Hi, I'm Andie.
I live near the Swiss Alps, in Bern, and I love not only melting cheese, but all kinds of Swiss cooking.
The Emmental version of a big eggy pancake, primed for fruity or creamy toppings.
Suure Mocke is braised beef with a slightly sweet and tangy sauce. The sour part comes from a long soak in vinegar and red wine.
Difficult to pronounce, easy to eat, these little cheese tarts are an absolute Swiss classic.
Full of greens and cream, this classic soup from canton Fribourg is sure to warm your belly.
The version from Murten, this bready base is topped with slightly sour, slightly caramelized cream.
If you’ve had a salad at a Swiss restaurant, chances are it looked a bit like this.
These flattened meatballs are staple of Swiss comfort cooking, and covered in a creamy mushroom sauce.
Another Swiss family favourite, these puff pastry swaddled sausages are simple, nostalgic, and delicious.
Fabiana’s Lucernese gingerbread is a fan favourite among her five children, numerous grandchildren, and Sam’s family, who lived next door for over a decade.
Although it takes a bit of time, I love making this cake. It looks impressive and tastes wonderful, especially if you aren’t shy with the kirsch that features throughout.
One of Switzerland’s favourite meals is one of its simplest, Gschwellti mit Chäs, boiled potatoes with cheese.
Perfect for apéro (or anytime), these ham croissants are flaky on the outside and savoury on the inside.
Brönnti Creme is a beloved Swiss dessert that you’ll find on the menu everywhere, from Grosi’s kitchen to high-end restaurants.
Although it’s a simple dish, there are still many ways to mess it up.
Although it’s now an absolute standard of Swiss cuisine, the famous dish Zürich Geschnetzeltes (or Züri Gschnätzlets in dialect) is relatively modern, first appearing in the late 1940s.
It was Swiss farmers who first enjoyed Rösti—for breakfast. Today, this grated, fried potato pancake is enjoyed at any time of day, either as its own meal or as a side dish.
Easily Switzerland's most famous bread, Zopf is enjoyed in all regions of the country, particularly the Emmental, where butter is treasured and added to the bread with abandon, and the braids are often giant and sold by the metre.
Flaky pastry stuffed with apples, cheese, potatoes, onions, leeks, bacon, and pears.
With the mercury just over 30°C at the moment, it's certainly too hot to cook, and luckily my Aunt Vreni recently gave me her super quick and easy recipe for Birchermüesli.
This classic Swiss tea cake is chock full of nuts and chocolate and has a wonderfully tender crumb.
A gloriously creamy cake with quark, plums and streusel as the base and topping.
Featuring meringue, fruit and whipped or ice cream, this pavlova-like cake is the perfect summer dessert.
I can’t think of anything more comforting than these cheesy mashed potatoes, formed into dumplings, basted in butter and baked in the oven.
This classic family favourite borrows five ‘p’s from the Italians—pomodoro, Parmigiano, panna, prezzemolo, pepe—but seems to be Swiss at heart.
Available at every Swiss gas station and bakery throughout the country, these sausage rolls are a favourite quick lunch for manual labourers and students (and everyone else).
These flattened meatballs are staple of Swiss comfort cooking, and covered in a creamy mushroom sauce.
Another Swiss family favourite, these puff pastry swaddled sausages are simple, nostalgic, and delicious.
Glimmering in Swiss bakery windows are the weighty Vogelnestli (bird’s nests), with a buttery base and nutty meringue border filled with jam.
The recipe for this dish was first published in the 1977 Betty Bossi cookbook Kochen für Gäste and upon publication all the pork tenderloin in Switzerland was sold out.
A versatile toast from the Entlebuch, sweet and savoury, where creamy mushrooms are the star of the show.
Perfect for apéro (or anytime), these ham croissants are flaky on the outside and savoury on the inside.
Rice pudding on a bed of applesauce and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Classic comfort food.
When my Canadian friends were invited for dinner, my mum made this crowd-pleaser, which we’d refer to as Swiss Hamburger Helper.
Although it’s now an absolute standard of Swiss cuisine, the famous dish Zürich Geschnetzeltes (or Züri Gschnätzlets in dialect) is relatively modern, first appearing in the late 1940s.
On hot days in Switzerland, like in many other countries, people eat salad.
But because it's Switzerland, sometimes a lot of cheese is involved.
Coupe Romanoff isn't originally Swiss, but it’s one of the country’s favourite ice cream sundaes (after Coupe Dänemark, of course).
I often have a difficult time ordering Brät at the butcher's, as I find it really hard to pronounce in Swiss German.
"Brät, bitte"
"Brot?"
"Nein, Brät."
"Brie?"
"Nein, Brääät."
"Oh, Brät!"
Creamy no-bake cheesecake, with the nostalgic taste of Bärentatzen.
My grandmother was an expert mushroom hunter. She would take morning hikes through the forest, collect them in an old wicker basket, and then make Pastetli with mushroom filling for lunch. The secret of which mushrooms to pick was then passed on to my aunt and cousin.
Because mushrooms can definitely kill you.
As early as Roman times filled eggs were served as a first course for wealthy diners. Through the ages they have been enjoyed all over Europe with numerous filling variations including: cheese, raisins, herring, anchovies and even caviar. The Swiss version is like a bacon and egg breakfast with christmas spices.
According to the excellent cookbook, Kochen wie im alten Bern (loosely translated as Cook Like They Did in Old Bern), in the 1700s there was hardly a Swiss cookbook that didn't mention some sort of Zitronensalat (lemon salad).
This "salad" hardly needs a recipe. It is basically just sausage and cheese with a mayo infused vinaigrette. But there is something so comforting and classically Swiss about it. It is perfect as a quick dinner after a day at the pool or lake, something cool and simple, but still relatively hearty.
This recipe for Maispizza (Corn pizza), comes from Betty Bossi's everyday recipe book, Alltags Rezepte mit Pfiff. This book, first published in 1975, is full of strange 70s recipes for meatloaf with banana and nostalgic classics, like this pizza.
The Griessköpfli is akin to rice pudding (creamy, raisiny), but firmer, and therefore sliceable. It is dazzlingly toppable—pour over anything from boozy sauces to fruit compotes or caramels, or eat it plain and revel in its comforting simplicity.