Tartiflette raclette: potatoes with French-style cheese

Today I put on the apron with a very French air, and I do it for two reasons: this tartiflette recipe is a typical French recipe, and it also includes cheese in abundance. Cheese and potato, oh la la!

In this version that we detail step by step below, we make the tartiflette with raclette-style cheese, to round out the French feel of the recipe. It's a very easy recipe to prepare and ideal for sharing — I assure you it will be a hit with guests.

What is a tartiflette?

Tartiflette is a typical recipe from Savoie (Savoy), the Western Alps, whose main ingredients are potatoes and cheese. So much so that, in fact, the name Tartiflette comes from tartifla ("potato" in Arpitan from Savoy), and the recipe was created in the '80s by the Interprofessional Reblochon Union, the cheese typically used for the recipe (reblochon is a typical cheese from Haute-Savoie).

Although the starring ingredients of tartiflette are reblochon cheese and boiled potatoes, nowadays countless versions of the recipe are made, ranging from using different cheeses to adding onion, cooking cream, spices, ham or bacon... In all cases, the recipe is a high-energy dish and is served gratinated.

In our version today, instead of reblochon cheese we will use another typical French cheese, raclette cheese, which, when gratinated and perfectly melted, is delicious with potato and the touch of wine that is also customary to add to the dish. For all these reasons, we have nicknamed this recipe Raclette Tartiflette; I hope you enjoy it — I recommend it as a first course at lunch (if you do, serve a light second course!), or as a main course for dinner. You will enjoy it!

De Buyer Mineral B Paella Pan

Tartiflette recipe (French-style potatoes)

Ingredients

• 600 g raclette cheese
• 1.2 kg potatoes
• 2 large onions
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 250 g smoked pork belly (or bacon)
• 1/2 glass white wine
• Salt
• Pepper
• Nutmeg

Preparation

1. Clean the potatoes and peel them.
2. With the help of the Gefu potato slicer, or with a knife, cut them into cubes.
3. Peel the onions, and cut or chop them into large pieces.
4. Put the De Buyer Mineral B paella pan on the heat, add a few tablespoons of oil and fry the onion over low heat.
5. Chop and add the smoked pork belly, and cook it for a few minutes until the bacon browns.
6. Add the cubed potatoes and season with salt (half a tablespoon). Let it cook covered over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally with a spatula. We want the potatoes to be tender, but not fall apart.
7. Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
8. Add the white wine to dissolve the browned bits formed in the pan, and let it cook for about 3 or 4 minutes.
9. Add pepper to taste and half a teaspoon of nutmeg. Mix to distribute and remove from the heat.
10. Place the raclette cheese over the potatoes, covering the entire pan. Try to arrange the cheese slices in circles to create a pretty effect, and put the pan in the oven.
11. Bake for about 5 minutes to help the cheese melt, then switch to "grill" mode to gratinate.
12. Serve hot, and accompany the meal with bread.

Notes

• We prepared the recipe in the Mineral paella pan, oven-safe, although the tradition of this recipe favors making it in a long-handled skillet. That said, you can make the recipe in the Mineral skillet with inox handle, oven-safe and as French as this tartiflette. Ideal!
• Instead of pork belly, you can use diced ham or bacon. They also add flavor and seasoning.