Grate boiled and peeled potatoes so you get strips. In a fry pan with a bit of butter and/or oil, fry onions until slightly golden. Add the potato strips and fry everything until golden-brown. Add salt as desired.
ingredients: approx. 300g boiled potatoes, half an onion, vegetable oil or butter or margarine, salt.
tools: Large fry pan (skillet), grater with large holes (potato rasp), heat-resistant spatule or spoon.
Detailed instructions: For this recipe, use boiled potatoes (in their jacket) cooled down to RT (for a few hours or up to 2 days). Peel them using a knife: hold the potato in one hand and slightly press the blade (holding the knife in the other hand) perpendicularly onto the potato surface, without cutting into the potato skin; put your thumb (of the hand that’s holding the knife) in such a way that it touches at the same time the potato skin and the side of the blade, pinching a bit of skin between thumb and blade; then move the blade (keeping the tumb applied) towards you along the potato surface, so that the skin comes off. Repeat this until all skin is removed from all the boiled potatoes you want to use. Grate the peeled potatoes using a grater with large holes (>2.5 mm diameter; potato rasp); be careful not to cut your fingers (once you hold only a small piece of potato in your hand, stop moving laterally (parallel to the grater surface) and just press firmly onto the potato (perpendicular to the grater surface) to press it throught the holes). Cut the onion. Add 2 Tbs of butter or margarine to a large fry pan and heat (until hot, then reduce the heat). Add onions and distribute them so that each piece touches the butter/margarine and let them fry for about 3 min., then turn them (so that the the surfaces that faced upward before now face downward). Add the grated potatoes and wait for about 2 min. Verify if there is enough fatty matter in the pan: push the potatoes towards the side, so you can see the bottom of the pan, and if the bottom is completely dry, add a tbs more of butter, margarine or vegetable oil (to the visible bottom). Then turn or stir occasionnaly (a few strokes about every minute or so, using a wooden or plastic (plastic must be heat resistant to at least 180°C) spoon or spatula), until the grated potatoes start to get a golden / slightly brownish tint. Add half a teaspoon of salt and mix it thoroughly with the potatoes (and onions). Still using the spatula, press the potatoes into a flat loaf and let it fry for a few more minutes until a brown crust has formed on the bottom of the "loaf". Options: you can add bacon, ham or pepper strips instead of or together with the onions; you can fry an egg (sunnyside up) and serve it on top of the rösti, or you can add cheese (when the potato strips strart to become slightly brown) and let it melt.