I don't want to go there! (Week 44 - Switzerland)

My husband then picked out Switzerland and I was quite excited, but of all the countries so far, this country proved to be the least popular. We had Fettuccini with saffron (yes, I even gulped hard and brought the expensive spice). My son asked if we had to have it again, as he really didn’t like it (to be honest, neither did I) I also made a Rosti, actually I made two. One of potato, and the other of sweat potato and the latter proved to be the bigger hit. My Mum lent me her old cookery book (early 60’s) and that has a Rosti recipe, which is quite different to the one we had; and one we all liked. It was at this point that my son decided he didn't want to visit Switzerland. I found a breakfast recipe Cholermues (omelette) and despite the length of time it took to make, and the quantity it made, we all really enjoyed it. Although, we ate far too much of it and as it was really rich we all felt a little delicate! Friends of ours had a Swiss au pair staying and – eventually – I plucked up the courage to tell her our thoughts of Swiss food, she took it well and gave me a bread recipe, which she has cooked and is from an old Swiss cook book. I made it – and we loved it – but I cannot find where it is. I will try and look for it and add later. I was getting a little despondent about the food so did some more searching and came across Zürich Geschnetzeltes (cut meat Zürich style) a little different, but we liked it much more than the saffron pasta!

Cooked with score (out of 100):

Swiss fettuccine with saffron ……………………………..33

Cholermues (Omelette)…………………………………...75

Rosti…………………………………………………………………67

Autentic Swiss Bread.[no recipe].........................86

Zürich Geschnetzeltes………………………………………75

 

Wanted to cook:

Basler leckerli (Cookies)

 

 

Rosti

 

A simple dish found everywhere. To prepare this, boil potatoes in their jackets, peel and let them go cold before using. Then slice or shred them. Fry some sliced onions in shallow fat, add the potatoes and fry to a golden brown. This must be done quickly and the rosti served as soon as ready

 

Cholermues  (Swiss breakfast omelette with dried fruit filling)

A kind of sweet omelette, known as cholermues, is a typical breakfast from Swiss Alps. The omelette is usually sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, often filled with apples or pears, fresh, sliced or stewed.

Fruit filling

175g dried fruit bits

350ml water

Freshly squeezed lemon juice

25g unsalted butter or margarine

10g cornstarch

15ml maple syrup

 

Cholermues

40g unsalted butter or margarine

125g white flour

4 eggs

250 ml light cream

1 pinch cinnamon

 

Fruit Preparation

1. Soak the dried fruit all night long in the water and lemon juice. Drain fruit, holding liquid for later. Melt the butter in a small pan over medium-high heat. Add cornstarch, stirring quickly to avoid lumps.
2. Stir in the syrup and the reserved liquid. Stir until mixture is thick and smooth.
3. Add fruit and simmer on very low heat while you prepare the omelette. Add a little water if liquid reduces too much.
    
   Cholermues

1. Mix flour, eggs, single cream, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Whip until foamy.
2. Cover bowl with a towel and let stand in refrigerator for 15 minutes. Take out and whip mixture again before using.
3. Heat up a large skillet to medium high. Melt butter and add egg mixture when the butter is bubbling. Cover the pan and lower the heat. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes, until the bottom of the omelette turns golden.
4. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to break the omelette into small bits -bite size- and turn them over. Allow egg mixture to become firm.
5. Garnish with the stewed fruit and serve immediately.
    
   Notes

• Use honey instead of maple syrup. Use half and half instead of light cream.
• Try to flavour the omelette with other spices -ground nutmeg, allspice or ginger, for instance.
• It is a long established practice to let the mixture for crepes, pancakes and similar stand for at least 15 minutes before using it -it can be prepared in the evening and kept in the fridge until the morning. Modern science does not find any difference between using the mix straight away or letting it stand, so it is your choice.
• Once you break the omelette into pieces and flip them over, you can turn off the stove and let the omelette cook on the residual heat in the pan.
   

Swiss fettuccine with saffron

Saffron is used to flavour food and to colour it pale golden yellow. Turmeric is often suggested as a substitute for saffron. Although turmeric adds a similar pale yellow colour, the flavour is completely different.

225g mince pork

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp white pepper

½ tsp dried sweet basil

720ml chicken stock

60g cornstarch

125ml light cream

½ tsp saffron strands (loosely packed)

Fettucini

Cheese (optional)

 

1. Prepare fettuccine according to package instructions. Drain and keep warm.
2. Brown pork in a large skillet, stirring constantly, then drain excess fat. Add chicken stock, lower heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
3. Blend cornstarch and cream. Add this mixture to the simmering pork a little at a time, stirring continuously. The sauce will soon - about 1-2 minutes - become thick and creamy.
4. Turn heat to lower and add saffron, stirring until blended. Let the sauce simmer, uncovered, until ready to serve.
5. Distribute pasta among 4 serving bowls. Ladle saffron sauce over noodles, top with cheese, and serve.
    

Zürich Geschnetzeltes

Ingredients for 4 persons:

300 g (0.66 pounds) fresh mushrooms, sliced

juice of ½ lemon

spices

600 g (1.3 pounds) veal, cut in small pieces

2 tablespoons margarine

1 onion, cut in very small pieces

1 dl (3.4 fl. ounces) white wine

1 to 2 dl (3.4 to 6.8 fl. ounces) water

1.5 to 2 dl (5 to 6.8 fl. ounces) cream

gravy-powder

Paprika

1 teaspoon salt

ground pepper

 

Preparation:

1. Cook the mushrooms together with the lemon juice in a small, covered pot. Heat up slowly, cook for 2 minutes.
2. Pour the liquid into a cup. Add some spices to the mushrooms, keep them warm.
3. Melt the margarine in a frying-pan. Add the onions, stew. Increase the heat, add the meat, add some water and roast gently. Turn the meat occasionally to make sure it gets roasted evenly.
4. Remove the meat. Add the white wine, let cook until the liquid thickens.
5. Add the liquid from (2) plus some gravy-powder, cook until the sauce binds.
6. Add the cream and increase the heat slightly. Add paprika and some spices.
7. Pour salt, pepper and ½ teaspoon paprika on the meat. Put meat into the sauce, increase the heat, but do not cook. Add the mushrooms.
    
   Remarks:
   "Zürich Geschnetzeltes" is usually served with "Rösti" (hash browns), but rice or pasta fits fine as well.
   In a restaurant, if this menu is declared as "Zürich Geschnetzeltes", it has to be made out of veal, but you can use pork or chicken if you wish.
   If you like kidney, you may want to replace half of the veal with it.
   Source: Betty-Bossi
    

Basler leckerli (Cookies from the city of Basel)

225g Honey
125g brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
5ml kirsch
300g whole wheat flour plus 50g for kneading
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ ground ginger
1 cup finely ground almonds
1 tbs grated lemon peel

Glaze

½ cup powdered sugar
1 tbs Kirsch

 

1. Place honey and sugar into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, transfer to a large glass bow, and let cool for 20 minutes.
2. Mix egg and 1 tsp kirsch into honey and sugar. Stirring to blend and a little at a time, add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Finally, mix in almonds and lemon peel and turn into smooth dough.
3. Place dough onto a floured surface. Knead, adding in enough remaining flour, until the dough is soft and no longer sticky. Shape the cookie dough into a ball, wrap in plastic film. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
5. On a lightly floured sheet of aluminum foil or grease proof paper, roll dough into a rectangle of even thickness. Transfer grease proof paper and dough to a 10x15-inch baking sheet leaving 1-inch around for the dough to expand. Bake on the middle rack for about 15 minutes, or until top is golden brown and centre springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven.
6. While the cookies are baking, mix the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon kirsch, or liquid for the glaze, in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to spread glaze over the warm cake.
7. Lift paper with still warm cake to a cutting board. Cut into 2-inch squares. Remove any remaining paper and leave them to cool.

 

Notes

These cookies taste great when they have been standing for a while. If you store them between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container for 3-4 days before serving, and compare those to readymade cookies, you will be able to tell the difference.

Kirsch is liquor used only for flavour. If you want to avoid it altogether, substitute 1 tsp kirsch with ¼ tsp almond extract. The amount of kirsch in the original recipe is much larger, as it is the main liquid used to form the dough, but it has already been substituted with beaten egg.

 

About the Country...

Language rights are enshrined in the Swiss constitution. German, French, Italian and Rhaeto-Rumantsch. The first three are official languages, but Rumanstch is a national language spoken by only 0.5% of the population. However, Switzerland t has no written language of its own. The language communities eat different things and have different traditions and customs. Even their shared history only goes back about two centuries.

One thing that is shared is chocolate. Switzerland is famous for its chocolate, François-Louis Cailler established the oldest chocolate factory still in use in Switzerland, which opened in 1819. Other famous names include Philippe Suchard who was not only a major chocolate manufacturer, but was involved in a range of enterprises aimed at economic development. Jean Tobler founded his own factory in 1899 producing the chocolate for which the company is most famous. The name Toblerone is a play on Tobler and the Italian word "torrone", meaning honey and almond nougat.

 

Rodolphe Lindt (1855 - 1909) founded a chocolate factory in Bern in 1879. He developed two important improvements in manufacture which made his chocolate much smoother and less bitter than that of its rivals, as well as being easier to mould. Lindt put the chocolate mixture into a roller grinder where it was kept moving for 3 days. The action warmed the mixture and the movement aerated it. He further refined the chocolate by adding cocoa butter. Lindt came from a wealthy Bernese family, and was more interested in the quality of his output than he was in making money. His chocolate became famous not only because of its quality, but also because of its scarcity.

 

Switzerland is recognised as an international research centre. Both the Swiss state and the private sector are strongly involved in promoting science and technology. Swiss scientists are involved in ground-breaking research, in part with foreign colleagues, in sciences ranging from nanotechnology to space research. This scientific success has a long history. Many Swiss and Swiss-based scientists have won Nobel prizes and it was where the Red Cross was established in 1863. It is also famous for its banking and financial services, which are key to its economy, as is the manufacture of precisely, engineered items, such as watches and clocks.

 

The Swiss themselves are sometimes puzzled about what they have in common apart from their passport, what it is that makes them Swiss, 60% of the country is made up of the Alps. The Swiss say they are held together by the desire to stay united. The general attitude is summed up in the formula "unity, but not uniformity."

 

 

CUISINE

 

The food is simple and almost peasant in origin, with regional dishes. There is not a specific Swiss vegetable soup, nor sweet, cakes or pastry as most are French or Austrian in origin. Swiss tend to have cheese or fruit for dessert. They do eat lots of bread, and a national speciality is black cherry jam and of course there are the most popular cheese dishes are fondue and Raclette, hot cheese dribbled over potatoes, served with small gherkins, pickled onions etc. Both these dishes were originally regional dishes, but were popularized by the Swiss Cheese Union to boost sales of cheese.

 

Rösti is a popular potato dish that is eaten all over Switzerland. It was originally a breakfast food, but this has been replaced by muesli, which is commonly eaten for breakfast and in Switzerland goes by the name of "Birchermüesli" ("Birchermiesli" in some regions) – incidently, Muesli was invented in Switzerland. For breakfast and dinner many Swiss enjoy sliced bread with butter and jam. There is a wide variety of bread rolls available in Switzerland. Bread and cheese is a popular dish for dinner.

 

Tarts and quiches are also traditional Swiss dishes. Tarts in particular are made with all sorts of toppings, from sweet apple to onion. Cervelat or cervelas is considered the national sausage, and is popular all over Switzerland.

 

Regional dishes need to be mentioned, due to the uniqueness of the country, so in the French part you would find Papet vaudois, a filling dish of leeks and potatoes usually served with Saucisse au chou (cabbage sausage) and Carac, a Swiss short crust pastry with chocolate.  In the German part you would find Älplermagronen: (Alpine herdsman's macaroni) a frugal all-in-one dish making use of the ingredients the herdsmen had at hand in their alpine cottages: macaroni, potatoes, onions, small pieces of bacon, and melted cheese. Traditionally Älplermagronen is served with applesauce instead of vegetables or salad. Cut meat, Zurich style (Zürcher Geschnetzeltes), often served with Rösti. Tirggel are traditional Christmas biscuits from Zurich. Made from flour and honey, they are thin, hard, and sweet and Zopf (bread).

 

Then from the Italian part you have Pizzoccheri, short tagliatelle made of buckwheat flour cooked along with greens and cubed potatoes. For centuries polenta was regarded as a meal for the poor. Corn was introduced to the south of what is now Canton Ticino as long ago as the beginning of the 17th century, which led to a change in the monotonous cuisine. But it took another 200 years before polenta - at first made of mixed flour, only later of pure cornmeal - became the staple dish of the area. Saffron Risotto is a common dish from Ticino, the southernmost canton of Switzerland.

 

And finally, Graubunden Canton part has Bündner Nusstorte, nut cake. There are several different recipes for nut cake, but the most famous is probably the one from the Engadine, a valley in Canton Graubünden. There is also Chur Meat Pie and the most famous soup, Graubünden Barley Soup.