How to Make Raclette
Serves: 4 or more
How to make raclette, a traditional Swiss dish, at home with a raclette grill.
Ingredients
- 150-200 g (5-7 oz) raclette cheese, per person, sliced into 8mm slices
- new potatoes, boiled (about 4 to 6 per person)
- bacon
- beef fillet, thickly sliced
- chipolata sausages, or other small pork sausages
- courgette, (zucchini) thickly sliced
- red capscium, (bell peppers) thickly sliced
- cornichons, or pickled gherkins
- pickled baby corn
- barbecue sauce, for the sausages and meat
- ketchup, for the sausages and meat
Instructions
- If necessary, cut the raclette cheese to fit the coupelles or small trays under the raclette grill.
- Turn the raclette grill on to medium-high heat.
- If you are using bacon, place the bacon rashers onto the grill plate and cook until your liking.
- Use the bacon fat to cook the other ingredients.
- If you are not using bacon, simply brush the grill plate with some oil.
- Place some meat and vegetables on the hot grill plate.
- While the meat and vegetables are cooking on the grill plate, place a slice of raclette cheese into the coupelles or small trays, and place them under the heating element.
- The melted raclette cheese is usually served over the warm potatoes on your plate, which you should slice just before adding the cheese. But it is also common to place the melted cheese over the cooked vegetables. Some people even put slices of potatoes into the coupelles so that the cheese melts directly on top. Do as you please!
- Be careful to not overcook the meat on the grill plate.
Kitchen Notes
- It is entirely up to you what meat and vegetables you wish to serve with raclette.
- You could even make the meal vegetarian by grilling only vegetables, or even not using the grill plate and simply making a salad to go alongside.
- Instead of grilling meat and sausages, it is also traditional to serve a plate of charcuterie or cold cuts, such as salami, ham and other deli meats.
- I like to add half a teaspoon of brined green peppercorns to plain raclette cheese before grilling it. This gives the cheese a spicy kick and saves me from having to buy too many different types of raclette cheese.
- Any leftover raclette cheese is wonderful for toasting on bread with ham under the grill. Yum!
- You can buy special potato prongs to hold the hot potatoes so you can peel them easily at the table. However, I prefer to use new potatoes and to eat them with the skin on.
- Depending on what is in season, I also like to make the following to cook on the grill plate:
* asparagus wrapped in prosciutto or thinly sliced bacon
* mushrooms stuffed with cream cheese (I like Cantadou)
* thick slices of fresh pineapple