On a quick trip to northern Virginia to visit a friend of my daughter’s, we greatly enjoyed a casual, yet memorable meal in the kitchen, an inspiring, hospitable place with vaulted ceilings and huge windows offering views of 10 acres of woodlands and wildlife less than an hour’s commute outside Washington, D.C.
We enjoyed Raclette, a dish not often seen in this country, but if more people tried this friendly, communal meal, I’m sure it would catch on like wildfire.
Sharing a bottle of Riesling, we perched around an electric Raclette grill, three varieties of melting cheeses accompanied by a baguette spread with butter, sliced radishes and sea salt, plus whisper-thin charcuterie like Sopressata, Prosciutto, Cappicolla and Genoa Salami, pickled onions, gherkins and baked, smashed new potatoes in their jackets.
We placed pieces of the cheeses—Provolone, Swiss and Emmenthal—into small, wedge-shaped metal containers called coupelles, which were inserted under the hot grill to melt into butttery, bubbly heaven, and topped the appliance with the meats to brown and gently crisp. Once melted, we poured our cheeses over and placed our chosen meats atop the potatoes.
For a healthy touch, we sliced up some ripe, red tomatoes and English cucumbers to accompany everything.
Traditionally a Swiss dish, Raclette is simple, yet luxurious and can be enjoyed right in the kitchen, on the deck, on a boat dock or veranda, wherever an electrical outlet is available. twhitehead@leisuremedia360.com We certainly will. Guests can cook items on the grill to their liking; thinly sliced steak comes off the grill so tender and succulent, it melts in the mouth.
Like its close relative, Fondue, Raclette is meant for sharing, so it’s ideal for casual dining. We ate until we could hold no more, it is that tasty, rustic and satisfying. Raclette grills are readily available online through Williams-Sonoma, Ebay, Amazon.com and other sites, as well as storefront retailers in the region.
In the old days (Raclette was mentioned in writings from Swiss and German convents dating back as far as 1291), a Raclette cheese round, the term derived from the French word racler, meaning “to scrape”, was heated in front of a fire to melt, then scraped onto dinner plates. It was accompanied by small, firm potatoes, gherkins, pickled onions and dried meats, including jambon (ham).
In the Swiss canton of Valais, Raclette is typically served with tea or other warm beverages, or with a white wine like Riesling or Pinot gris. Local lore cautions that other cold drinks, water, for example, will cause the cheese to harden in the stomach, causing indigestion.
Raclette
- 8 medium potatoes (red, Yukon Gold or choice)
- 1.5 pounds of Raclette cheese, such as Swiss, Emmenthal, Gruyere, Provolone (or your choice of cheese that is easy to melt).
- Meats cut in paper thin slices
- 1 jar of Gherkins or pickles of choice
- 1 jar of pickled onions
- Freshly ground pepper
- Paprika
- Optional: Tender-crisp young green beans and asparagus
Wash the potatoes and boil in salted water for about 20 minutes. Leave the skins on. Test with a knife to determine if potatoes are done. Keep warm until ready to use. In the meantime, slice cheeses into 1/16 inch slices. Arrange gherkins, onions and meats on a platter and set aside until required. Heat up grill. Each guest will take a slice of cheese, place it in their pan and slide it under the Raclette grill to melt. Place meat on top of the grill to crisp and slightly brown.
In the meantime, take a potato, place it on your plate, and cut it into a few pieces. Remove the pan from under the grill once the cheese has reached its preferred consistency, and hold the pan on its side to scrape the cheese out, on top of the potato and cooked meat. Serve with buttered baguette slices, tomato, cucumber and tender-crisp green beans and asparagus, if desired.
About the Writer:
Rebecca Jackson is a veteran newspaper person/journalist based in Bedford County, VA. A native of California and an M.A. graduate of Arizona State University, she has a passion for pets (animals), good food/cooking, music, wine, horticulture, photography and travel.
