French Recipe : La Raclette

Raclette, a dish native to Switzerland but very popular in France, is the perfect dish to enjoy on cold nights, when you feel in need of a warming meal. The name comes from the French verb racler, (‘to scrape’), which refers to the action of scraping the melted cheese onto the plates. In France, the dish is often served with a white wine such as a Savoy, a Riesling or a Pinot grigio.

Serves: 4
Preparation: 20 min
Cooking time: 20 min

Ingredients

  • 800 g of raclette cheese (if you want a bit of variety, you can use cheeses such as cheddar or camembert as well) in slices
  • 1 kg of white potatoes which will keep their shape after cooking

For the accompaniment:

  • Pepper
  • Paprika
  • Pickles
  • Pickled onions
  • Sweetcorn
  • Pickled chillies
  • Charcuterie meats

Method

  • Step 1: Wash and boil the potatoes, keeping their skins on.
  • Step 2: While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the plate of cheese by cutting out pan sized slices.
  • Step 3: Once the potatoes are cooked, begin to melt the cheese, either in a pan, or, if you have one, on an appareil à raclette.
  • Step 4: As the cheese melts, it can be scraped from the part that is still solid onto the different plates, and enjoyed with all of the different meats and pickled vegetables mentioned in the ingredients section.