Zurich-Style Veal with Creamy Mushroom Sauce and Smashed Potatoes

Zurich-Style Veal with Creamy Mushroom Sauce (or Züricher Geschnetzeltes), served with crispy and golden Smashed Potatoes. A classic dish from Zurich which is easy to make at home.

zürcher geschnetzeltes on plate with smashed potatoes and small bowl of salt

Züricher Geschnetzeltes

Züricher Geschnetzeltes (or Zürcher Geschnetzeltes) is a popular dish in Switzerland, particularly in and around the Zurich region.

Pronouncing the name of the dish in German is a bit of a mouthful, even more so in Swiss German, the latter being Züri Gschnätzlets.

It is often translated on the local restaurant menus as “Zurich-style veal”.

Zurich style veal in a mushroom and cream sauce on plate with wooden board and chopped herbs

Veal in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

This classic dish from Zurich consists of thinly sliced veal fillet, served with a creamy mushroom sauce.

Some restaurants also include kidneys in their recipe, but the dish is almost always served on a bed of golden and crispy Rösti, which is a large potato cake or hash brown made from grated potatoes.

How to Eat Züri Gschnätzlets

Züricher Geschnetzeltes is almost always presented in two serves in restaurants, allowing the diner to enjoy the meal while it is still piping hot.

This means that while you are enjoying the first serve, the remainder of the dish is kept warm for you on the side until you are ready to help yourself to more.

züricher geschetzeltes on plate with smashed potatoes with chopped parsley

Züri Geschnetzeltes Recipe

Züri Geschnetzeltes is a quick and tasty dish to make at home. This recipe, which is adapted from Betty Bossi, a popular Swiss food magazine and cookbook publisher, is a local favourite.

I’m not a big fan of meat-heavy dishes, so I like to add a lot more mushrooms to my version of Züricher Geschnetzeltes. You can play around with the quantity of veal and mushrooms as you wish.

Smashed Potatoes

This dish is best paired with Rösti but my lazy alternative at home is to serve it with Smashed Potatoes.

Smashed Potatoes are simply boiled new potatoes which you lightly squash with a fork or a potato masher, drizzle over some olive oil, sprinkle with some sea salt and then bake in a hot oven until they are bronzed and golden.

This is my way of jazzing up cold, leftover boiled potatoes – a fabulous recipe from Jill Dupleix which I came across in an early issue of Delicious magazine.

bottle of white wine from stadtskellerei zürich

How to Serve Zürcher Geschnetzeltes

You could also serve Zürcher Geschnetzeltes with rice or pasta (such as linguine or tagliatelle), and this option is often also available in the local restaurants as a “lighter” alternative to the traditional Rösti.

This dish also works superbly as a pie filling and topped with puff pastry … just don’t tell the Swiss!

En Guete!

More Swiss Recipes

If you are looking for more Swiss recipes, you might also like:

Cheese Fondue

Raclette

Swiss Carrot Cake

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Zurich-Style Veal with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

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5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: Thanh | Eat, Little Bird
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 40 mins
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 4
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Stove Top
  • Cuisine: Swiss

Zurich-Style Veal with Creamy Mushroom Sauce (or Züricher Geschnetzeltes), served with crispy and golden Smashed Potatoes. A classic dish from Zurich which is easy to make at home.

Ingredients

For the Zurich-Style Veal

  • 400 g (14 oz) veal fillet, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 500 g (1 lb) button mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 1 small brown onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 125 ml (½ cup) dry white wine
  • 250 ml (1 cup) double cream (heavy whipping cream)
  • 125 ml (½ cup) chicken stock or beef stock
  • 1 tablespoon cornflour (US: cornstarch)
  • sea salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

For the Smashed Potatoes

  • small new potatoes, boiled (the amount depends on how many you want to serve per person)
  • olive oil
  • sea salt
  • freshly cracked pepper

Instructions

For the Zurich-Style Veal

  1. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a large frying pan.
  2. Sauté the veal in batches for a few minutes until they are just cooked.
  3. Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat to a bowl and set aside.
  4. Add the remaining butter to the pan and cook the mushrooms, onion and garlic until they have softened.
  5. Add the white wine and let it bubble away for about 1 minute.
  6. In a small jug or bowl, mix together the double cream, stock and cornflour (cornstarch). Add this liquid to the pan and let everything simmer gently for a few minutes.
  7. Taste for seasoning.
  8. If the sauce is too thin, add more cornflour (cornstarch) by making a slurry – simply dissolve about 1 tablespoon of cornflour (cornstarch) in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of water. Pour this slowly into the pan and stir until you have the right consistency.
  9. If the sauce is too thick, you can thin the sauce with some boiling water or cream.
  10. Return the meat to the pan and stir it through the sauce for about 1 minute to warm through.
  11. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.

For the Smashed Potatoes

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) (without fan).
  2. Arrange the potatoes on a large baking tray.
  3. Use a potato masher to gently squash each potato. Try not to flatten them completely as you want some lumpy and uneven bits which will become crunchy upon roasting.
  4. Drizzle some olive oil over the potatoes.
  5. Generously sprinkle over some sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.
  6. Bake for about 30-40 minutes (depending on the size of your potatoes), or until they are lovely and golden.

Kitchen Notes

SMASHED POTATOES
Cold leftover boiled potatoes are great for transforming into Smashed Potatoes. If you are boiling potatoes specifically for this recipe, I would suggest letting them cool for 10-20 minutes before proceeding with this recipe.

OVEN TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly.

CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 396
  • Sugar: 4.4g
  • Sodium: 144.8mg
  • Fat: 24.8g
  • Carbohydrates: 9.5g
  • Fiber: 1.6g
  • Protein: 35.6g
  • Cholesterol: 138.1mg

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Update

This recipe was first published on 14 January 2014. It has been updated with new photos and more comprehensive recipe notes.

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26 comments

  1. Paula 15 January 2014

    Oh, Thanh, you know I was hoping to see that Zürcher Geschnetzeltes. Thank you!! I can’t wait to try it!! Love that!!

    I saw on Facebook that you have had a good time thes days, glad for you!! 🙂

    I bought lots of things of Betty Bossi on Switzerland. But, you know? What a pity!! Didn’t find the thing (truc must I say??) to make Spätzle!! But next time (because it will be next time) maybe find and buy also book or magazine of her.

    It’s funny to me that you say you like to add mushrooms because some meat dishes are heavy. I say this, because, to me, it seems that sauces and dishes with mushrooms (although I love them) make heavier dish!! It’s silly. but I find funny to see how we can have so different perceptions of the same thing 😛

    I love to make that crash hot potatoes, my favourite side dish, have you try with goose fat??? Once a year, but it makes them sooooooooo good!! But I also love Rösti, my favourite side dish (also Spätzle, okey!!) when I travel to Germany and around.

    I’m boring you, Thanh!!! I left now…. OK? Write the recipe in my notebook and say Tschüss!!
    Have a nice week!!!

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 15 January 2014

      Hi Paula,

      Happy New Year! I’m glad to hear that you bought a lot of Betty Bossi products when you were in Switzerland. I love their books – they recipes are simple, but good.

      I love eating Spätzli but have never really made it at home, something I must try soon. I bought something to make Spätzli from Tupperware … I think I should use it soon! I will let you know if it is any good.

      That’s funny that you think adding mushrooms would make the dish heavier 😉 I should confess that mushrooms are maybe my favourite vegetable so perhaps that is why I love them in this dish. I hope you will enjoy this recipe!

      Reply
  2. Ann Koekepan 15 January 2014

    Looks great again! I love the fact you can now download your recipe in one page 🙂 That’s an improvement I feel 🙂
    Those potatoes are to die for, it is indeed such an easy way to make the blunt potato much more than just a boiled potato 🙂
    A dish I will try (or give to hubs since he is cooking a lot over the week nowadays).

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 16 January 2014

      I’m glad you like this recipe layout 🙂 I’m experimenting with a few different styles at the moment so it’s good to know that you like this format. And I’m also happy to hear that you also know of this recipe for Crash-Hot Potatoes. We often have leftover boiled potatoes (especially after raclette!), so this recipe is a great way of reheating the potatoes. I hope you will enjoy this dish!

      Reply
  3. Anita Menon 15 January 2014

    Such a sumptuous treat to the senses. Gorgeous photos

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 16 January 2014

      Thanks, Anita! I’m sure you could do a vege version of this dish. In fact, I have made a vege version … I might have to post about it soon.

      Reply
  4. Helen @ Scrummy Lane 16 January 2014

    Looks like a lovely easy meal and I especially like your description of the potatoes. Sometimes I don’t think I make enough meat-based dishes for my hubby’s liking, so will be giving this a try!

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 17 January 2014

      I hope your husband will enjoy this dish! And these potatoes are fantastic, like all roast potatoes 🙂

      Reply
  5. Eva in the Kitchen 16 January 2014

    I was waiting for this one after you put it on Instagram, I love this dish and your pictures as well!

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 17 January 2014

      Thank you! A few people emailed me about this recipe after I posted the photo on Instagram so I’ve tried to get it up as soon as I can 🙂

      Reply
  6. Jess 16 January 2014

    This sounds and looks amazing! A great dinner any night of the week! 🙂

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 17 January 2014

      Thanks, Jess! It’s a rather quick and easy dish to make, so definitely do-able during the week. The potatoes might take a bit of time, especially if you’re not using cold leftover boiled potatoes, but pasta is a lovely alternative. Enjoy!

      Reply
  7. Jo 18 January 2014

    Thanh it occurs to me you could make beautiful postcard-style recipe cards from your blog recipes! I can so imagine having a wee little box on my counter top with all your beautifully photographed recipes in. This looks delish too – hubs would love it I’m sure 😀

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 18 January 2014

      Ah that’s a great idea! I do already make some recipe cards as gifts but it never occurred to me to use the ones which I have prepared for my blog … thanks for the idea! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Rushi 21 January 2014

    Thanh, lovely to see a new blog post 🙂 I must say that I like the new recipe layout too. I’ve got a bowl of boiled spuds that need to be used up and your crash hot potatoes might just be the fix.

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 21 January 2014

      Hi Rushi! Crash-Hot Potatoes are the only remedy for leftover boiled potatoes, I think 😉

      Reply
  9. Claree-Cookie Ballew 27 October 2017

    I’ve got a taste for raclette after returning from Switzerland 30/6/2017. Live in Cincinnati, OH and am 1/2 German…will try this recipe that looks DELISH!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 28 October 2017

      Funny you should mention raclette because I will posting a recipe for raclette very shortly!

      Reply
  10. Madeleine 10 April 2018

    This is such a delicious recipe, and I think it tastes better than in the restaurants! I used to always order this in restaurants as it never occurred to me to make it at home. But this was so easy. Thank you for the recipe!






    Reply
  11. Julia 16 April 2018

    Would love to try this. This is absolutely fantastic. Beautiful presentation.






    Reply
  12. Who Noms the World 15 May 2018

    SO happy to see you’ve shared my photo under the Instagram posts 🙂 I was really happy with this recipe. It was so good and creamy. I will absolutely be making this dish again in the future.

    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 16 May 2018

      Thank you for your lovely comment and for also trying this recipe! I love your blog, by the way, and how adventurous you are with your recipes from around the world. So inspiring!

      Reply
  13. Adri 3 November 2020

    This looks like a lovely recipe. What can you recommend as a substitution for the white wine in the sauce?

    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 10 November 2020

      Hi Adri,
      I recommend substituting the white wine for more stock. The taste of the sauce will be slightly different, but it will still be delicious 🙂 Hope this helps!

      Reply
  14. Betty 14 November 2022

    Hi, I always order this when in Zurich but for making at home what wine would you suggest to use in cooking and serving? Swiss wines are hard to find in the US so I doubt I can find a Swiss white wine to use. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 14 November 2022

      Hi Betty,
      Any dry white wine should work in this recipe, and it doesn’t need to be expensive. I often cook with an inexpensive French chardonnay or sauvignon blanc. For serving, either the same wine that I cooked with, or perhaps a Sancerre or Puilly-Fumé (both are nice to drink but maybe too expensive to cook with). En Guete!

      Reply