I know Switzerland is German, Italian and French but I'm assuming it has it's own unique dishes. Is there any easy dishes to make with stuff you can get here in Southern California?

It's very easy to make Swiss food. Dump anything you can think of in a pot, doesn't matter whether the ingredients compliment each-other or not. Proceed to half-cook the concoction, and then serve on a small plate. Oh yes, and add a slice or two of gherkin on top.

You mean this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gherkin

Probably one of the easiest dishes to make is the "Züri Geschnetzeltes" with Rösti (from Zurich in the German part of Switzerland):

Fry finely cut strips of veal in butter with sliced onions and mushrooms (plus salt and pepper) to taste. Add a dash of white wine and cream when the meat's done and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top and Rösti - hashed potatoes crisply fried in butter on both sides.

Thanks mopp, looks delicious. And I realize I need a bigger sarcasm detector now...

I suppose you could always try melting a whole load of cheese in a bowl...
oh, wait...

I can't eat too much cheese because it doesn't agree with me

Then I'm afraid you're kind of buggered when it comes to Swiss cuisine.

Aww...well, there's always others.

Here's a website in English giving you a pretty good selection of Swiss specialities (no sarcasm, just food). Most of the recipes are sweet stuff, and if you scroll down you'll see what everything's supposed to look like. Pretty basic, but a good start!

http://www.about.ch/culture/food/index.html

Thanks again mopp. What's your guys favorite dishes if you have any?

Meat, meat, more meat, pasta, meat, salad, meat, everything that's sweet (it's not supposed to rhyme, but it does...)

Lol well meats my favorite too. Whats the most popular meat over there in Switzerland?

Pork and veal. And more pork.

Certainly sounds like a diet I could get along with.

My favorite swiss dish would be "Blanquette d'agneau à l'emmentaloise": Lamb in a saffron sauce, of bernese (emmental) origin.

Regarding recipes:

http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/interests/food-and-wine/typically-swiss-recipes/recipes-betty-bossi.html?region=00

http://www.swissrecipes.org/

http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/inte...s-recipes.html

Sources of Swiss recipes, right on this forum

Pork in all shapes and sizes, chicken (no battery rearing allowed in CH), lamb. It's difficult to generalize because each region (German, French and Italian) has its own specialities requiring different cuts of meat. You'll also find a good selection of "typical" sausages in all parts of the country (google "luganighe", "St. Galler Bratwurst", "saucisson vaudois" "salsiz" to give you an idea)

What about spicy food? Is there any popular spicey swiss dishes?

An easy and quick favourite of mine is salad with cervelat and Appenzell cheese. Very tasty!



You'll need:

1. 4 Cervelat sausages
2. 1 tsp mild mustard
3. herb vinegar: amount based on personal preference but generally 3 tbsp
4. 1 tbsp mayo
5. finely chopped chives
6. Appenzell cheese (or your fav cheese - I sometimes use grumpygrapefruits' English cheese )
7. small onion sliced into rings: skip this step if you arent really into onions
8. 2 hardboiled eggs
9. 4 tbsp Rapeseed or sunflower oil (I personally use olive oil)

a. Remove skin of cervelat sausages and slice
b. mix with salad, salt, pepper and eggs!

Tadaaa!

PS: gherkins are optional too.