Tartiflette for Vegetarians

I have a backlog of blog posts, which means more recipes will be up in the next few days/weeks.  We ate a tartiflette this week. It seemed logical since it has been snowing all week and has been absolutely freezing.

I first tried this dish and my friend, Nico, clued me into what it was. Tartiflette is supposed to be a French dish from the Savoie region, and can be enjoyed after a day of skiing, as Nico has enjoyed on many occasions. I read somewhere that the tartiflette dish was a marketing ploy to increase the sales of reblochon cheese.

I used Raclette cheese (a Swiss cheese), omitted the lardons or bacon, and added spinach. Because I incorrectly recalled the name of the cheese at the cheese shop, I came away with Raclette instead of Reblochon. Simple, but delicious, mistake.

The recipe for this tartiflette came from the French Cooking for Dummies blog, with the substitutions I mention above.


Lightly boiled potatoes are cut up. I leave the skin on the potatoes.


Making layers.


Sauteed onions get topped above a layer of potatoes. Spinach is a nice addition.


Almost ready to hit the oven.


Raclette cheese




Tartiflette ready to go into the oven, topped with green onions and the cream-wine sauce.


Tartiflette out of the oven.

Here is what I did, although I followed the original instructions pretty closely, I did find myself altering it  and have made my adjustments below. Because the bacon would make the dish saltier, you can add in more salt, or pass the salt at the table. I added less cheese, and found it to be tasty enough.

Tartiflette for vegetarians
Yield: 6-8 servings, huge ladleful.


Ingredients:
8-10 small to medium potatoes, scrubbed and washed clean, leave them whole as they will be easier to cut into slices once partially cooked.
1 tbsp butter
1 onion, diced
1 tsp or more smoked paprika, or hot paprika
1 cup fresh cream (creme fraiche)
1 cup dry white wine
3 tbsp green onions with chives, chopped
2 cups washed fresh spinach leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 Reblochon wheel, see below

Now for the cheese, if you find a reblochon wheel, you can slice it in half and put each half (cheese side down) on top of the potatoes once the dish has been layered. Since I had raclette (which is an easily meltable cheese, I cut it into chucks and covered the top). If you cannot find any of these cheeses, I would use a 2 cups of shredded gruyere cheese, because it will also be delicious, although not authentic. Seriously, who cares? You will have an awesome dish either way.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F, and lightly grease a casserole dish.  
2. Boil water in a large pot for the potatoes. Add the potatoes whole and cook until they are soft (about 20-30 minutes). Once cooked, take off the heat and drain. 
3. Meanwhile, heat butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add in onions and saute for 5-7 minutes. Stir in paprika and turn off heat. 
4. In a medium bowl combine, cream, green onions, wine and salt and pepper. Stir to combine. 
5. Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice them into rounds 1/4" thick. 
6. In a greased casserole dish, layer potatoes, onions and spinach, finishing with potatoes or onions. Pour the cream mixture on top, and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. 
7. Place the cheese on top and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until golden. 
8. Serve with a salad, and pass extra salt and pepper at the table.