Cheese

Raclette Tart

9/18/2019 08:05:00 PM

Raclette tart. Potatoes, ham, onions and raclette cheese in a buttery flaky pastry. It's just like the raclette you'd get at a night market or food fair, but in tart form!

Slice of raclette tart with salad and cornichons
Raclette tart


The last time I visited my friend Clarice in Paris, we had a little raclette party for dinner. She has a home raclette machine, and she set out all the raclette accoutrements - raclette cheese, boiled potatoes, different types of ham, cornichons, salad - for us to melt and assemble ourselves. It was super delicious and such fun!

Raclette Party
Raclette Party!

Home raclette machines are a standard piece of kit in French households, and are also widely available in other European countries - I saw a €40 one at a German supermarket the week after and was so tempted to buy one... until Sandra wisely reminded me that this single-purpose item would take up a lot of space and only be used rarely. Also, did we really need a melted cheese delivery system?

Back here in Melbourne, domestic raclette machines aren’t commonplace, but industrial-sized raclette grills are a staple of night markets, food fairs and gourmet cheese shops. Those massive wheels of raclette cheese slowly melting and bubbling and turning deliciously golden brown, then being scraped into serving bowls over boiled potatoes and chunks of ham - totes instagrammable and they’re all over my foodie social media feeds every winter! So much raclette love!

Last month, I participated in Prahran Market’s A-Team - receiving a mystery bag of seasonal ingredients with which to cook and create recipes - and there was a piece of Tasmanian Heidi Farm raclette in the bag! I just knew I had to create something fun with it, and I wanted to bring the spirit of the raclette party into my kitchen. So my idea was to make a quiche, but including all the ingredients you’d have with raclette! (And a few little extras to make it extra delicious).

Tart shell, potatoes, egg, ham, cheese, thyme, cream
Raclette tart ingredients

I made a pastry case - my go-to flaky buttermilk pastry from the wonderful Joy the Baker - and filled it with cooked potatoes, caramelised onions, fresh thyme, and loads of grated raclette. I poured a mixture of egg and cream on top, and then baked it.

Raclette tart
Raclette Tart

Oh my god, I was expecting it to be tasty - I mean, with those ingredients, how could it not be? - but I was not prepared for just how fabulous it would be! All the flavours worked so well together, and when encased in flaky buttery pastry? *chef’s kiss* Beeyootiful.

Raclette Tart
Raclette Tart

It’s pretty rich (which I’m totally into), and it went well with cornichons and a fresh green salad. (And a sneaky glass of buttery Chardonnay). Leftovers stood up well over the week. I gave the slices a quick blast in the microwave to heat them up, but leftovers would be fine cold, like if you were taking the tart to a picnic or something similar.

Do you like raclette cheese and pastry and butter? Make this tart! (And if you don’t like those things, may I kindly suggest that you’ve come to the wrong blog?) Enjoy!

Potato and Raclette Tart
Recipe by Sarah Cooks, Pastry from Joy the Baker

Ingredients
For the pastry
160 grams plain flour
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
115 grams cold unsalted butter
¼ cup cold buttermilk, plus a few tablespoons extra if required
For the filling
4 medium kipfler potatoes
1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
1 tablespoon butter
100 grams ham, roughly chopped
125 grams raclette cheese, grated
2 sprigs thyme
1½ cups cream
3 eggs

Method
To make the pastry, place the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. Chop or grate the cold butter into small pieces. Add to the flour and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles damp sand and the butter is evenly distributed. Make a well in the centre and pour in the 1/4 cup buttermilk, stirring with a fork to combine. Once it comes together in a shaggy dough, knead together, and form into a disc. Wrap with clingfilm and refrigerate for one hour (or up to overnight). Roll the rested pastry out into a large circle, approximately 5 millimetres thick. Line a 24cm loose-bottomed flan tin with the pastry and trim the edges. Refrigerate for a further 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200C. Line the pastry case with foil and fill with baking beans or dried pulses. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the foil and baking beans and bake for a further 5 minutes. Set aside while you make the filling.
To make the filling, peel the potatoes and cut into 1-cm slices. Cook in boiling salted water for 5-10 minutes, or until just tender when poked with a skewer. Drain and set aside.
Melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan. Add the onion slices and cook on a low heat until completely soft and dark brown. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Turn the oven down to 180C. Place the onions, potato slices, ham, and grated cheese into the pastry case. Sprinkle the thyme leaves over.
Whisk together the cream and eggs and season with salt and pepper. Pour into the flan tin. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown and just set. Allow to cool slightly for the filling to set before slicing.
Serve with cornichons and green salad.
Makes 1 x 24cm tart

Have you made this recipe? Leave a comment below! Tag me on Instagram @sarahcooksblog and hashtag #sarahcooksblog

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2 comments

  1. What a great idea making this into a tart! That way you don't need the equipment but you get all the flavours :D

    ReplyDelete

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