At 38 weeks pregnant, easy dinners are my thing. I mean, they’re always my thing, but right now, it’s the only way I roll. One of our favorite dinners is a ham and cheese rosti – it’s one of those meals you can have on the table in under 30 minutes, and pretty much everyone likes it, kiddos included.

I need to cook dinner before it gets dark! It’s so hard to get good photos at night. Then again, we’d have to eat at 4:30 p.m. to make this happen!

The original recipe came from Eating Well (though I’ve since tweaked it a little) – it’s a great place for healthy, but still tasty recipes, if you’re looking for ideas to support your New Year’s Resolutions. We tried this recipe the first time a few years ago as part of our post-Christmas health-kick, and it was an instant winner destined for our permanent meal planning rotation. I liked that it used up our leftover Honeybaked ham from the holidays, and each serving is only around 350 calories.

I think this rosti is a lot like a frittata, with the added bonus of potatoes, but traditionally it’s a Swiss side-dish. I will warn you that flipping the rosti requires a little finesse, but it still tastes great, even if it falls apart. Below is how this easy meal comes together:

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Ingredients:

  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup diced ham, (about 5 ounces)
  • 1 cup shredded cheese, your choice (though the original calls for swiss)
  • 1 shallot, minced (or a small onion, if that’s what you’ve got)
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, or 1/4 teaspoon dried
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups frozen hash brown potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divide

Directions:

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, then add the ham, half the cheese, the onion, rosemary, salt, pepper, and hash brown potatoes. Mix everything well.

Add 1 T oil to a large nonstick pan. The nonstick pan is key here. Without a nonstick pan, your results won’t be as pretty. Full disclosure: our nonstick pan is out of commission, so I used a cast iron pan to make this one – it stuck, and fell apart when I flipped it, but still tasted great. The above photo would have looked a lot more magazine worthy had I had the nonstick skillet.

Once your oil is warm, add the egg/potato mixture to the pan. Now press it down. I use my hands to get the egg and potato mixture to compact – you want it come together so it’s easier to flip. Cover, and let it cook for 4-6 minutes, or until the bottom is crispy.

Now for the flip. Slide a tray or large plate over the top of the pan, and wearing oven-mits, invert the pan on to the tray, flipping the rosti out. Add the other 1 T of oil to the pan, and then carefully slide the rosti from the tray back into the pan. Top with the remaining cheese, cover, and cook until the bottom is browned and crunchy. Flip the rosti back onto the tray, cut into wedges, and serve. Although not so gourmet, ketchup makes a great side.