Reblochon is the whole point of this Hairy Bikers tartiflette recipe, and a full 450g wheel goes on top sliced. With 1kg of waxy potatoes and 250g of bacon lardons beneath, it lands at 907 calories for 4. That came off their Home for Christmas series on BBC One, and the whole bake runs 45 minutes.
“All of the après-ski without the, er, ski” is how they pitch it on BBC Food. So the simple label holds, because the potatoes boil while the bacon fries and the bake itself is 15 minutes.
Waxy potatoes are what hold the layers apart, because floury ones collapse into paste under all that cream. And Charlotte is the variety they name, though any waxy potato that slices cleanly will do.
Hairy Bikers Tartiflette Recipe
Description
Boiled potatoes go into a gratin dish in layers with fried bacon, shallots and garlic, then double cream over the top. Then a whole reblochon sliced across it finishes the dish. Bake until the cheese is blistered and bubbling.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes: heat the oven to 200C, fan 180C, gas 6. Then cook 1kg of peeled Charlotte potatoes in salted boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes until tender.
- Drain and cool: tip them into a colander and leave them to cool slightly. Or boil them in their skins and rub the skins off once cool, which is easier than peeling raw.
- Fry the bacon: meanwhile heat a frying pan and add 250g of bacon lardons with the 2 chopped shallots. Then add the garlic clove and fry for 4 to 5 minutes until golden-brown.
- Deglaze the pan: pour in the 100ml of white wine and scrape the sticky bits off the base. Then keep it bubbling until almost all the liquid has gone, because any left behind pools under the bake.
- Layer it up: slice the cooled potatoes thinly and layer them into an ovenproof gratin dish with the bacon mixture. Build it in two or three layers so the bacon runs through rather than sitting on top.
- Cream and cheese: pour the 200ml of double cream over the top and season with salt and plenty of black pepper. Then slice the whole 450g reblochon and lay the slices across the surface, rind and all.
- Bake it: put it in for 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is golden-brown and bubbling. Then leave it a couple of minutes before serving, since the cream is fiercely hot straight out.
FAQs
What can I use instead of reblochon?
Strong brie, camembert or taleggio all work, and those are the swaps they name themselves. Use a whole 450g wheel and slice it rather than grating, because the rind is what blisters and browns on top. And cheddar is not on their list, which matters because hard cheese splits rather than melting smooth.
Is this a traditional tartiflette?
Close to traditional, and the bones of it are right: reblochon, lardons, white wine and waxy potatoes. But a strict Savoyard version uses onions rather than shallots and often skips the cream entirely. So this sits closer to their dauphinoise potatoes in richness, which is the other French potato bake on the site.
What should I serve with it?
Pickled onions, gherkins and charcuterie, which is what they suggest in the recipe itself. And a sharp salad with a vinaigrette does the same job, because the dish is too rich to sit beside anything creamy. So a spoonful of their piccalilli works well on the side, since the mustard cuts straight through the cheese.
Can I make it ahead or reheat it?
Assemble it ahead and keep it covered in the fridge, then bake it straight from cold with 5 extra minutes. But reheating a baked one is not worth it, because the cream splits and the potatoes go grainy. And it does not freeze at all, since reblochon turns rubbery and weeps once it has been frozen and thawed.
Why does the wine need to cook away?
Because any liquid left in the pan ends up pooling under the potatoes instead of round them. So keep the bacon on the heat until the 100ml has almost gone, which takes a minute or two past golden. And the wine is still doing its work, because it lifts the sticky brown bits off the pan into the layers.
