Tartiflette

If you’re ever left with a selection of leftover cheeses after dinner, this is an absolute dream of a recipe to use them up. It’s so easy, tastes delicious and provides the ultimate comfort meal with a salad or side with a roasted joint of meat. We’ve shared the recipe below which requires around 500g of cheese – if you have less, you can adjust the recipe to suit.

Ingredients

• 500g of cheese (we had Manchego, Vacherin, Comte and some grated mozzarella/cheddar mix)
• 1kg of potatoes, peeled (we used Maris Piper, but you could use Charlotte or La Ratte, just don’t peel them)
• 250g of bacon, chopped up or pancetta
• 1/2 onion, finely sliced
• 1 garlic clove
• 100ml of white wine
• 200ml of double cream
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh parsley, chopped

Method

1. Begin by pre-heating the oven to 200°C static, 180°C fan. You will need a large oven-proof dish for the Tartiflette.

2. Fill a pan with cold water and add the potatoes with a good pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 10 minutes until they are soft but not falling apart. Once they are ready, drain well and put to one side. Top tip: always use cold water to boil potatoes for an evenly cooked potato.

3. While the potatoes are cooking, place a sauté / frying pan over a medium heat and fry off the onion in a little olive oil until they start to go translucent (usually this takes 5-8 minutes) – be careful that they don’t catch. Add the bacon or pancetta and fry off for a few minutes, then add the garlic. It should be all golden brown by now, if not increase the heat a little but keep an eye on the garlic. Add the white wine and give the pan a good stir to deglaze the pan. Let the wine cook out for a couple of minutes over a medium heat. It will smell really amazing by this point.

4. We made our tartiflette like a lasagne, layering the potatoes and bacon/onion mixture on top and then a mix of the cheese. We seasoned with a little black pepper at each layer but not salt due to the bacon, however, if you like salt, go for it! Lastly, pour over the double cream and give the dish a little nudge from side to side to even out the cream. Save back a good bit of the cheese for the top layer, and season with salt and a sprinkle of pepper.

5. Next, place in the oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is golden-brown and bubbling. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with steamed green veggies or a green salad.