There is a cuisine with the 'Bernese plate' and Bernese rösti. A cuisine with Vaud sausages and leeks. With St. Gallen Ribelmais and whitefish from Lake Constance. Valais is famous for its raclette, Graubünden for capuns, Zurich for geschnetzeltes, Lucerne for Chügelipastete, and Ticino for mortadella and luganiga. Everywhere you will find sausages – in Switzerland there are more than 350 varieties. And obviously, given the size of the country, this is a world record.
Nevertheless, thanks to information from Switzerland Tourism, we have selected several Swiss cuisine dishes that most vividly characterize the regional characteristics of this beautiful country.
If you decide to prepare at least one of the Swiss cuisine dishes listed below, make sure your kitchen is equipped with a high-quality hob.
Capuns: Stuffed Rolls
The chefs of Graubünden master the art of wrapping a filling of meat and vegetables in chard leaves. They demonstrate their skill by preparing capuns – a dish that has evolved from simple peasant food into a local delicacy. Every family, every village, every valley has its own recipe. And each one, of course, is the most delicious!
Bündnerfleisch: First-Class Snack
High-quality beef, air-dried in the open Alpine air for 10–15 weeks: the secret of Bündnerfleisch lies in its preparation process. The main thing is not to forget to rub the meat with a special mixture of herbs and spices. Bündnerfleisch is usually cut into paper-thin slices, and eaten with crispy crispbread, washed down with local Graubünden wine – that's real Alpine food.
Gerstensuppe: Hearty and Delicious
The famous Graubünden barley soup has been prepared here for several hundred years. In addition to barley, many other ingredients are added, including bacon and beans. Today, Gerstensuppe is considered a local delicacy, so it is served even in high-end restaurants, such as Jöhri's Talvo.
Engadiner Nut Tart
Fuatscha grassa – that's what the people of Engadin call the sweet shortcrust pastry from which they bake the famous nut tart. Its delicious filling will be remembered for a long time: it consists of walnuts, honey, caramel, and cream. It is said that the recipe was brought home by Engadin confectioners who went to work in Italy, France, and America in the 18th century. Since then, the recipe has been refined and changed. Today, the Engadiner nut tart is one of the culinary symbols of Graubünden, a classic of Swiss cuisine that has conquered the world.
Plain in pigna on Open Coals
This dish is as enduring a symbol of Engadin as the sun and snow. This casserole of potatoes and meat is cooked in a wood-fired oven on glowing coals until it gets a crispy crust. Enjoy the long-forgotten taste of traditional country food!
Spanish Pastries
Spanischbrödli ("Spanish pastries") are light, wonderfully tasty puff pastries. In the 18th century, these pastries became so popular among Zurich's wealthy that they often sent their servants to Baden at night to bring the treats just in time for breakfast. In 1847, Switzerland's first railway was nicknamed the "Spanischbrödlibahn" (Spanish pastry railway). And in 2007, four confectioners created a new version of the treat with a carrot-nut filling.