Raclette

My husband and I have loved eating this since we first tasted it in 2007- but have never been brave enough to try to make it ourselves. I’m not quite sure why, it’s not that difficult to make, to be honest I think we may have been preserving a memory of a little French man and his brick.

You see, raclette, for all practical purposes, is a super charged open faced grilled cheese.

We first had this when we lived in London. We went to a farmers market at Alexander Palace- I absolutely love farmers markets. I’m always entranced by the fresh veg and love the idea of eating locally (even though I can’t always do it given a budget). But this particular farmers market was when we were younger with more money (and no child). We meandered over to the prepared food section and there was this little old French man with an old fashioned cart, a brick and a heat lamp. I asked him in my horrible high school French what he was serving and he smiled and said “Raclette.”

After that day of eat gooey cheese, pickle, potato on slightly soggy bread, we tried raclette everywhere we saw it, and we’re not disappointed.

It’s not a beautiful dish, but it is hearty, absolutely kid friendly and every bite has a different texture and taste.

This is what you need;

I piece bread- I used whole grain- you can also use a soft baguette sliced lengthwise.

1 pickle spear, diced (if you have access to cornicorns they bring a delightfully salty crunch to this sandwich) I actually used homemade Sriacha pickles.

1/4 cooked potatoes, diced

1/4 cooked onions, diced

1 roasted garlic clove

1-2 slices Gouda cheese

I was making this dish for a vegetarian alongside a chicken roast. So when my potatoes, onions and garlic was done I could prepare this sandwich. All veggies were roasted with olive oil, salt. pepper and rosemary.

In a small bowl mix all diced ingredients together and then fill every inch of the bread with them. Top with cheese to cover and then. Broil at 525 F for 2 minutes or until cheese is very melted and outside bread is slightly crispy.

We served with vegetables and a salad (and a pumpkin beer of course!)