Everything you need to know about Tartiflette, the alpine après-ski staple

There is a saying in the Alps: “We trust in Tartiflette.” It can be seen emblazoned on T-shirts, hoodies and car bumper stickers in and around French ski resorts, paying homage to the gratin-style cuisine that has achieved iconic status, especially among après-skiers. Masu.

Sure, this product is clever marketing from the ski website that coined the slogan years ago, but the mountainous Haute-Savoie region, the birthplace of tartiflette, is known for its dedication to this hearty dish. The effort is real. “It's the epitome of a feast after a ski vacation or a long mid-winter trek. It's the kind of meal that fills you with joy and calories,” says chef Michel Roux Jr.

Tartiflette is made with bacon lardons, potatoes and onions, drizzled with a little white wine and topped with a generous helping of Reblochon cheese, a richly flavored creamy cheese with a ripe aroma and nutty aftertaste. Bake until melted and golden brown. It's not only on the menus of most Alpine ski resorts and chalets, it's served outdoors at markets and events, and it's also cooked in many Savoyard homes. But even though this recipe is not only a regional staple but also something of a national obsession, its traditions are surprisingly confusing.

It is generally agreed that the name of this dish is derived from the local dialect word “tartifla'', meaning potato, and the first mention of “tartifla'' was made by chef François Massialot in 18 It is said to be in his book Le Cuisinier Royal et Bourgeois. However, the recipe presented there is very similar to another traditional dish of the time – perak. It is a simple combination of potatoes, cheese, and onions that is baked in a long-handled frying pan, giving the dish its name.

This dish, like many traditional Haute-Savoie dishes, is made with local, humble ingredients. “Savoy cuisine evolved from a time of real scarcity,” explains chef and author Alex Jackson, who researched the cuisine of the French border region while writing his book Frontières. “The Savoyards were able to develop delicious and simple dishes with relatively few ingredients available and little outside input.”

The recipe we know today as tartiflette still uses local ingredients, but the addition of reblochon makes the whole thing less bland and more decadent. And far from being established in French food history, the dish only survived until the 1980s, when restaurants in the Alps began serving dishes similar to the modern tartiflette. It cannot be traced back. Then, in the late 1990s, in an effort to sell off the excess and imperfect Reblochon, a group of producers, the Syndicat Interprofessional du Reblochon, released their own tartiflette recipe. Syndicat explains that the original Pella recipe was changed “to use up our Reblochon inventory, which was a little watery (at the time), and to revive Pella's ancestral recipe.”

As for the “official” recipe, Syndicat rightly says that this dish can only be made with one type of cheese: Reblochon. For this version, cut the wheel of reblochon in two horizontally, cut the halves in half again, and place them on top of the other ingredients before baking. Some Savoie chefs prefer to include cream, but this is controversial, and Syndicat says that while a small amount of heavy cream is allowed, the dish should not be “swimming with cream.'' No,” he says.

Reblochon has the status of a Protegie Denomination of Origin, meaning it can only be produced by a group of approved farmers using specific methods and milk from three breeds of Alpine cows. Although Syndicat and many other chefs consider it an important part of tartiflette, some chefs choose to use other cheeses. For example, James Martin has a version using tomme, which is also produced in the Alps, but has less fat and is therefore less creamy. Martin suggests using Gruyère, Taleggio, or well-aged Camembert for a similar gooey effect. Michel Roux (Senior)'s cookbook Cheese includes a recipe for Aletsch Tartiflette that uses Swiss full-fat cheese Aletsch Grand Cru instead of the traditional variety. Morbifrette, on the other hand, is a variation of the dish using Morbier cheese from the Jura village of the same name.

When it comes to potatoes, Syndicat recommends firm-fleshed varieties such as Roseval and Bellefontenay. Alex Jackson says a good approach is to choose something between waxy and powdery, and his preference is the red variety. Also, while some recipes say to simply fry the potatoes before layering and baking, he boils and steams the potatoes before frying to get them golden and crispy and achieve the perfect finish. We recommend letting it dry. Mr. Jackson is also a proponent of adding water to the mixture of potatoes, bacon, and heavy cream and double cream. “The key is to do this before grilling the cheese so the end result is nice and saucy,” he says.

The companies behind the “In Tartiflette We Trust” products also have an opinion on how the dishes are made. Skipass.com publishes its own recipe, boldly claiming that it is the “true recipe for tartiflette” and has been served by chefs at ski events and gatherings for years. It comes with an impassioned preface: “Real tartiflette cannot be improvised. Do not count less than two hours between preparation, onion confit, and cooking.” This version of the dish is notable for its multi-ingredient count: the extra reblochon is cut into strips, layered with potatoes, and then topped with more cheese. Also, whereas eight people use one bottle of wine, at Syndicat you only need two glasses (Applemon, Chinin, Rousette, all dry, light and fruity wines from Savoie) for the same amount of food.

Tartiflette traditionally has no other flavorings other than onions and cheese, but Syndicat admits that nutmeg can be added as an option for those who “want to spice up their dishes.” I am. However, some chefs have put their own spin on this. For example, Mary Berry has a recipe for traybake chicken tartiflette. This is similar to the classic one with reblochon, but features the addition of button mushrooms and chicken breast wrapped in Parma ham. Meanwhile, Paul Hollywood is one of several chefs who make tartiflette pizza, which is a bread base topped with all the classic ingredients. And on Instagram, Gizzy Erskine shares a recipe for gnocchi with diced potatoes.

The latter is certainly not traditional, but it's also not as quirky as it seems. In fact, another Savoie dish, closifrette, contains all the same ingredients as tartiflette, except for the potatoes, which are replaced by crozé, a local square pasta. Lardon is essential to the original recipe, but Savoyard restaurant Chalet La Prica offers a vegetarian version using zucchini instead of bacon.

No matter what you cook, the question is what to serve with this sumptuous comforting dish. Most chefs think a light green salad with a little mustard dressing is enough, but some add pickles to cut down on the richness. For example, Michel Roux Jr. suggests pickled pearl onions as the perfect garnish. But as long as you trust Tartiflette like the Savoyards do, there's no need to complicate it further.

Recipe: Alex Jackson's Tartiflette

Along with raclette and fondue, tartiflette is one of the most famous dishes of Savoie. This is the version made famous by ski resorts. This follows the Syndicat Interprofessionnel du Reblochon's “official” recipe pretty closely, and there's no denying that it's delicious.

Number of people: 4 people
Duration: 40 minutes

material
750g potatoes (red varieties between waxy and powdery are best), peeled and cut into 1.5cm cubes.
Smoked bacon lardon 150g
30g unsalted butter
1 onion (finely sliced)
Dry white wine 100ml
3 tablespoons fresh cream (6 tablespoons if you don't have double cream)
3 tablespoons double cream (6 tablespoons if you don't have crème fraîche)
Olive oil (for frying)
Cut Reblochon cheese half rings (approximately 250g) horizontally (leave skin on)
Enjoy your green salad

method

1. Heat the oven to 200℃, fan 180℃, gas. 6. Boil the potatoes in a lightly salted pot until cooked, then drain and steam.

2. Meanwhile, fry the bacon lardons in a large frying pan. Once the fat is rendered, add half the butter and onion, and a pinch of salt. Fry slowly until soft and golden brown.

3. Pour in the white wine and simmer for 1 minute until reduced to 2 tablespoons, then add the cream and 2 tablespoons of water. Mix well, then pour into a bowl, rinse and dry the pan.

4. Once the potatoes are steamed and dry, you can fry them. Reheat a clean frying pan, add a little oil and the remaining butter, and fry the potatoes over medium heat until brown and crisp, but not crispy. Once the potatoes are browned, transfer them to a baking dish large enough to hold them all without spilling over the top. Pour over onion and cream mixture and stir gently. Place half a ring of cheese on top.

5. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is browned and completely melted. Serve warm with a green salad.