I can hardly believe it's been almost a week since I last blogged. Greg, A.J., and I were all struck by a god-awful stomach virus, and that set a lot of things back. Almost a week later and I still feel pretty weak from it. Needless to say, I had to change my menu for the week. I cut out one of my recipes, and I am really glad that I did not cut out the rosti casserole with baked eggs. The temperatures here in north Dallas have dipped way down this week, and this dish was perfect for a chilly weeknight dinner. It was fast and very easy to make.
I'd never heard of rosti before making this dish, but apparently it is a very popular, traditional breakfast dish in Switzerland. The traditional version is a pancake shaped dish of fried shredded potatoes, a lot like American hash browns. Rosti tends to be the main dish though, rather than a complement to the main portion of the meal.
This version comes from Cooking Light, so this rosti is not deep fried or fried at all for that matter. This version uses fat free Greek yogurt to bind the shredded potatoes and give it a lovely creaminess. Thanks to Ellie Krieger, nonfat Greek yogurt has been my secret weapon for cooking light, creamy dishes without the fat. I use it in many dishes and as a substitute for mayonnaise in sandwiches sometimes. Greg never can tell the difference. When I first started using it, it was difficult to find at stores other than Whole Foods. However, Stonyfield Farms recently started making their own version of it, so now it's more readily available. You can even buy it some Walmarts now! You can make your own by straining plain, regular yogurt. Place a paper towel into the strainer (wire, mesh works best), and then place the desired amount of yogurt onto the paper towel. Place the strainer over a bowl to catch the liquid (whey). After an hour or two it should have achieved an appropriate thickness.
2 (16-ounce) packages frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
Cooking spray
6 large eggs
Chopped fresh chives
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine yogurt and flour in a large bowl, stirring well. Add turnip, Gruyère cheese, butter, chives, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, black pepper, nutmeg, and potatoes to yogurt mixture. Spread potato mixture evenly into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
3. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
4. Remove from oven. With the back of a spoon, make 8 indentations in top of potato mixture.
5. Return dish to oven. Bake at 400° for 8 minutes or until egg whites are firm and yolks barely move when pan is touched. Cut into 8 pieces. Garnish with additional chives and black pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.
Here is the only picture of A.J. helping me cook this. He was still not feeling all that great, so he was attached to my hip the whole time I was trying to make this! For a person without an extra human being attached to them, this would have been done in less than an hour. It took me about an hour and a half, but it was well worth it. A.J. did not like it, but he was still not eating like he usually does. Greg and I loved it! DO NOT skip the optional chive garnish at the end. It makes a big difference.
The original recipe calls for 8 eggs, but I thought that was overkill. Our society eats too many animal products as it is. I used 6, but probably could have gotten away with 4 or 5.
This dish also surprisingly reheats well. I thought the eggs would be rubbery, but they were not. I want to try this again and try to add carrots or another root vegetable in place of half of the turnip. It would be interesting to see how those flavors mesh.
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