A SMALL "FRENCH CHEESE RACLETTE" AFTER SKIING

From our origins… A knife blade heated over a wood fire, a cheese wheel that we “scrape” over the plate… From the Middle Ages, shepherds feasted on what we still called "Roast cheese", with potatoes cooked in the ashes. The name raclette appeared in the 19th century. Since then, the specialty has gone around the world. It is even found in New York, in the East Village, where a restaurant serves it on the spot or to take away, garnished with a potato and grilled vegetables.

Know that there is not one but raclette cheeses, according to the geographical origin (Switzerland, Savoy, Franche-Comté…) and the taste variation (smoke, pepper, mustard, white wine, herbs ...). So vary the pleasures and close the shutters if a purist goes there: Mozzarella, reblochon, sheep, camembert, Auvergne blue, emmental, morbier ... They are to melt, too!

Which potato to choose for the raclette ?

The star of the raclette is the potato. Traditionally cooked in water, its flesh must be firm to hold well when cooked.

“Steamed, browned” potatoes, such as Amandine, Annabelle, Cheyenne, Gourmandine, Charlotte, Chérie, Juliette, Ratte or Pompadour, will be your distinguished guests.

Count about 200 g of cheese per person (the equivalent of 7 slices) and 3 or 4 potatoes depending on their size. Without forgetting the pork-butchery - if you are not Swiss -, the pickles, the white wine of Savoy or Fendant of Valais Switzerland which remain essential. .

The recipe for 4 people:

800 g raclette cheese

12 medium-sized potatoes

4 slices of ham

4 slices of raw ham

12 pickles

4 slices of Grisons meat


Cut strips of cheese about 5 mm thick and 5 cm wide. Place them in the serving dish. Put all the charcuterie in another dish. Put the pickles in a small ramekin.

Wash the potatoes and cook them in steam or boiling water. It only remains to sit at the table, to melt your cheese via the raclette machine and to pour or not on the potatoes. Serve with charcuterie and pickles.

What about vegetables ?

Raw or cooked, they bring colors and flavors to the raclette. Remember to offer them in good proportions. They will allow your guests to alternate between luscious dishes (cheese, cold meats, etc.) and lighter, and enrich the taste palette of the meal. Suggest in cups, slices, sticks or strips, onion, carrot, leek, fennel, mushroom, broccoli

Think of the green salad that goes so well with cheese. Sprinkle it with aromatic herbs (basil, coriander, parsley, chives ...) to bring a fresh and invigorating note to the meal.

Turn on your raclette machine 3 minutes before going to the table.

Gather all the ingredients at the table and let your guests do it !




Marie-Chantal de Verneuil for DayNewsWorld