by Sophia Stern
There is perhaps no better comfort for the depths of winter than ooey, gooey, hot melty cheese. The enjoyment of fondue and raclette has taken off over the past few years, especially across the internet. You’ve probably seen videos of raclette online- a huge wheel of cheese, melted by a heat lamp and then scraped onto a plate of potatoes, bread, pickles, and other hearty goodies.
Raclette is both the cheese and the meal. The cheese raclette is a brine-washed mountain cheese with a semi-soft texture. They are often deeply savory with a little burst of funk. Most importantly, this style of cheese is designed to be melted. The name comes from racler the French verb for to scrape. While both the cheese and style of meal started as a tradition in the Swiss Alps, raclette dinners have become increasingly popular as a wintery meal option.
Most folks aren’t racletting at home with a half wheel of cheese and a heat lamp. Some people have a small tabletop version. These machines have small broiler drawers where sheets of raclette are melted down. Once ready, the cheese can be slid out of the drawer onto your plate of veggies, meat, and bread. And while these machines are very convenient and optimal for racletting at home, there’s no denying they are expensive, specialty pieces of equipment that most of us do not own.
Fear not! Lacking a raclette machine should not stop you from enjoying a delish raclette dinner at home. If you have a stove and oven, it’s more than possible to enjoy this après ski tradition around your dinner table. All you need is melty cheese and prepped accoutrements. Classic raclette accouterments include potatoes, pickles, cured meats, bread but the options are endless. Enjoy customizing your raclette menu to your preferences. If you’d like some inspiration, here’s a framework of what to include: Cooked veggies like potatoes and brussels sprouts, fresh bread like France 44’s house-made baguette, cured meat like Speck, zesty pickles like cornichons, and a vinegretty side salad. The salad is not a throw away! The relief of snappy lettuce and acidic dressing makes eating the hearty raclette more enjoyable.
For the accouterments:
Pre-heat your oven to 425. Prep the vegetables. Cut each vegetable so they’re about the same size. Toss in olive oil and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and chili flakes if you like. Place each veggie flat side down on the sheet pan to obtain a crispy, golden roast. Roast for 10-20 minutes depending on the size.
Make the salad. Prep and wash your greens and lightly toss in your favorite bright and acidic dressing.
Arrange the pickles and cured meat. Place the pickles in a little bowl. Make sure the pieces of cured meat are separated and easy to grab. Go a step further and make Speck flowers by pinching the Speck together along one side of each slice. You should have a tight accordion fold along one side and a wavy, floral shape along the other side.
Slice the bread. If using a baguette, slice at slight bias to get a jauntier, large diagonal slice with tapered edges
Bring everything to the table and encourage your guests to fill their plate with whatever goodies they like.
For the Melty Cheese:
Obtain some raclette. For quantity, aim for a quarter pound to half pound per person. Ask your cheesemonger to slice the raclette into planks for you or cut planks at home with a chef's knife.
At home, either turn on your oven broiler or prepare to use your stovetop. Arrange your slices of raclette in a single layer in a cast iron or other oven-safe pan. Ensure everyone’s dinner plates are filled with accoutrement and ready.
If using the broiler: put the cast iron under the broiler and allow the raclette sheets to get melty and bubbly. If using the stovetop: place the pan over a low heat and watch the cheese begin to melt. The cheese will melt and bubble and soon be ready for scraping.
Pull the pan from the heat source and immediately bring to the table. Using a flat spatula, scoop and lay the sheets of broiled cheese atop the veggies, bread, and meat. Avoid laying the cheese on the salad and pickles so they can be a contrast to all the other rich components.
Note: this method is a little finicky and it can be cumbersome to scrape the broiled cheese out of the skillet. The cheese will cool down fast and begin to seize up. Don’t be disappointed if you miss getting the optimal melty cheese bite- Raclette is still delicious once cooled and will still be warm, gooey and crispy on the edges.
To Drink: A nicely acidic white wine is a classic pairing. Try the Labbe Abymes Vin de Savoie or the Stadt Krems Grüner Veltliner.