Switzerland’s favourite fruit is the apple.

According the the Swiss Fruit association, around 16 kgs of apples are consumed per person, per year.

Maybe you got one last Friday, as you were passing through one of the country’s bigger railway stations. It was the Tag des Apfels, day of the apple, where the aforementioned Swiss fruit association handed them out for free to celebrate the season start.

Our old apple trees have seen better years; an early frost killed most of their buds and there is hardly any fruit. But local farmers seem to have fared better, and the early apples I’ve eaten have been delicious.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away (well, the microbes that live on its skin do), but if you have an appetite for more, this easy dish should do the trick.

Bröisi is a Swiss German dialect word for Rösti—potato hash. The Apfel version involves matchsticks of apple, as well as bread, fried in butter, with cinnamon sugar. It works for breakfast, or a quick dinner, and is a great way to use up leftover bread. Add a dollop of yogurt to serve.

This recipe was inspired by the recipe in Kulinarische Streifzüge durch die Schweiz,  page 62.

4 large apples

around 200 g leftover bread

50 g sugar

butter for frying

cinnamon and sugar

Peel, core and cut your apples into thin slices. Cut the bread into thin slices, a similar size to the apples.

In a large frying pan add the sugar. Let this caramelize, then add the butter.

Add the bread and cook until the bread is a little crispy and browned.

Add the apples and keep stirring until the apples are soft and the bread is a bit crispy, around 8-10 minutes.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, if desired.

• I like to use a mix of sweet and sour apples.

• Any sort of leftover bread will do—from Zopf to rye.

• Serve with a dollop of yogurt.