This week I made a wickedly rich, indulgent cheese and potato dish from the Savoie region of France called Tartiflette which is not, as you might imagine, a tart but a dauphinoise-style dish of layered potatoes, onions and bacon topped with Reblochon cheese. I dread to think what the calorie count is but boy, is it good!
Serves 6
2 tbsp sunflower or other light cooking oil
200g/7oz smoked lardons or diced smoked streaky bacon
2 large onions, peeled and finely sliced (about 400g/14oz)
2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
700g/1lb 8 oz waxy potatoes e.g. Desirée, well scrubbed
A sprig of rosemary (optional)
1 small or 1/2 a large Reblochon cheese (about 275g/10oz in weight)
150ml/5 fl oz double cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
You will also need a large buttered ovenproof baking dish
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the lardons until beginning to brown. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon. Tip in the onions, stir and fry for a low heat for about 20-25 minutes until they have collapsed right down and are beginning to brown. Add the garlic about 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Meanwhile cut the potatoes, unpeeled, into slices about 1/2 cm/1/3 inch thick, place in a saucepan with a sprig of rosemary if you have some and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and boil for 2 minutes then remove the rosemary, drain the water and set the potatoes aside. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Cut the Reblochon into thin slices, removing the rind if you prefer*. Tip half the potatoes into the baking dish, cover with half the onions and bacon and season with black pepper. Repeat with the remaining potatoes, onions and bacon and pour over the cream. Cut the Reblochon into thinnish slices and distribute over the top of the dish then bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is brown and bubbling. Serve with a green salad.
*It depends on the cheese. If you have a very mature cheese with a sticky rind you may prefer to remove it. I prefer to use a slightly younger cheese and keep the rind which adds colour and texture.
8 comments:
I have not heard or tried of a Tartiflette... but looks like I have all the ingridients except for Reblochon cheese ... do you think this cheese can be substituted? It looks so good I want to try and make it.
Hi para - ideally you should use a semi-soft washed rind cheese like Reblochon for the flavour and melting texture but you could certainly try something like a Gouda or a Cheddar
Mmm, tartiflette. We had this on holiday but my boyfriend refuses to let me make it because it apoparently gave him nightmares. To be fair the version we had seemed to be made almost entirely of cheese...
Hello congratulations for your nice and interesting blog, I love British cheeses so this is happy meeting.
That does look wicked. Now I'm going to have to try it.
Hi Charlie - well, it should be quite potatoey as well. Maybe you should put a few chillies in it (private joke ;-)
Welcome cris and thanks for looking in
And joie de vivre I reckon you should steer clear if you want to keep off those 34lbs you lost. Congratulations btw - that's brilliant!
My family will go crazy over this!
I am so excited to see this recipe as I learned how to make this dish while living in Paris.
We typically made this dish on the stove top....preparing the garlic, onions, lardons, with butter potatoes and then adding the sour cream and melting the reblochon into the mixture and adding salt and pepper.
I do remember Reblochon being the "stinkest" and most pungent and deliciously rich cheese.
I will definately be recreating this dish at home in Canada soon! :)
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