Who would believe that the Tartiflette, a dish well anchored in french gastronomy, only appeared in 1980’s? This recipe, originating in Savoie, in the Alps, was in its origin a peasant dish, a variation of a traditional recipe called “Pela de Aravis”. The potatoes are not boiled first in the traditional recipe but are cut into cubes and fried with butter and bacon in a pan with a long wooden handle in a wood fire. Obviously Reblochon was always the star ingredient. Reblochon is a rich and creamy cheese with a fruity, nutty yet mild flavor. The aroma is earthy. To learn more about this amazing cheese, see below.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1kg / 2lb 4oz Charlotte potatoes, peeled
250g / 8oz bacon lardons
1 onion, thinly sliced
80ml / 1/3 cup white wine
125ml / 1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 whole Reblochon cheese, rind grated and sliced (450g / 1lb)
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 220 C / 440 F
Cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling water until tender, about 20 minutes
Drain and cool slightly
Sauté the lardons with the onions over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent
Add the white wine and continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated
Slice the potatoes and layer half in an oven proof dish
Add the onion and bacon mixture
Add the remaining potatoes
Season with salt and pepper
Pour over the heavy cream
Lay the slices of Reblochon on top
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbling
Serve immediately with a small green salad and a glass of white wine
Enjoy and Bon Appétit!
Wine pairing: A glass of Apremont, a light, dry, white wine from Savoie with floral and mineral characteristics
Rebochon facts:
Reblochon AOC is a semi-soft, washed-rind and smear-ripened mountain cheese that originated at the heart of the massif des Aravis, in the Thônes region of Haute-Savoie in France. The cheese was decreed as an A.O.C. cheese in 1958 and therefore is subject follow to strict rules and regulations. It is a lightly pressed, uncooked cheese, made from full-cream unpasteurised milk. Thirteenth century fables tell of Savoie herdsmen who carried out an incomplete milking of the cows in order to reduce their ‘taxable’ production of milk. After the rent was paid to the landowners, they went back to ‘remilk’ (reblocher) the cows. The second milking of cows yielded a milk rich in fat and was used to make Reblochon. Reblochon features a fine velvety rind, varying from yellow to orange in colour. The close textured pate is very smooth, supple and ivory in colour. Farmhouse cheese discs are matured for at least two weeks, during which the cheese develops an edible light beige crust and buttery dough. Reblochon has a slight scent of the cellar and a mild fruity taste with an intense nutty aftertaste. Its delicate and subtle flavours go well with a glass of Savoie wine. The cheese is excellent on the cheeseboard or can be melted on baked potatoes. Reblochon also features as a classic ingredient in one of the Alps’ best-loved dishes, the Tartiflette.
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Makes 1 pizza