A talk with the author of a series on authentic Swiss cuisine

 

Zurich-based Martin Weiss is a Swiss journalist, writer, teacher and award-winning documentary film maker whose big publishing breakthrough started in 2005 with his Urchuchi series - four books (so far) about authentic Swiss cooking.
Urchuchi (oor-hoo-hee; pronounce the hoo and hee as if you were speaking Spanish) is a term, freshly-minted by Weiss himself, meaning original, authentic, fresh cuisine.

The Urchuchi books - we are talking tomes, with 400 and more pages each - are lively collections of photos, profiles, articles, recipes and recommended restaurants and their concept is unique, which doubtlessly explains why the first two are already in second and third editions. Sales of the first book have topped 25,000. Published in German only, the books’ titles are: Deutschschweiz und Graubuenden (3rd edition 2008); Tessin und Misox (2nd edition 2007); Romandie und Wallis (2008); and Urchuchi - die Rezepte (2009). (And in case you’re wondering what Misox is, it’s a valley in Graubuenden where Italian is spoken.)

Part of the Slow Food (www.slowfood.ch) movement, Weiss also plays a particularly active role in ‘Taste Week’ (www.gout.ch) that will be playing out nationwide from September 17 to 27 this year. The launch of Weiss’s latest book, a collection of recipes (Urchuchi - die Rezepte; more at www.urchuchi.ch), is timed to coincide with this major annual event.

I conducted the following interview with Martin Weiss in German and translated his comments into English. For more about Bénichon, which Weiss mentions, see my article in the Swisster.ch Food Guide.

What gave you the idea for your Urchuchi series? I first had the idea in 2002 in a restaurant - of course! - in fact it was at Au Bon Vin in Onnens (Vaud). At the time, I was working on a documentary for [Switzerland‘s national exhibition] Expo.02. When we‘re filming, the crew and I always go on foodie excursions in whatever area we’re in. You know that feeling when you suddenly walk into a cozy little local with a wonderful old crotchety dining area that the passing years have given a beautiful kind of sheen to? I fell in love with the place right away, and with the classic pan-roasted pork sausage served with rösti that has been the house specialty for the past 30 years. I made up my mind then and there to collect the names of places like that and write about them. Then the perfect name for the project came to me: Urchuchi, from Ur (meaning from the source, traditional) and Chuchi, which means kitchen in Swiss-German. There was no such word before, but now practically everybody in German-speaking Switzerland is familiar with it.

You have spoken out against Fast Food and what you call the globalization of taste. Is the series aimed at countering those phenomena? Yes, the Urchuchi books are a kind of declaration of war on fast, uninspired food with no taste to it. With every passing year, I become more and more convinced that Slow, not Fast, Food is what it’s all about. Eating should be perceived as part of our cultural heritage and accorded the same kind of attention we give to beautiful paintings, cathedrals and landscapes. It’s also a taste issue: if things look and taste the same everywhere we go, it’s boring. But when dishes have typical regional aromas, when the ingredients and recipes are local and dishes are prepared in an authentic honest way with nothing but the freshest products, then eating is a journey of discovery. It‘s exciting, exotic, an enriching experience.

What if any is the relation to the recently launched Swiss culinary heritage project www.patrimoineculinaire.ch? Patrimone culinaire Suisse [Kulinarisches Erbe der Schweiz, in German; Patrimonio culinario Svizzero in Italian] is a carefully researched inventory of the major Swiss foods. It addresses questions like: What are the origins of saucissons Vaudois? Since when has the type of pear known as poire à Botzi been cultivated in the canton of Fribourg? How long have Basler Leckerli [a type of cookie], Cordon bleu [breaded veal or chicken breast stuffed with ham and melted cheese] and raclette existed? It’s essentially an archive of basic products and prepared foods - but not recipes per se. Urchuchi showcases the project in the sense that I tell people what restaurants serve the dishes, where you can buy the products. I give some historical context, but the main focus is people, places, and recipes. In fact, my latest book is just recipes that I’ve kind of thrown together in the book as if it were a huge culinary heritage pot.

The books have really resonated with readers, even beyond Swiss borders. What makes this subject so appealing to people do you think?  There’s renewed interest in original, authentic, honest food. People want to know what they’re eating and where the raw ingredients come from. They’ve also realized that we all play a determining role in shaping society‘s core values, and its attitude to animals and to nature. That’s why there’s rising demand for organic products and growing interest in heirloom vegetables and cereals, the kinds of things that got lost these past few decades when the focus was on fast production and distribution, and big profits. Now it’s back to the roots!

How in general terms would you characterize Swiss cuisine? You often hear it said that there is no such thing as Swiss cuisine. Not true. In fact, it’s the opposite: Switzerland has one of the most varied cuisines in the world! Practically every valley, every village, has a specialty that you can’t find anywhere else. There are over 400 different types of sausage in Switzerland, which, considering the country’s size, is a world record. It’s similar with bread, cheese and - last but not least - sweets. That to me is what characterizes Swiss cuisine: its incredible variety and creativity.

If somebody wanted to do a blitz tour of Switzerland and get an optimum mini-overview of its traditional cuisine, what dishes in each region would you recommend? We have a lot of readers in Geneva, Vaud and Zurich, so perhaps you could also give ones specific to those places. If you’re in the French-speaking part of the country, you have at some point to try fondue. Raclette is a must in Valais. In Geneva, I recommend omble chevalier (lake char) and fresh Geneva cardoons around the holiday season. Geneva produces its own variety of the vegetable, which tastes like artichoke. In Vaud, try papet vaudois [a leek and potato dish] - and, in general, the sausages! Malakoffs (cheese fritters) are also a treat in the area around Bursins overlooking Lake Geneva. In the canton of Fribourg, Bénichon is unique - a kind of ‘thanksgiving’ meal with eight courses. Zurich is of course known for its Zürcher Geschnetzelte [veal strips in cream sauce served with rösti]: the Goethestübli in downtown Zurich is renowned for it, but you can also try the luxury version of the dish with strips of beef tenderloin served at Restaurant Zur Höchi in Zollikon, a Zurich suburb.

How about restaurants - if you had to name the Top Ten around the country that you feel would give a visitor the best introduction to this country’s cookery, what would they be? The prime example of everything Urchuchi is about is embodied in the Alpenrose restaurant located at Fabrikstrasse 12 in Zurich. It’s one of those places you just don’t want to leave. In Geneva, I recommend Les Curiades in Lully-Bernex - its chef, Gérard Le Bouec, makes wonderful country food. Somewhat more upmarket is the Auberge d’Hermance in Hermance, some 10 minutes by car from downtown Geneva. The must-have there is their chicken or fish cooked in a salt crust. And try the place where I got the Urchuchi idea: Au Bon Vin in Onnens, near Yverdon. Just remember it’s seriously time-warpy. When you reserve, tell them I sent you! But there are so many other places, my books are packed with addresses of good restaurants.

Can you share a recipe from your forthcoming book with us? How about something delicious but simple? Pumpkin soup with river crabs. The recipe is from Werner Rätz of the Auberge des Clefs in Lugnorre (Fribourg) - another restaurant, by the way, that belongs in the Top 10.

Lugnorre Pumpkin Soup

For six

12 whole river crabs (Flusskrebse, écrevisses)

300 g of muscat pumpkin (Muskat Kürbis, potiron muscat)

1 dl white wine

3 dl vegetable stock

4 dl cream (Rahm, crème)

5 dl of the type of Swiss cream known as Kaffeerahm, crème à café

Salt, pepper

Paprika, curry

[If the deciliters in this recipe pose a problem, buy a Pyrex Fire King measuring pitcher which has deciliters indicated on one side, and cups on the other.]

Peel the pumpkin and cut it into small pieces. Heat the white wine, vegetable stock, cream and coffee cream together. Season with salt, pepper, paprika and curry. Add the pumpkin and cook lightly for around 15 minutes. Then put the soup in the mixer, puree it, and finally pass it through a very fine sieve.

Now briefly cook the river crabs in boiling water.

Ladle the soup into soup bowls and garnish with the crabs.

Visuals courtesy of Rotpunktverlag, Zurich and Martin Weiss.