Tartiflette

eager to please you bubble and fret

hot on the tongue sloppy and wet

my bold coquette you charm seduce

tickle my taste buds fast and loose 

a saucy smile and a cheesy grin

a melting mouth and a dripping chin

delicious sin indulgent treat 

great on the eye so good to eat

salty and sweet creamy confection

slips down my throat food perfection

shallots potatoes fried lardons

garlic wine and reblechon

your flavour’s better than foie gras

the star dish of the haute-savoie

Tartiflette

Image: Wikipedia Commons. Attribution: Arnaud 25.

Remembering with pleasure the tasty tartiflette I enjoyed so much at the Exeter Christmas market, I decided to make my own today, and it fulfilled all my expectations: what a wonderfully warming dish for these chilly, frosty December days.

Recipe (3/4 portions)

Slice thinly 1.25kg waxy potatoes (red potatoes are good).

Boil in salted water until they soften (6 or 7 minutes?)

Drain and let them cool.

Fry 350gm smoked bacon lardons, several shallots (or slices of red onion) and a couple of crushed garlic cloves for 10 minutes or so. Deglaze the pan with white wine.

Layer in a gratin dish with the potatoes on top and cover with loads of double cream.

Season with salt and pepper.

Overlay with slices of Reblochon cheese (this may be the difficult bit, though this cheese is readily available in Waitrose. However, there are other suitable melty cheeses — check out the Internet).

Bake in the oven at 200 degrees C. until the cheese is bubbling and golden-brown (15-20 min.)

Eat and enjoy (with a green salad and/or with some charcuterie).

I defy you not to want more!