting away, leaving flour cooking in a pot until accidentally browned.
Raclette
Raclette is the name of a Swiss cheese made from cow’s milk, but it is also known to be the name of a very popular meal. In the old days, an entire wheel of cheese used to be held up in front of a fire and the cheese was scraped off onto a plate as it melted. Originating from the canton of Valais, raclette is nowadays customarily grilled slowly over a fire, with layer-by-melted-layer sliced off to blanket boiled potatoes, pickles and onions. The name is derived from the French racler, which means ‘to scrape’.
Tartiflette
Tartiflette was born near the French-Swiss border in the department of Haute-Savoie, home to the Reblochon cheese. The name derives from the Savoyard word for potatoes, tartifles, a term also found in Provençal. It is made with potatoes, reblochon cheese, lardons and onions. This rustic plate is a starchy combination of thinly sliced potatoes, smoky bits of bacon, caramelised onions and Reblochon cheese.
Engadiner nusstorte
Sometimes called an bűndnernusstorte, the engadiner nusstorte is a yummy caramelised nut-filled pastry originating from the canton of Graubűnden. the recipe consists of short-crust pastry made from flour, sugar, egg, butter and salt with a filling of caramelised sugar, cream and chopped nuts, usually walnuts.
Zurcher geschnetzeltes
This literally means ‘cut meat Zurich style’. It’s a ragout of veal and mushroom. The veal is cooked with mushrooms, onions, wine and cream and usually eaten with rösti, noodles or rice. If you’re not a big fan of veal, you can replace it with chicken or pork.
Polenta
Polenta is basically a dish of boiled cornmeal. Traditionally, it was cooked slowly in a copper cauldron over a fire, until it was thick enough. It may be consumed hot as a porridge or allowed to cool and solidify into a loaf, which is then baked, fried, or grilled.
Zopf
It is probably the most popular type of bread in Switzerland. This delicious bread is a soft white loaf that resembles the Jewish bread called challah, as they both are recognisable to that beautiful golden crust. The word zopf literally means braid and some even say that it originates from an ancient custom of widows cutting off their braids and burying them with their husbands.
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