Tartiflette
Indulgent, comforting, hugely fattening but completely irresistible, Tartiflette is warming, sustaining, really hard to beat as an occasional but wonderful treat and a bit of a luxury. You simply have to have it before Spring is here properly and there is no excuse..
Cooking maestro Raymond Blanc recommends making it entirely with Comté cheese and cooking under the grill, but my version goes in the oven and is topped with super oozy Reblochon
Ingredients
1kg waxy small potatoes, eg Charlotte, unpeeled
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
250g smoked bacon, cut into pieces (not too small)
2 cloves garlic
150g Comté cheese, grated (you could use Emmenthal, Gruyere, Fontina or Raclette)
150g Reblochon (Taleggio or Camembert would be fine)
284 double cream (you could use creme fraiche)
Oven 200c
Method
Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water, drain. When cool enough to handle, slice thickly
Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the onion until soft
Add the bacon pieces and fry until cooked but not brown
Grate in the garlic and stir.
Grease an oven-proof dish or casserole and put a layer of potatoes in the bottom
Now add some of the bacon and onion mixture, top with some of the grated Comté and season, keeping in mind the saltiness of the bacon and then repeat the layers until the dish is almost full
Dot the top of the tartiflette with chunks of Reblochon, make sure some of the bacon is showing, then pour over the cream and bake in an oven set at 200c for about 40 minutes. The tartiflette should be golden and bubbling, ideally to my mind with some parts just slightly catching.
Helpful Hints
If you are using creme fraiche rather than cream you may need to add a little white wine or milk to bring it to pouring consistency.
