Nanaimo Bars
Part of the reason I'm still in Switzerland is thanks to this classic Canadian dessert.
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.
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.
Part of the reason I'm still in Switzerland is thanks to this classic Canadian dessert.
I'm often too lazy to make anything like fried chicken, but if I'm craving something in that vein, this potato chip crusted chicken does the trick. It is absurdly easy to put together, just dip your drumsticks in a yogurt/mustard/mayo dressing then roll in the chips. The result is a glistening and crispy drumstick.
Although this dish is popular all over the world, it was two Swiss people who showed me the best way to make it.
Every evening of my childhood my mum, like the good Swiss ex-pat she is, would make herself a cup of Ovomaltine to drink. As a child I tolerated the stuff, but didn't love it, preferring sweeter powder-in-milk drinks like Nesquik. But over time Ovomaltine made its way into my heart...and my cookies.
Similar to the Italian spring pasta, Pasta Primavera, but with much more cheese.
The classy Swiss have an more elegant Götterspeise than their German neighbours (whose 'food of the gods' is basically Jello). Here, it's a layered dish of compote, custard, and biscuit (often Zwieback), similar to the British Trifle. Yum.
At one time this Arbeiter (worker) version of Cordon Bleu was the only way for lower classes, who could not afford more expensive meats like veal, to make this perennial favourite. Today it is a favourite for anyone who loves sausages and melted cheese (yes, please).
Originally the flammkuchen was used as a way to test the heat of wood-fired ovens. The embers were pushed aside and a very thinly doughed tart (almost like a pizza, but thinner), usually topped with bacon or cheese, would be set in the middle of the oven. If it could cook in as little as 1 - 2 minutes, the oven was at an ideal temperature.
Although it is technically a vegetable, rhubarb is primarily sweetened and used as a fruit. In the United Kingdom, where rhubarb remains quite popular, the first harvest is performed by candlelight in darkened sheds, which is thought to produce the tenderest stems.
Tomme vaudoise is a mild cheese produced in the Western part of Switzerland, sort of a small brie. The inside is creamy and mild, and the rind has a pungent, rustic taste.
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.
Three ingredient chocolate mousse: egg whites, cream, and (Swiss) chocolate.
Leftover bread? Smear on some chocolate spread, toss on some brown bananas, douse in custard, and you've got a breakfast bake.
The beauty of this soup is that it can be made with any of the hard Swiss cheeses, depending on your mood (or what's on sale at the supermarket).
Osterfladen is basically a rice or semolina pudding, baked in a pastry shell. It is sold in the weeks leading up to Easter in most Swiss bakeries.
A coconut vanilla pudding inspired by Coop's yogurt of the month for March. It's rich, creamy, and can double as a tart filling. And because it only uses coconut milk, no regular milk or butter, it's dairy free.
The quality of Swiss milk is unparalleled. The act of taking the cows up to the Alps in the summer and letting them graze on fresh alpine meadows influences the delicious taste of the milk. However, it's not only the alpine pastures that make great milk, swissmilk lists several other reasons why Switzerland's milk is so good.
The classic sausage, potato and leek dish from canton Vaud.
Crunchy nuts, soft truffle filling, marzipan, a slathering of chocolate. Heaven.
Flipping through an old Betty Bossi cookbook, I stumbled upon a recipe for a leek and hazelnut tart. I wasn't in the mood to make pastry, but I was intrigued by the combination of leeks and hazelnuts. I decided to give them a whirl as a risotto instead, and the results were delicious.
