Did They Eat It: Potato Rosti

Following my new rule for myself, to make at least 2 dishes out of every food related magazine I purchase, I made a few things out of the latest Cooking Light.

Logan is on a diet following our December of eating and drinking anything we wanted. I am not on a diet but my indulgences have been cut by half. Ever since I had the stomach flu I haven't been as wild about beer. So probably by the end of the month I'll be as thin as Victoria Beckham. At least close to that. 

So the timing of dinners out of Cooking Light was perfect. 

Rösti is a Swedish SWISS (SORRY, SWISS PEOPLE!) dish made up of mainly potatoes, sort of like a hash brown casserole. This version uses hash browns, Greek yogurt, shredded turnips, gruyere and chives among other things like eggs.

First combine 2 tablespoons of flour with the yogurt.

Mix it up.

Next add 1/4 cup chives, shredded turnips, 1-1/4 cups shredded gruyere, pepper and 1/4 tsp nutmeg.

Add the hash browns and realize your bowl is too small. <Sad Trombone>

Now get a bigger bowl!

Add the melted 1/3 cup of butter, and mix everything up.

Here it is before it goes into the oven.

Here it is after 30 minutes in a 400º oven.

Here's the fun part, make 8 divets in your rösti and crack an egg into each indentation.

My pan wasn't quite 9x13 so I could only fit 6 eggs.

Put back in the oven for 8 minutes.

Cut a piece and sprinkle with some chives, unless you're everyone else in my family and you don't like things that taste good. (This is my piece, obviously.)

Did They Eat It?

I started to suspect from the minute I put this in the oven that my familiy would not like this but Sweet Jesus it smelled so good. It was worth the upturned noses.

Logan: "Look it's not that I don't like it, it's just that I don't ever want to eat this again."
Max: "This is really not very good."
Madison: "You're joking, where's my real dinner."
Melissa: "I love this, I would rub it all over myself and eat it off my own naked body. I enjoyed it quite a bit for a couple of lunch, which is lucky since I'm never going to get to make this again."

Full Recipe (from Cooking Light Jan/Feb 2010) so you can make your family unhappy:

1-1/4 cups fat free greek yogurt
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1-1/2 cup shredded parsnips TURNIPS! (about 2 small)
1-1/4 cup shredded gruyere (5 oz)
1/3 cup melted butter
1/4 cup chopped chives
1-1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp grated whole nutmeg (I used what I had in the pantry)
1 (30 oz) package frozen hash browns, thawed
cooking spray
8 large eggs
chopped fresh chives for garnish
extra pepper

Preheat oven to 400º
Mix the yogurt and flour in a large bowl. Add turnip, chives, gruyere cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg, butter and potatoes to the yogurt/flour mixture.
Spread the mixture into a 13x9 pan coated with cooking spray.
Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly.
With the back of a spoon make 8 indentations in the potato mixture. Crack one egg into each indentation.
Return to the oven for about 8 minutes more, until egg whites are firm.

Garnish with chives and pepper. If you like good food you'll eat this up, watch as your family dies in horror.

Comments

[tuesy]

This looks awesome, even though I know that only 50% of my family would eat it, and 50% of that 50% is away on a business trip for a month. But next month I am going to make this, because I love cooking perfectly acceptable and yummy meals that depress my children as much as you do!

[Kara]

Good lord... it is breakfast for dinner! They must all be mutants or robots to NOT love it!

I would make this (and I probably will) but because I cannot resist messing with recipes, I will probably add in sauteed onions and green peppers in order to bring it even closer to perfection.

[greyfavorite]

Hm... I was with you right up until the eggs.

I love "did they eat it," though, even when I don't love the food. Such a down to earth approach to cooking!

[Pants]

I like the idea of this dish a lot, AND I ate everything on my plate that night. Go the opposite direction that Kara just mentioned -- make it without the parsnips, chives and greek yogurt -- and I'm all in.

[cobblestone]

Mwarararar that looks good. Dang vegan in the house messes everything up all the time!!!

[lynne]

I can pretty much guarantee my kid would hate this (last night she turned her nose up at cornbread muffins - cornbread! who doesn't like cornbread?!) but it looks fabulous to me! I'm so making this. Not that I want to wait this long, but it would be really great for an Easter brunch I bet.

[Shannon]

Your family comments in each one of these "Did They Eat it?" posts are always SO HILARIOUS. I love them even more than the recipes. ;)

[lisame]

Your family hates food. That is the only way I can accept some of the things they won't eat. They hate food.

[madge]

We have the same family. Let's run away together and make delicious, adventurous food every night.

[Sarah]

I sometimes do cooking posts on my blog and have been there with the change of bowl mid-recipe. Isn't it about time someone invented a magically expanding bowl for such occasions?

Also: yum.

[Kristi]

I love these posts too! I thought of you when I made a new recipe the other night and had mixed results. I was thinking of your family comments section as we ate.

[Zynnia]

Ha ha I love reading these posts. It gets so frutrating cooking my family dinner. Luckily, my husband will eat almost anything but my kids are a different story altogether. So I guess misery loves company. LOL. I doubt my family would eat this although I bet they would love it once they tried it with all that cheese. Wait, my husband would probably eat it even though he's not big on breakfast for dinner. he's more traditional that way. I loved the sad trombone its exactly the sound I was expecting. LOL.

[Helen Jane]

I've adopted your 2 recipes from every cooking magazine rule and thank you heartily.

[Alyce]

I'm not a fan of turnips, but with the aforementioned onions and green bell peppers this would so yummy.

Maybe some crumbled sausage, too.

[Amy]

I think my family would love this. We have chickens and are always looking for new ways to use eggs. I'd be the only one that would eat chives, though. And I might just do all potatoes and leave out the parsnips, actually. Otherwise I have everything in my kitchen RIGHT NOW! (Have you ever tried making your own yogurt--SO easy. I never buy yogurt anymore.)

[Erika]

Not nitpicking - just wondering... Is it parsnips or turnips. Although, my gut says either would work fine. So maybe I'll just go with the parsnips, since I like them better. :)

[Michelle]

Looks delicious! I know Rösti as a Swiss dish, but more of a potato pancake rather than casserole - we make by using day-old boiled, shredded potatoes, forming a big cake out of them, and frying it in a pan with lots of butter. I'll usually make beef in a mushroom wine sauce with it, but eggs and spinach are another classic. Your version sounds great too!

[libby]

This looks delicious and I want to try it and I also know there's no way in hell my husband or two kids would be interested. So, this is what I usually do and will offer you the same advice:

Whip this up and instead of putting all in a big casserole divide it into individual size baking dishes. I have a version from corning-ware that come with plastic lids. Store these in the freezer and when you want one for lunch or whatever, just increase the baking time or thaw in the fridge the night before. Follow the regular directions with cracking the egg and voila- your own lovely meal with no waste!

I do this with any freezer-friendly recipe that my family won't eat.

[Tina]

Your cooking posts CRACK ME UP. My tot eats pretty much everything...except he hates pickles (I know...weird!) Anyway, this looks awesome and I love anything with eggs. I think the potatoes would be a HUGE carb load for me though. I just might try it!
P.S.I used to get cooking light pretty regulary too but just got overwhelemd with all the recipes after awhile. Maybe I should start up again!

[Sadie at heyMamas]

The eggs looked so cute in those little divets!!

Sadie at heyMamas

[Sadie at heyMamas]

The eggs looked so cute in those little divets!!

Sadie at heyMamas

[Melissa]

Lynne, my kid won't eat cornbread either!

Melissa, I picture your cabinets and refrigerator extremely organized. Do you have lots of containers for things like what your flour is in? I want!

[Jenny]

Oh, that looks SO good. I love potato-egg-dairy stuff. Thanks for the recipe! My daughter would eat part of it (the egg), my son would hate it, but my husband and I would love it. Yum!

[Stacy]

Parsnips just taste sort of sweet, so I wouldn't ditch them (turnips on the other hand would taste weird in this). The recipe says parsnips, but the directions say turnips. Not interchangeable.

But I'd use full fat yogurt (and not the pricey Greek stuff--just drain the regular organic plain yogurt really well).

[Lynn]

I really like the feature "Did they eat it"! I've found some great recipes that I've tried and I love........

Potato Rosti....BLECH!

[Melissa Summers]

Uhm, okay.

Sent from my iPhone with fat fingers on tiny keys.

[Amy Jo]

I am with you. I would eat an entire pan if it were socially acceptable. Sucks to your family.

[beyond]

Rösti is actually a very typical Swiss dish, not a Swedish one. They both start with Sw and it's amazing how often Americans get it wrong. They never get either of them confused with Swaziland though ; )
Usually Rösti is made in a pan with grated leftover boiled potatoes, kind of like a large potato pancake. This version sounds like a yummy take on it. I would probably have had seconds.

[Beth C]

You family is crazy! This looks awesome. I love your "Did they eat it" feature! Let the experiments continue.

[Michelle]

Seriously. I would totally turn cartwheels if you dished this up for me.

[suestu]

Rössti is Swiss..... not Swedish

[Jaxx]

I think this looks delish to the tenth power. I adore buttered parsnips, not so crazy about turnips. But I do think parsnips are way underused. They are fantastic in beef stews.

I'd go crazy for the chives too. You could use a real heavy hand on mine. And I love Libby's idea about the individual dishes with the egg in the middle.

I think your family is very lucky that you try new dishes. Tell 'em I said so too!

[Nicole]

I did think that rosti was Swiss but I can't figure out if the recipe actually calls for parsnips or turnips. I just made a parsnip soup that nearly killed me with its luscious goodness so I'm guessing that it must be parsnips- considering the rub-it-all-over-your-body yumminess of the recipe. Anyways, it looks fantastic and I am definitely making this.

[Lindsay]

Wait, your family hates potatoes with eggs and cheese? Seriously? I can't even begin to imagine what was objectionable about this dish. Do you know? It doesn't have "weird" spices in it or anything. Your family has officially just baffled me. ;)

[MelissaS]

I think it's the yogurt, Logan especially doesn't like creamy-ish things. Grrrr.

[Kathryn]

I totally read "Did they eat it: Portia De Rossi"

[beth]

Just wanted to say that I totally made this (with the parsnips, which, by the way, my kids wouldn't stop sneaking off the plate onto which I was shredding them, because they LOVED THEM - SURPRISE!!!) last night for dinner with the French Breakfast Muffins (oh my god they taste just like doughnuts) and the whole thing was a HUGE HIT! Deeee-lish. Granted, my crew is vegetarian, so they're more used to trying things that my oldest, who is not veggie, was never exposed to as a little guy, but still. Super awesome. And now I can put parsnips along with the carrots in their lunchboxes, so excellent on that front as well.

Thanks for the recommendations!

[Erin]

Well shiiiiit. I bought all the ingredients without checking back after all your commenters told you HOW WRONG WRONG WRONG YOU ARE. ;)
So parsnips and swedish it will be! Can't wait to see if my husband and my one year old like it.

[Kate]

I don't think that I have ever commented here...I love your did they eat that series!

This looked so yummy that I decided to make it for dinner tonight (sans turnips and chives because I had to stop at Target tonight and they did not have turnips and chives and I was not stopping anywhere else)

Anyway the responses:

Husband: This is the best thing you have ever cooked.

Insanely picky three year old son: It's delicious. It is very yummy in my tummy (note, the child will not eat eggs, potatoes or yogurt alone).

Me: Wow-this is great. Hey three year old are you sure you like it? Are you sure you want to eat your whole serving? I could finish it for you.

Anyway. Thank you.

[paula in ohio]

I'm Swiss and LOVE Rosti! I'm thinking this is on the menu this weekend! Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! And, be sure to give Pants a gold star for cleaning his plate! ;)

[Erika]

Made this last night, with the parsnips. Yummmm....my husband even had seconds. That never happens.

[Elizabeth]

I'm so bummed. I made this and I must have done something wrong because it was kind of icky. Keep up your "Did they eat it" posts. I love them!

[Erika]

I made it a second time, and it wasn't as good. I think what I messed up was 1)not enough cheese and 2) over cooked it. Between those two things, it wasn't as moist. Don't let a slightly runny egg lure you into cooking it another ten minutes.

[misstraceynolan]

I wish I was eating this right now.

[meg]

I made this too and loved it. Yum. Though, i didn't have chives and used leeks. YUM.

[Ryan Elizabeth]

I've been wanting to make this since you posted it, and I finally did last night. Holy cow, it was so good. I ate far too much, and then considered *hiding* the leftovers in the back of the fridge so they could be allll mine.
(And I'm with the others - Did They Eat It is hilarious and awesome.)

[Donna]

We made this for brunch yesterday and it was delicious! I too screwed up: bought parsnips instead of turnips. Not a screwup, just a use-what-you-have: we also used regular yogurt instead of Greek, and Muenster cheese instead of Gruyere. I had seconds and look forward to having it as leftovers most mornings this week. So thanks!