Raclette 3

Raclette is essentially melted cheese served over boiled potatoes with lots of ground black pepper accompanied by small pickled onions and gherkins. The name comes from the French verb racler, "to scrape," because of the way the melted cheese is scraped off the block.

Ingredients

• 6 to 8 ounces raclette cheese per person
• Small firm potatoes (Bintje, Charlotte, Raclette varieties)
• Small gherkins and pickled onions
• A selection of dried meats, prosciutto, parma ham etc.
• Sliced peppers, tomato, onion, mushrooms, paprika, and fresh black pepper (optional)

Instructions

Buy a half wheel of real Raclette cheese, preferably from the Valais (Gomser, Bagnes, Orsières etc.), between three and five months old. Scrape off the rind, top and bottom, so that the cheese can melt more easily.

Light a good fire.

Prepare boiled potatoes in their skins and have ready a supply of gherkins or cornichons, pickled onions, and black pepper.

When the fire has died to a mass of glowing embers, procure a large stone and put it before the fire. Set the half cheese on top, its cut surface exposed to the heat. Nearby have a supply of plates. As the cheese melts, scrape it off on to a plate and serve at once. Continue in this way until everyone is full.

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