How to cook tartiflette – recipe

Felicity Cloake

It has the air of a dish that’s been warming up Alpine winters for centuries, but this take on the potato gratin was, in fact, created by the reblochon marketing team in the 1980s as a way to sell more of their delicious cheese. I hope they got a pay rise, because this is the most comforting carb-fest imaginable: don’t even think of making it unless there’s a nip in the air.

Prep 40 min
Cook 15 min
Serves 6

1.3kg waxy potatoes
2 tbsp butter
1 onion
200g smoked bacon, preferably lardons (optional)
150ml dry white wine
200ml whipping cream
1 garlic clove
1 reblochon cheese (see step 7)

1 Pick and prep the potatoes

Start by bringing a large pan of generously salted water to a boil. Wash the potatoes, but don’t bother to peel them – leave them whole if they’re roughly the same size; if not, cut any large ones to about the same dimensions as the smallest. (Note: you can use an all-round variety such as maris piper instead of a waxy one, but they’ll break up more during cooking.)

Boil waxy potatoes until they’re tender but not quite cooked through, then drain and steam dry.
Boil waxy potatoes until they’re tender but not quite cooked through, then drain and steam dry. Photograph: Dan Matthews/The Guardian

2 Cook and cool the potatoes

Cook the potatoes in the boiling water until they’re just tender to the point of a knife, but not cooked right the way through (ie, treat them as if you were parboiling them for roast potatoes). Drain well, leave them to steam dry in the hot pan for a couple of minutes, then set aside until cool enough to handle.

3 Fry the onion and bacon

Meanwhile, peel and thinly slice the onion and, if using rashers rather than lardons, cut the bacon into short strips. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat, then add the onion and bacon, and fry until the onions are soft and both are just starting to brown.

Felicity Cloake Tartiflette 3 Fry the onion and bacon, then add the wine and cook until evaporated. Off the heat, stir in the cream
Fry the onion and bacon, then add the wine and cook until evaporated. Off the heat, stir in the cream. Photograph: Dan Matthews/The Guardian

4 Add the wine and cream

Pour the wine into the pan, turn up the heat so it comes up to a simmer, then leave to bubble away until the liquid has reduced to almost nothing. Take the pan off the heat, add the cream and stir it in so it isn’t tempted to split in the hot pan.

5 Rub the pot with garlic and chop the spuds

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Peel the garlic, then cut it in half and rub it cut side down all around the inside of a wide, ovenproof dish or casserole. Once the potatoes are cool enough to interact with without sacrificing your fingertips, cut them into cubes of about 1cm in size; don’t worry if some of the skins fall off while you’re doing this.

Felicity Cloake Tartiflette 4. Cut the boiled potatoes into roughly 1cm cubes, then fry them in butter until nicely browned all over.
Cut the boiled potatoes into roughly 1cm cubes, then fry them in butter until nicely browned all over. Photograph: Dan Matthews/The Guardian

6 Fry the potatoes

Heat the second tablespoon of butter in a clean frying pan (or decant the sauce and wipe down the first one) over a medium-high heat, then fry the potatoes, tossing or stirring them regularly, until the cubes are golden brown all over. Take care not to break them up too much, though.

7 Prepare the cheese

Cut the cheese in half horizontally. Reblochon is a mild, washed-rind cow’s milk cheese, and is quite widely available in supermarkets, as well as cheesemongers, but if you can’t lay your hands on any, a small round of creamy camembert or a slab of brie (about 250g) is probably the best, most widely available alternative.

8 Layer up the casserole

Cover the base of the casserole with half the cubed potatoes, spoon over half the onion and bacon mixture, and season very well. Top with one half of the cheese, placing the disc in the centre of the dish. Repeat the layers, finishing with the second reblochon half, rind uppermost and again positioning it in the centre.

Felicity Cloake Tartiflette 06. Rub a dish with garlic, add half the potatoes, half the cream sauce and half the cheese, then repeat the layers.
Rub a dish with garlic, add half the potatoes, half the cream sauce and half the cheese, then repeat the layers. Photograph: Dan Matthews/The Guardian

9 Bake and serve

Bake for 15 minutes, or until browned and bubbling – if you feel the cheese could do with a bit more help, or if you prefer your potatoes really crisp, stick it under a hot grill for five minutes to finish. Serve hot, preferably with a plain green salad and some well-chilled white wine from the Savoie.

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