Raclette
A Swiss winter classic from Valais: bubbling melted raclette cheese scraped over small potatoes boiled in their skins, with tangy cornichons and pickled pearl onions.
Method
Scrub the potatoes and put them, skins on, in a 18 cm pot. Cover with cold water by 2 cm and add the salt. Bring to the boil over high heat for , then lower to medium heat and simmer for , until a knife tip slides in easily.
Add in this stepSmall waxy new potatoes (4–5 cm) 500 gSalt (for the cooking water) 1½ tsp
high heat→medium heatDrain, return the potatoes to the pot and keep them warm under the lid or wrapped in a clean tea towel. In Switzerland they come to the table in a cloth-lined basket.
Cut the cheese into 5 mm slices. The rind is edible, so leave it on, scraping it lightly with a knife if it is hard. Preheat the oven on the grill (top heat) setting to 230 °C, and lay one round's worth of cheese in small ovenproof dishes or on a paper-lined tray.
Add in this stepRaclette cheese 400 g
ovenPut it on the top shelf for , until the cheese bubbles and has a few golden spots, then take it out. Left longer, it turns oily and rubbery. Melting it in several rounds as you eat is part of the fun of raclette.
Halve the warm potatoes on your plate and scrape the melted cheese over them with a spatula. Sprinkle with a little paprika and pepper and eat hot with the cornichons and pickled onions.
Add in this stepSweet paprika ½ tspFreshly ground black pepper to tasteCornichons 8Pickled pearl onions 8
Cook's tip
If you have a raclette grill, everyone melts their own cheese in little pans at the table. No raclette cheese? A fondue cheese or another good melting semi-hard cheese works. Add air-dried beef, ham or a green salad to make a full meal.
Cooking it at camp
At camp, boil the potatoes in a pot and melt the cheese in a small cast-iron pan with a lid on the stove or beside the fire. You can also do it the old way: tilt a half-wheel of cheese toward the campfire and scrape off the melted face.