Tartiflette

"That alpine dish of tartiflette, whose layers of potatoes, onions, smoked bacon and reblochon cheese helps to thaw out skiers and snowboarders alike after a day on the slopes, is possibly the most warming dish ever invented. I have never found a recipe that does its job quite so successfully."

Nigel Slater

I'm trying to clear my desk a bit, hence yesterday's post on Diana Henry's book Roast Figs, Sugar Snow - but I couldn't move it to it's new home on my cookbook shelves before I tackled her recipe for Tartiflette. I'm a potato freak and I do love cheese and onions too, so it's a no-brainer, although there is one overriding difficulty with this one, which I shall come to.

It's one of the first recipes in her book in her section on cheese - which I have come to realise is my one big guilty pleasure. Possibly hers too as she begins her introduction to the section with the words: "I cannot imagine a day without cheese." Although, that said, my taste in cheese is probably somewhat conservative. I don't like stinky ones or blue ones - the height of cheese fashion it seems to me for food snobs.

And this, as it happens is the main difficulty of this dish, because to the purists you must use Reblochon. I actually might like it - maybe it's a bit like Brie - but never mind because you can't get it in Australia. It's unpasteurised. And as I was wandering the net I found this interesting little piece on Reblochon from Ann Meyer on the Chowhound site:

"Made in the mountains of the Haute-Savoie region of France, the cheese dates back to the 13th century, when farmers would pay their rent with dairy — all while slyly reducing its price. When landlords came to collect, farmers would partly milk their cows in the morning, forking over "all" of the liquid gold as payment and lowering production expectations. Farmers would then return in the evening to milk the cows again, reserving the even richer dairy for themselves. This act of re-milking roughly translates to "reblocher," giving Reblochon — the cheese made from this rich, late-day milk — its name."

But back to tartiflette. Why does it have to be Reblochon? Well because this dish is not an old peasant dish from those medieval dairy farmers - it's an invention of Le Syndicat Interprofessionnel du Reblochon - the modern makers' association. Back in the 1980s, they decided to promote their product by inventing a dish which showed it off, and which was soon serving those skiers and snowboarders in ski resort restaurants.

And from there it has conquered the world - with help from the likes of Anthony Bourdain, whose recipe - Anthony Bourdain's tartiflette can be found on the Simply Recipes website - written by Kris Osborne. They can't make it as they should in America either. Reblochon is illegal there as well.

The recent invention of this dish also explains why, when I began my 'research' and assuming ancient origins, I could not find any recipes in the books of my classic gurus - Elizabeth David, Jane Grigson, Robert Carrier ...

Mind you, once I had discovered all of this, and also that it was based on a rather more authentic dish - Péla - whose name comes from a local dialect word which means frying pan, I realised why Elizabeth et al. had not mentioned it. The main difference between the two - tartiflette is a bit like a Gratin Dauphinois - which incidentally was mentioned on last night's episode of Carême as 'le goǔt de la France". is from that name. Péla is not cooked in the oven but in the frying pan and does not seem to include bacon, but is just potatoes, cheese and cream. Onions? I'm not sure. But I'm sure that some add bacon.

Then there is also Croziflette which is made with a local pasta - well in the Alps, France becomes Italy and also Switzerland, so it's not at all surprising that there is cross-cultural appropriation. It's almost identical to Tartiflette with the crucial change from potatoes to pasta - a buckwheat pasta shaped into small squares, which are called crozets.

And whilst we are on names:

"The word tartiflette is probably derived from the Arpitan word for potato (tartiflâ) or from the Savoyard tartifles," Wikipedia

Arpitan is the Gallo-Romance language of the Western Alps. And still on a vague origin theme, it seems that the people of Savoy - which was not part of France - adopted potatoes rather earlier than France itself, which is why there are a variety of potato dishes loaded with cream and cheese that emanate from here.

So what do we unfortunate people who cannot access Reblochon do? What says Nigel?

"Traditionally the dish is all about reblochon, whose pale milky curds melt into a velvety blanket, and whose flavour softens upon heating, but other good melting cheeses can be added, too. Just don't tell the purists and pedants."

He's not a purist about the dish in its entirety either, because his version is an 'Artichoke' tartiflette (shown above) - the artichokes being Jerusalem artichokes.

The Americans in the form of Daniel Gritzer of Serious Eats when introducing his Tartiflette is even more outspoken:

"There are people who will tell you the only correct tartiflette is one made with Reblochon cheese. Pshaw! I say, that's just some clever marketing by none other than the consortium of Reblochon producers dedicated to selling the cheese. I say this as someone who has eaten "real" tartiflette, in France, made with Reblochon by farmers from the Savoie region (where Reblochon comes from), using their very own la ratte potatoes that they dug from the earth with their very own leathery, soil-stained fingers. Was it transcendent? Of course it was! But I've also eaten it made with yellow potatoes from the supermarket, and with a variety of funky, soft-rind cow's milk cheeses. And those were wonderful too." Daniel Gritzer/Serious Eats

So go for whatever you fancy - even cheddar - I certainly saw some say they used Gruyère.

Some last words on the cheese. The idea is to cut your round of cheese in half horizontally, and then in half again, vertically, before having one layer in the middle and another on top. Nigel varies the amount he uses as well - "I increase the amount of cheese according to how cold the weather is." Which would be a lot today. It's cold, cold, cold.

There is also some argument about the use of cream or crème fraïche with the authentic brigade saying no cream, whereas most of the world can't seem to resist. Felicity Cloake, who has a go at The perfect tartiflette says:

"there's no denying the attraction of potatoes cooked in cream, but it does seem to take the dish in the direction of a blinged-up dauphinoise, as well as diluting the magnificence of the melted cheese."

She serves hers with just a salad, but Diana Henry seems to think there are traditional accompaniments:

"Tartiflette, a Savoyard dish of potatoes and onions topped with a creamy blanket of melting Reblochon, is one of the most satisfying dishes I know. Add the traditional accompaniments of salami, little sweet-and-sour onions, cornichons and a green salad and you wonder why you ever bother to cook anything fancier."

One last thing about ingredients. The French use lardons for the bacon component, which they buy in packets at their local super or hyper market. They are ubiquitous, and not all that amazing looking when you see them in the packet. But they use them for all sorts of things. I suppose you would just cut up bacon here, although it's not quite the same because it's usually sliced thinner. Lardons are chunky. Maybe buy a chunk of speck and cut it up?

To conclude - a few recipes from which to pick and choose your perfect version. Felicity Cloake by the way was a bit of a fan for Diana Henry. I've chosen three from Australians - Manu Feildel - who is also sort of French - Tartiflette on the Taste website; Soumaintrain tartiflette - Ellie and Sam Studd/delicious. and Tartiflette - Valli Little/delicious. Then I chose one random website - Ooh La Loire - for Tartiflette and one from The Guardian's Tomasina Miers - Tartiflette with Jersey Royals - you can't get them here either - new potatoes anyway - although ours are nothing like the real thing.

And I have just realised, looking at those pictures I made no mention of potatoes - what kind that is. Well other than the sad comment about the lack of Jersey Royals. The main controversies here were - pre-cooked or not - the majority opinion seemed to go for par-boiled, skins on or not - probably a matter of taste, though most seemed to think the skins added flavour - and how to cut them up. Sliced seemed to be the basic option but looking at all those pictures others obviously have different ideas. I do remember somebody saying don't cut into too small chunks or they will end up as mush. There was not a lot of discussion on variety of potato, although most seemed to veer towards yellow and waxy.

Well it is cold so maybe we should all have a go.

I should also make at least one recipe from Diana Henry's beautiful book. Maybe Melting leg of lamb with juniper - alas neither the recipe nor the picture are online. No picture in my book either - but I do like juniper, and it's such an attractive title, so I shall have a go. If it works out I'll take a picture.

YEARS GONE BY

May 19

2024 - A sort of French heritage - appropriate - a sort of a list of favourite French dishes - ending with a shot of an oozing French cheese.

2023 - Nothing

2022 - Nothing

2021 - Confusing crullers

2020 - Deleted

2019 - No whisk, no mousse

2018 - Lucky dip - khobz

2017 - Nothing