According to the recipe introduction, tartiflette was the brainchild of the makers of Reblochon cheese as a way to promote their cheese with an easy, hearty recipe that would increase their sales. Personally, I'm not sure why this was necessary, because Reblochon cheese was my absolute favorite during my time studying in Paris. It's a bit more pungent than other creamy soft cheese, and unfortunately it's not available in America. Apparently it doesn't pass the USA's pasteurization requirements. Part of me feels like I should be freaked out by that, but instead I just lament the fact that I can't buy Reblochon at my local supermarket.
I can, however, find Camembert, so that will do nicely.
This recipe didn't have a ton of ingredients, and really didn't rely heavily on adding spices. But then when you're working with cheese, wine, and bacon, you're pretty well guaranteed some excellent flavor. Here are the components of my tartiflette: potatoes, onion, butter, bay leaf, white wine, Camembert, garlic, and thick-cut bacon.
Another reason I was excited for this recipe was that it gave me an opportunity to use my brand new mandolin slicer. A mandolin is essentially a very sharp blade which cuts food into thin slices by drawing the food back and forth across the blade using a hand guard. It's an awesome little contraption. I cut a ton of potato slices in very little time. For this recipe, I used one and a half potatoes. The recipe said to peel them, but I am bad at peeling things and impatient with my lack of skill, so I just left the skin on. Ultimately, I ended up cutting the thin rounds into horizontal slices for more of a julienne-style cut.
After that was done, I diced an onion and sliced the bacon, and threw it all in a frying pan with the garlic and bay leaf. The recipe called for something called lardons, which are cubes of streaky bacon with a prosciutto-like taste. A quick Google search in the store told me that it's hard to find lardons in America, so I substituted some thickly cut bacon strips.
Meanwhile, it's time to tackle the Camembert! Yet another reason I was excited to make this recipe is because it incorporated Camembert into the potato bake. Although I love French cheese, I always eat it simply - a small, cold slice on a cracker or piece of bread. The thought of chopping up a whole Camembert round into little cubes and tossing it into a recipe to become all melty and delicious is completely irresistible.
Once the bacon has turned golden around the edges, add some white wine and continue to cook until the wine has reduced down to just a couple tablespoons. Take off the heat, and stir in the potatoes and cheese. Pro-tip: remove the bay leaf before you add all the potatoes...it took me several minutes to find it!
Rachel Khoo styles her tartiflette in little nests using a muffin tin (this is the nids part of the name nids de tartiflette). Butter the muffin cups first, or the potatoes will stick, and overload the cups, because the tartiflette cooks down a bit. The recipe seemed to indicate that it would only make six nests - but that must be assuming a larger muffin tin than I own because, as you can see, I definitely filled all twelve of my pan's little cups.
Pop it in the oven, wait 20 minutes, and voila! Tartiflette hot from the oven.
Unfortunately, my little nests didn't hold their shape very well once they were taken out of the pan - but it didn't even matter. This is absolutely one of the most delicious things I've ever made. It's some serious comfort food, and perfect for a chilly winter evening. The wine adds a sophistication of flavor that is lacking in American-style hash browns, and the Camembert cubes melt down into delicious gooey morsels of cheesy goodness. Seriously - it's incredible.
So there it is! Tartiflette. An awesome meal with an awesomely fun name. I served mine up with another recipe from Rachel Khoo - carrot salad, which basically involved mixing carrots and apples with a vinaigrette made from white wine vinegar, olive oil, grainy mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper (which is a super easy and delicious way to serve carrots, by the way). I was wonderfully satisfied with this dinner. Another victoire de cuisine francais!
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