On my wife’s and my first trip to Switzerland, we were introduced to Rösti, and it changed our world. We had both had American hash browns before, but the Rösti was just different! It had more flavor, more of a crispy outside with a pillowy interior, and we were hooked! Fast forward a few years, and we have had a lot of fun playing around with the concept of Rösti, either incorporating the potato version into funky dishes or swapping out the potatoes as the main ingredient with things like turnips, pumpkin, or beets. This recipe falls into the latter category, as zucchini stands in for potatoes!
Given the amount of liquid in zucchini (and the expected lack of starches that potatoes have), this dish won’t get crispy…at least not without some additions. But it’s just pure zucchini goodness, which is the way we wanted it. Oh, and the zucchini were from our garden, so that’s an added bonus!
We served our Zucchini Rösti under Tofu Schnitzel with Raclette, and the two worked exceedingly well together to form a lower calorie, vegetarian take on a classic Swiss dish.
Time: 45 Minutes
Ingredients:
- One medium to large Zucchini or Yellow Squash per serving
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Paprika
Method:
- Cut the top and bottom ends off your zucchini.
- Grate your zucchini either by using a box grater or cutting it into chunks and using your food processor’s shredding plate.
- Place your shredded zucchini in a large colander in the sink, and press with most of your might downward to start removing water from the flesh.
- Grab small handfuls of zucchini, and squeeze out as much additional water as you can, and then place the squeezed shreds into a large bowl. Keep doing this until all the zucchini is in the bowl.
- Add a little salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and paprika to the zucchini, and stir to combine.
- Heat some butter in a large cast iron pan, and when it’s melted and nearly stops bubbling, add your zucchini.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, for around 20-25 minutes until the rest of the liquids evaporate away from the pan.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
