Cheese and Potatoes (French Raclette)

Raclette is the name of a Swiss cheese made from cow’s milk (slightly nutty, a little like Gruyère) but it’s also the name of a very popular meal in Switzerland. In the old days, an entire wheel of cheese was held up in front of a fire and as the cheese melted, it was scraped off onto a plate to be eaten. The name is derived from the French 'racler', meaning 'to scrape'. Today, slices of raclette are melted in table-top raclette pans or grills, and can be accompanied by small potatoes cooked in their skins, vegetables, charcuterie, pickled gerkins, onions and bread. With a modern raclette grill, you melt the cheese on one grill layer and can scrape it over grilled vegetables and meats. Raclette, essential to this treat from Juveniles in Paris, is a flavourful Alpine melting cheese.

12 potatoes, or more if they are small
2 lbs raclette cheese (1 kg)
6 slices ham
12 slices salami
12 slices mortadella
6 slices prosciutto or bacon
1 jar cornichons
1 jar small pickled onions

Scrub the potatoes under water with a rough sponge, then cook them in boiling water for 20-40 minutes, depending on size, till tender.

Scrape the raclette cheese with a knife to remove any label that may be on the outside of the rind, but do not remove the rind itself - it gives a lot of flavour to the cheese. With a cheese slicer, slice the raclette about 5 mm thick by about 5 cm square. Arrange the cheese on a plate.

Roll the ham, salami, mortadella and prosciutto slices and arrange on a serving plate. Garnish with the cornichons and onions.

Just before dinner, preheat a raclette grill. Put the hot potatoes on a serving plate and set around the grill with the charcuterie plate and cheese.

During the dinner, every guest places a slice of raclette cheese on one of the raclette pans and places it in the grill to melt. Place the melted cheese over a potato, and enjoy with the charcuterie, cornichons and onions.

Makes 6 servings.

What to drink: A red or white wine from Savoie.

For Dessert: A Mont-Blanc, a dessert made with chestnut cream and meringue.