The French dish tartiflette is everything you want in a winter comfort food. It combines rich cheese, bacon and potatoes in melty amazingness, and it’s guaranteed not to result in any leftovers. You’re probably supposed to eat it after a long day of skiing in the Alps, but since I don’t ski or understand the cold, I think it’s acceptable to eat it any time there’s a little chill in the air.
Our lovely friends Marylise and Joan invited us over for a pre-Christmas dinner and made a to-die-for tartiflette. We had an entire conversation about how you should pace yourself while eating it because it’s so rich and filling that it’s easy to overdo it and end up with a belly ache later… and then we licked the pan clean. It was too good to stop.
I asked Marlyise for her secrets and consulted a few recipes before making my own tartiflette for family in New Orleans. Some recipes have you parboil the potatoes before baking, others have you pan-fry them. I opted to pan-fry because it worked better for our timeline, but I think either way would work well.
References:
- Marmiton (in French)
- Food and Wine
- Saveur
- The Guardian
The tartiflette was delicious, if I do say so myself. Everyone liked it, from my parents to my wee toddler nephew. We’ll be having this one again.
Note: We were able to procure reblochon – a soft washed-rind, stinky cheese – by means I cannot reveal, but if that is hard to find, you could look for a similar substitution. There are “reblochon-style” cheeses, and I’ve also read about using gruyère or other cheeses you would use in fondue. Go to a cheese shop or a grocery store cheese counter and see what suggestions they have.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ - 3 lbs. potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped or diced
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- ½ lb. bacon or lardons, diced
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 lb. reblochon (or reblochon-style) cheese, cut into thin slices
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a sauté pan, cook bacon until browned and starting to crisp. Remove bacon onto paper towels.
- Drain grease from the pan, except for 1-2 T.
- Add onions, cooking for a few minutes until they start to soften and turn golden.
- Add wine and let simmer until it’s reduced by about half.
- Add the potatoes, bacon, salt and pepper and cook until the potatoes are just tender (adding more wine if you like).
- Grease an ovenproof casserole dish, and spread half of the potato mixture in an even layer on the bottom.
- Spread half the cheese slices on top. Repeat with one more potato layer and one more cheese layer.
- Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the cheese is golden and bubbling.