1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (84 page)

The most purely Swiss among the country’s many cured meat specialties—high-quality interpretations of the sausages and hams of its French, German, and Italian neighbors—bündnerfleisch is akin to the Italian dried beef
bresaola
, but with a more intense flavor and a firmer texture. Once cured, the lean, dark-red meat is sliced tissue thin. Seasoned with a few drops of red wine vinegar and a spoonful or two of olive oil and accompanied by a piece of
burebrot
, the region’s sourdough country bread, it makes for an enticing appetizer or snack, especially when served with a glass of red wine. Alas, it is very difficult to find Swiss bündnerfleisch outside of its home country, as very little is exported. The best substitutes are the Italian Parmacotto bresaola and Bernina bresaola from Uruguay.

Where:
In New York
, Mont Blanc, tel 212-582-9648,
montblancrestaurant.com
.
Retail and mail order:
In New York and Chicago
, Eataly,
eataly.com
.
Mail order:
amazon.com (search bresaola bernina).

To the most obsessed chocolate lovers, bonbons filled with nuts, fruits, flavored creams, and what have you are mere novelties. For true, intense chocolate appreciation, nothing but plain, thin bars will do. Chipped-off chunks of heavy-duty bars from Callebaut (see
listing
) and Valrhona may have their charms, but it is the flat, crackling thinness of Lindt’s smartly wrapped bars that makes them so beloved.

Needless to say (one hopes), the only bars that matter are the dark chocolate, also known as bittersweet, varying in cocoa content and degree of bitterness. True chocolate fans shun puerile milk chocolate, a devilish invention of the Swiss confectioner Daniel Peter, whose savvy use of surplus milk in 1876 was quickly latched onto by the firm of Henri Nestlé.

The “intense dark” chocolates that Lindt & Sprüngli produce for their “Excellence” line allow for easy taste comparisons, with versions containing cocoa percentages of 70, 85, 90, and 99. The last two really separate the men from the boys and the women from the girls. Those who can tolerate the bitterness, also perceived as dryness on the tongue, will find reward in an afterhaze of exotically complex, velvety chocolate essence. Although Lindt also adds flavors to some of its bars (orange, mint, caramel, and so on), the only one worth sampling is spiked with sea salt that etches a delightful tingle into rich, warm chocolateness. Outside of the large, flat bars, Lindt’s individual square wafers make lovely mini desserts when served alongside cups of espresso.

One delectable exception to the superiority of plain chocolate bars are Lindt’s Bâtons. Filled with either pear brandy or the cherry-based kirsch, the little paper-wrapped cylindrical sticks have been produced by Lindt & Sprüngli’s
maître chocolatiers
since 1931. The mystery is in the glassy, leak-proof edible lining between liquid and chocolate; it seems to hold forever—or for at least six months, if the candies are stored in a cool, dry place, such as the upper shelf of a refrigerator.

Somewhat confusingly for an alcohol-filled treat, the confection can also take the form of little dwarfs or Santas, or barrels and similar “toys.” But the batons are no child’s play—due to their alcohol content, the candies may not be sold in confectionery stores in the U.S. (And, alas, liquor stores don’t seem to consider them worthwhile.) When they are brought into the country by savvy tourists, at customs their liquor content is subtracted from the quota allowed for import. Intrepid travelers will accept that restriction and stock up on boxes of the stuff.

Where:
For Bâtons, Lindt & Sprüngli shops throughout Europe and especially in Switzerland; also at airport gift shops; for Excellence bars, many Lindt shops and food stores throughout the U.S.
Further information and mail order:
lindt.com
.
Tip:
Thin chocolate
tastes best when just slightly, snappingly cool (not frozen), and it takes on special sensual appeal when eaten outdoors on a winter day. Chocolate sandwiches were standard pick-me-ups on alpine ski slopes; to prepare one, place a slab of thin dark chocolate between two slices of sourdough rye and nibble away in fresh, cold, snowy air.

Raclette trays with toppings.

If it sometimes seems as though the whole world—at least the American fast-food world—were covered with melted cheese, we can probably lay part of the blame on Johanna Spyri, author of the Swiss children’s book
Heidi.
In the book, a fictional goat-herding grandfather who lives high in the Swiss Alps restores the health of his city-weary granddaughter with suppers of melted goat’s cheese and good crusty bread. And ever since its publication in 1880, imaginative children have begged their mothers for the same menu.

Before goat cheese saturated the supermarket aisles, many American mothers came as close as they could with grilled sandwiches of bright orange, processed American cheese. Not exactly what Grandfather had in mind.

Smooth, creamy, finely crafted cheese does lend itself to some delectable melting, delicious examples of which include pizza, the
croque monsieur
(see
listing
), mozzarella in carrozza (see
listing
), gratiné onion soup—and Heidi’s meals as well: “The old man held a large piece of cheese on a long iron fork over the fire, turning it round and round till it was toasted a nice golden yellow on each side.…” The description reads like a recipe for raclette, the après-ski snack born in Switzerland but now a popular party dish even on flat land.

Although we refer to the cheese used in this dish as raclette, it is actually a quick-melting, mild-flavored gomser from Conches or Bagnes. Sliced into long cuts that may be held over a wood fire on long forks or melted in a special rack that stands over an electric grill, the softened cheese is scraped onto individual plates alongside tiny boiled new potatoes, pickled white onions, and dark green gherkins. (It is the scraping,
racler
, in French, that gives the cheese, and the dish, its name.) For variety, the raclette is sometimes scraped onto an opened, hot baked potato.

For another variation on the theme, a flameproof earthenware casserole (
caquelon
) full of melted Swiss fondue makes for party merriment and good eating, too. Varying by region, fondue Neuchatel starts with Gruyère and Emmental cheese, while fondue in Fribourg is heady with ripe vacherin; garlic scents the fondue of the Vandois. To all, kirsch brandy, white wine, and touches of nutmeg add subtle depths of flavor. (As guests holding long-handled fondue forks dip bread into the hot cheese, they try not to lose the bread in the swirling, lest they have to buy the next round of drinks.)

A final melted cheese classic begging for adoption beyond its native country is the voluptuously rich soup, Urner Chäässuppä of William Tell’s hometown, Altdorf, in the Uri canton. Caraway seeds lend exotic zest to a creamy froth of milk, butter, and grated Emmental cheese, accented with hints of nutmeg, black pepper, and garlic, for a soup that is as restorative for breakfast as it is for a winter supper.

Where:
In New York
, Mont Blanc, tel 212-582-9648,
montblancrestaurant.com
;
in Foster City, CA
, Chalet Ticino, tel 650-571-0507,
chaletticino.com
.
Retail and mail order:
In New York
, Murray’s Cheese, tel 888-692-4339,
murrayscheese.com
; Fairway, at multiple locations,
fairwaymarket.com
;
across the U.S.
, for fondue and raclette grills, Sur La Table, tel 800-243-0852,
surlatable.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Swiss Cooking
by Anne Mason (1984);
Bouchon
by Thomas Keller (2004);
justhungry.com
(search proper swiss cheese fondue);
epicurious.com
(search raclette cheese toast).

One of Switzerland’s simplest dishes, the golden-crisp potato pancake known as
rösti
is also among its most justly famous. Buttery and fragrant, with a crackling crust covering soft ribbons of potato, it’s a terrific accompaniment to roasted meat and poultry dishes, among them such classic Swiss specialties as Zurich’s
leber-spiesschen
(bacon-and sage-wrapped calves’ livers grilled on skewers) or the ubiquitous
émincé de veau.
To some serious eaters, the latter seems an insipid mass of veal scraps in sauce, but even for naysayers it may be saved by bites of the accompanying fried potato pancake. Of course, with a salad and perhaps a piece of a soft, ripe cheese, rösti makes a main course all by itself.

The best potatoes for rösti are dry, starchy russets or baking potatoes. Parboiled for about ten minutes, then peeled and chilled for an hour or two, they are grated into long julienne strips on the coarse side of a four-sided box grater. Tossed with salt, the potatoes are formed into a single, plate-size pancake that is turned into a frying pan bubbling with butter, vegetable oil, and perhaps a little rendered bacon fat for extra flavor. Once fried on both sides to a golden-brown crisp, the rösti must be cut in wedges and served at once.

Untraditional but delicious additions to the grated potatoes include minced herbs or flecks of scallion—even jalapeños, for a bit of fusion and heat. Bits of ham and grated Gruyère or Emmental cheese are other candidates for inclusion. When using cheese, the pancake would be baked rather than fried, and flipped when the top has browned.

Where:
In Zurich
, Kronenhalle, tel 41/44-262-9900,
kronenhalle.ch
;
in Geneva
, Café du Bourgde-Four, tel 41/22-311-9076,
cafedubourgdefour.ch
;
in Bern
, Restaurant Anker Bern, tel 41/31-311-1113,
roesti.ch/en
;
in New York
, Trestle on Tenth, tel 212-645-5659,
trestleontenth.com
;
in Mahopac, NY
, Dish, tel 845-621-3474,
dishmahopac.com
;
in Foster City, CA
, Chalet Ticino, tel 650-571-0507,
chaletticino.com
.
Further information and recipes:
epicurious.com
(search roestis);
saveur.com
(search rosti).

Like all the northern European countries, Switzerland churns out a dazzling panoply of Christmas cakes, breads, and especially cookies. But the suggestive favorites known as
schenkele
to the German-speaking Swiss and
cuisses des dames
in French are more unusual than most. Fried rather than baked, crunchy with chopped walnuts, and redolent of vanilla, almond, lemon, and orange, these buttery “thighs” have a long shelf life and are handy nibblers to accompany a glass of wine or brandy, a cup of espresso or tea, ice cream, or fruit desserts.

Makes 6 to 7 dozen cookies

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

3 extra-large eggs

1 tablespoon kirsch

1½ teaspoons pure almond extract

1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Grated zest of 1 lemon

Grated zest of ½ medium-size orange

1 cup finely chopped walnuts

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

3½ to 4½ cups all-purpose flour, as needed

Vegetable shortening or oil, for deep frying

Confectioners’ sugar, for serving

1.
Place the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well between additions. Beat in the kirsch, almond and vanilla extracts, lemon and orange zest, walnuts, baking powder, and salt. Mix well between additions.

2.
Gradually sift in the flour, beating between additions, until the batter is too stiff to stir. Transfer the batter to a work surface and knead in as much additional flour as necessary to make a dough that is smooth and not sticky but still pliable.

3.
Pinch off pieces of the dough, each about the size of a small walnut. Flour your hands and roll each ball of dough into a long, thin, cigarshaped shank, about 3 inches long and ½ inch at the midpoint, tapering toward each end.

4.
Cover a cutting board or platter with wax paper, sprinkle it with flour, and place the shaped “thighs” on top. Let them dry uncovered overnight in a cool place, but not in the refrigerator.

5.
Pour oil to a depth of 3 inches into a deep fryer or deep saucepan. Attach a deep-fry thermometer to the side of the pan and heat the fat or oil over moderate heat until the thermometer registers 365°F. Working in batches and being careful not to overcrowd the pan, fry a few cookies at a time until golden brown, about 8 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried cookies to paper towels to cool.