Salt Potatoes Raclette deserves to be Canada's next comfort food craze! You can entertain leisurely with only 2 main ingredients and a few condiments!
When your meal consists of only a few ingredients you will want to ensure they are the best possible quality.
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What is Raclette?
Raclette means 'scraped cheese' from the French word 'racler' It is a meal hundreds of years in the old from Swiss and French cow herders who would warm a block of cheese beside the camp fire and spread it onto bread.
Nowadays Raclette is served in upscale restaurants, bistros, pubs and people's homes.
Check here for complete details on How to Host a Raclette Dinner Party and suggestions for wines to serve. I see many recipes for Raclette are appetizers but the traditional approach is that Raclette, similar to fondue, is the main course.
What Type of Raclette is Best?
The two traditional types of Raclette are Swiss and French. You will see wheels of them in your local cheese shops. They will cut you a wedge for the amount you request.
There are Canadian and US versions of Raclette as well. Lately I have even seen pre-sliced Raclette in the dairy case of my local supermarket!
I will speak to the traditional Swiss and French varieties. There is one big difference between the Swiss and the French - Swiss raclette is notoriously 'aromatic'. While both versions taste nutty and creamy - the Swiss version is the strongest and smells like old socks! Really...until you go nose blind! And be warned the 'aromas' will linger in the atmosphere.
They both both melt in a similar fashion. Swiss raclette has a traditional wax casing that must be removed before using. French raclette is a washed rind cheese and some eat the melted, crusty rind with enthusiasm.
Swiss Raclette seems to be more expense than French, although this might vary by your location.
Any one of the varieties is delicious so don't fret about which one is available or not available.
What Potatoes Are Best For Raclette?
Gourmet potatoes that are bite-size or 2 bite size are perfect for this meal. That is my first choice of potato. They cook uniformly, are buttery and ultra creamy. They are often pre-washed so there can be no prep required on your part!
Second choice is waxy new yellow potato such as Yukon Gold or Dutch Baby Yellow.
Having said all that - any new potato, especially in season is a great choice too. If I can't find small, baby potatoes I have substituted ordinary yellow or red potatoes and quartered them. Your meal will still be delicious.
If you are not able to find Raclette Jarlsberg, Emmentaler or young Gruyere are good substitutes. Or you can ask your cheese vendor to point you to a semi-soft, nutty, creamy cheese that melts uniformly.
What Do I Serve With Raclette?
The traditional meal consists of boiled,unpeeled gourmet potatoes and melted raclette garnished with freshly ground black pepper. French cornichons (mild dill pickles) and sour pickled onion are traditional accompaniments. You could also serve other pickled vegetables of your choice.
It is not traditional but I like to add a side salad that diners can pick at while they are waiting for their cheese to melt.
Do I Need Special Equipment for Raclette?
There are a few ways to approach Raclette. You can buy Raclette machines designed to allow diners to put their slices of Raclette in a small pan and insert it under a grill. This is a fun way to have a leisurely meal, similar to a fondue.
If you don't have a Raclette machine then you can see a couple of options for serving below.
How Do I Serve Raclette With Potatoes?
In both instances the potatoes will be cooked before you melt the cheese on them. Baby potatoes do not need to be peeled and Salt Potatoes need to have the skin on. You can see the timing and method recommended for Salt Potatoes in the recipe card below. If you are using different potatoes timing will vary depending on the size of the potato. Use the regular guidelines for cooking them to fork tender. Best not to overcook them - you don't really want them splitting open or crumbling.
The Raclette should be sliced into ¼ inch thick slabs or so. If there is a wax casing remove it (Swiss). If it is more of a firm edge from soft washing (French) it is your choice to leave or remove it. Some people consider the soft wash crust when melted crispy to be the best part!
Set the pepper mill, cornichons and pickled onions out on the table so they can be passed around.
If you have the Raclette machine all you need to do is set up the raclette machine in the center of the table and bring it to temperature. You will pass the hot potatoes and sliced Raclette so each guest can serve themself. Everyone will melt their Raclette in individual pans under the grill, at their leisure, and then pour it over their serving of potatoes.
If you don't have a Raclette machine you will want to melt the cheese over the potatoes in a single layer. You can use a large cast iron skillet or other baking dish to melt the cheese in the oven over the potatoes and then divide it among your guests.
Or you might melt the cheese over the potatoes on each guest's plate all in one go. A couple of minutes in the microwave on medium/high will do it. This would work best for one or two people if you want to eat at the same time.
The other thing you can do is put all the plates on a baking tray (or trays) in a 350 degree oven and allow the cheese to melt in the oven over the potatoes. This would work if you have 4 or 6 guests. The limit would be how many plates you can fit in your oven. You would need to caution your guests about the heat of their plate and ensure the warm/hot plates don't harm the table you place them on. The advantage of this approach is that the hot serving plate will keep the meal warmer during the meal and everyone can eat at the same time.
Wine Pairing
I may be stating the obvious here but you are pairing to the Raclette cheese, not the potatoes. If you want to really try to stick to tradition you would look for a Swiss Chasselas, Sylvaner or Pinot Noir. For French raclette a Chardonnay from Jura would be most true to its roots.
In both cases the red from those areas would be Pinot Noir.
Recognizing that these wine may not be widely available in America a nutty (oaked) Chardonnay is an excellent choice. An older Riesling or an Alsation Pinot Gris in another excellent choice.
Any French Pinot Noir or Beaujolais are good choice on the red spectrum.
An interesting observation is: cheese tends to soften any wine. So you could serve almost any wine you like here if you aren't looking to enhance the nuttiness of the Raclette.
This will depend on the size of the potato. For baby or gourmet potatoes you will want several, I go for 8 per person. If the potato is larger then try to eyeball at least 1 large potato per person. The cheese is rich and filling but there is really nothing else on the menu so if you have hearty eaters, err on the side of extra potatoes for them.
I tend to go with about 6 oz (150 grams) per person. The cheese is rich and the timing is leisurely so, like fondue, you feel full by the end of this course.
Yes. Some people like to serve other foods as well. Look for foods that will cook easily and quickly on a grill such as shrimp, sliced ham or sausages. Asparagus makes a good vegetable choice. Cut large food in to smaller portions to aid in quick grilling.
A cheesecake risks cheese overload so think of something like an apple, pear or Peach Crisp since those flavours go well with cheese. Apple Irish Cream Cake or this Gluten Free Chocolate Cake would both be great.
Salt Potatoes with Raclette
If you tried this, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know it went in the 📝 comments below!
Save Print Pin FacebookEquipment
- Large Sauce Pan for the potatoes
- Raclette machine preferred but not mandatory
Ingredients
- 48 bite size gourmet potatoes about 3 lbs. See Notes for substitutions.
- 1 cup table salt
- 10 cups water
- 2 Tbsps butter optional
- 36 oz raclette cheese See Notes for varieties.
- 2 cups French cornichons can substitute sour gherkins (not sweet)
- 2 cups sour pickled cocktail onions or other pickled vegetables to taste
- fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine water and salt in a large pot. Add the potatoes and bring to a boil. Once water has boiled reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Drain potatoes and keep warm until ready to serve. Optional - toss the potatoes with the butter, while they are hot, until melted and keep warm until ready to serve.
- While potatoes are cooking slice cheese into ¼ thick slices. Remove wax rind. Hard edge can be left or removed. Some enjoy the hard edge of Raclette.
- If using a raclette machine, bring it to temperature. Transfer potatoes to a serving dish. Pass Raclette slices, pepper, cornichons and pickled onions separately. Allow diners to melt the cheese and pour over their potato servings.
- If not using a raclette machine, preheat your oven to 350℉. Transfer cooked potatoes to a cast iron skillet or other baking dish, in one layer. Top potatoes with raclette slices and allow them to heat until cheese is uniformly melted. This may take 10 minutes or so but check after 5 minutes. Divide among serving plates. Alternatively put the plates on a baking sheet and melt cheese over the potatoes on each diners plate. (Taking precautions for serving a hot dinner plate). Pass pepper, cornichons and pickled onions separately.
Notes
- It is important to respect the water to salt ratio to get the desired residual salt on the potatoes.
- You can substitute any waxy, baby potato you want to. Fingerling potatoes are another good choice. There is no need to peel baby potatoes since the skins are so thin. If you can't find baby potatoes look for a medum size yellow or red potato and quarter them after cooking. For Salt Potatoes to work they should not be peeled.
- There are 2 main types of Raclette cheese. The Swiss variety is more pungent (very strong aromas linger after) but still tastes nutty and mild. French raclette is less pungent than the Swiss and is similar but slightly softer in flavour. Canadian or American raclettes tend to be milder yet.
- The condiments in the recipe are the traditional ones. You can substitute other pickled vegetables if you like. The pickled aspect is meant to provide some contrast to the mild cheese.
Alissa
when do you use the butter?
Carolyn Hetke
Hi Alissa. I have added the instructions to drain the potatoes and toss with the butter until it is melted and coats the potatoes. Thanks for pointing this out!