We met a really cool person the other day, and they inspired us to try making something we haven’t cooked in way too long…Tater Tot Casserole! As we normally do, we wanted to play around with the concept a bit and try a few new things…but in the end, we had a delicious creamy, meaty, veggie infused filling topped with cheesy crispy potatoes!
Subbing in for the tater tots was Rösti, which is really a lot like a gigantic flat Swiss tater tot…and we used Emmentaler, which is the iconic cheese with holes from Switzerland. We are excited to make this one again to share in the future!
Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 Pound Ground Meat (we used pork, but beef and mutton would also work well)
- Red Onion
- White or Cremini Mushrooms
- Green Beans
- 1 Cup Cottage Cheese
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Large Russet Potato
- 4-6 Ounces Grated Emmentaler or Gruyere cheese
Method:
- Prep all of your ingredients:
- Peel and grate your potato with the shredding plate attachment of your food processor or a box grater. Then squeeze as much moisture out of your shredded potatoes as you can over a sink, and put the squeezed shreds into a bowl. Mix in a little salt.
- Dice your onions
- Dice your Mushrooms
- Dice your Green Beans
- Grate your cheese.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Melt some butter in a large pan. Note while choosing the pan: If you have just one large cast iron pan, wait to use that for your potatoes, and use a different pan for this part.
- When your butter is melted, add your onions and green beans, and sautee for about 5 minutes until your onions turn opaque.
- Add in your meat and mushrooms, and pour your Worcestershire sauce in as well. Cook until your pork browns.
- As your meat cooks, heat up your cast iron pan, and melt some butter. When the butter melts and stops bubbling, add in your shredded potatoes. Allow to sit in the pan for about 7-8 minutes, and then flip your potatoes in sections to cook the other side. You may need to add a little more butter as you go.
- When your meat has browned, use a slotted spoon to scoop your pork and veggies into a casserole dish. Add and stir in your cottage cheese.
- When your potatoes are a nice golden brown spread them atop your meat/veggies.
- Place everything in the oven for about 25 minutes to further crisp up your potatoes.
- When your potatoes are crispy and golden brown, spread your cheese atop, and bake for another 5 minutes to melt.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
Its a monster mash, but it sounds like it would be really tasty. Emmentaler cheese is probably the first cheese I loved when I was still in single digits. Interestingly, both Germany and France have a version of Emmentaler cheese. The german version is bland, lacking the nuttiness of the swiss original. The french version is somewhat better (what else would one expect from a nation that defines its culinary self through cheeses?), but still ends up lacking compared to the swiss original. And, of course, Gruyere would be an excellent alternative to Emmentaler. It is a cheese that wins when heated, even though it is excellent enjoyed at room temperature.