Tartiflette

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg waxy potatoes
• 250 g smoked bacon lardons
• 2 onions, sliced
• 150 ml dry white wine
• 200 ml double cream
• 1 reblochon, or 400 g brie, halved horizontally
• 2 garlic cloves, halved
• plenty of black pepper

Method

1. Part-boil the potatoes

   Boil the potatoes whole in their skins until just tender, then cool slightly and slice them thickly. Waxy, not floury — floury potatoes disintegrate under the cream and you end up with mash.

   25 min

2. Bacon and onions

   Fry the lardons until the fat runs and they brown, then add the onions and cook until soft and golden.

   15 min

3. Deglaze

   Pour in the wine and let it bubble down to almost nothing, then stir in the cream and plenty of pepper. Hold off on salt entirely — the bacon and the cheese together bring more than enough.

   5 min

4. Layer it

   Rub the dish with the cut garlic, then layer potatoes and the bacon mixture, finishing with potatoes. Lay the cheese on top, rind and all, cut-side down. The rind is what holds the melting cheese in a blanket rather than letting it run to the edges.

5. Bake

   Bake at 190°C until the cheese has melted and browned in patches and the edges are bubbling.

   30 min

6. Rest

   Rest 10 minutes before serving with something sharp — cornichons or a green salad. It is extremely rich and needs the contrast.

   10 min