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Tartiflette

Ready in 45 mins

Recipe by Graham 

Tartiflette is one of those traditional French peasant dishes that stands out for taste and simplicity. The basis is potatoes, but the taste comes mostly from the Reblochon, a soft well-ripened cheese traditionally made from raw cow's milk. Generally, a Reblochon measures about 6" (15 cm) across and is 1"-1¾" (2.5cm-4cm) thick. It has a soft centre with a washed rind covered with a fine white mould.

Reblochon has a nutty taste that remains in mouth after its soft centre has been enjoyed. It is an essential ingredient of tartiflette and, if you can't get hold of it, do not try and substitute a different cheese for this recipe. Better that you use my recipe for Potatoes with Cheese and Bacon which is a close British equivalent.

Preparation Time

10 Minutes

Cooking Time

35 Minutes

Ingredients for Tartiflette

If you are not familiar with any ingredients, please check our International Cooking Terms page.

Currently displaying quantities in US Imperial Measurements

To serve 4 - 6:

2½ lb potatoes
1 tablespoon duck fat (or goose fat)
1 medium onion
8 oz lardons (small bacon chunks)
¼ pint white wine
1 large Reblochon cheese
  salt and pepper

How to Cook Tartiflette

  1. Peel the potatoes and cut into large bite-size chunks of roughly equal size. Rinse them to remove any surface starch, then place them in a large pan with sufficient salted water to cover the potatoes. Bring the water to the boil then turn down the heat and cover the pan so that it continues to boil gently.
  2. Cooking time can vary depending upon the type of potato and the texture. Generally, however, somewhere between 10-15 minutes is sufficient. When you think that the potatoes are close to being cooked, pierce one or two of them with a fork. If the fork penetrates easily with little resistance, the potatoes are cooked enough (they will cook a little more later). Remove the pan from the heat and drain off the water.
  3. Meanwhile peel and chop the onion. Heat the fat in a frying-pan and gently fry the onion for about 10 minutes until it softens and becomes translucent. Add the lardons and cook for another 5 minutes.
  4. Mix the potatoes, onion and bacon and place in a large ovenproof dish and season with salt and pepper. Cut the Reblochon in two horizontally so you end up with two large circles of cheese, each about ½"-1" (1cm-2.5cm) thick. Place the cheese halves, rind side up, on top of the potatoes and pour the wine over. Bake, uncovered, in a preheated moderate oven (Mk 4 - 350ºF - 180ºC) for 20 minutes.
  5. Serve hot, either on its own or push the boat out and serve it with Filet Mignon with Sage and Rosemary (Tenderloin of Pork). You'll not regret it!
GRAHAM'S HOT TIP:
Lardons are just chopped pieces of bacon. If you can't get the, buy the thickest bacon you can and chop into small pieces.