The first time I ate anything describing itself as Tartiflette was at Glastonbury Festival in 2003, although this was a lie; there was no cheese, nor bacon. However, despite being just a really good sausage and sautéed potatoes in a paper bowl it was bloody good, and warranted repeated visits over the course of the weekend. When I went boarding in Morzine two Christmases ago, I think I ate Tartiflette just about every other day.
This recipe will easily feed two (I ate roughly half), or three people with smaller appetites.
4 good sized waxy potatoes (I used Cyprus, as that was the best thing available at the greengrocers)
3 thick slices of good quality pancetta
250g Reblochon cheese (I didn't measure it, but it was half of a roughly 500g cheese)
Half a large, white onion
200ml double cream
Splash dry white wine
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1tsp grated nutmeg
Ground black pepper
Pre-heat the oven to 200˚C/gas mark 6 and heat an average sized gratin dish.
Peel the potatoes and slice lengthways about 1cm thick. Boil for about 10 minutes in salted water.
Meanwhile, roughly chop the onion and slice the pancetta. Heat the oil in a fairly thick based frying pan and add the pancetta. Once the pancetta has started to brown and the fat has started to melt out, add the onion. Fry for a few minutes, by which time the potatoes will have softened sufficiently. Drain the potatoes and add them to the pancetta and onion.
Over a low heat, combine the cream and white wine in a small saucepan. Stir about 25g of the cheese into the cream until melted. Finely dice the garlic and add to the cream/wine, along with the nutmeg and pepper. Once the potatoes have had an even coating of fat from the pancetta, spread them evenly in the gratin dish. Slice the rest of the cheese (it doesn't really matter how roughly, as it is all going to melt anyway) and place in and around the potato/pancetta/onion mix. Pour over the cream. This should be enough to surround and thinly cover the potatoes and pancetta. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes. As with anything, it's done when it looks and feels right, rather than when a certain amount of time has elapsed.
I ate this with some watercress with a tart vinaigrette (although not as tart as I usually make), which is a very much needed accompaniment for something as rich and heavy as this. I burned my mouth on the first bite. If I was going to Hestonicise the whole experience, it would have tasted much more exciting had I made this a week or so before Christmas after coming home in the snow. Next time I'd use more onion, and be a bit more generous with the nutmeg.
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