One of our favourites on the night off as it not only tastes great, it is also a really social dish and makes great theatre too.
This Swiss cheese itself starts off as a large ‘wheel’ of cheese, light yellow in the centre and an orangey yellow outer. The centre has a creamy flavour, but with a good flavour / taste, and the rind slightly stronger, a little more bitter but cheese lovers will love it. Whilst nowadays it can be served on little trays, the authentic way to serve (and only way to eat it in the Alps in our opinion) is to cut large wedge from the wheel and then place it on a traditional raclette grill / heater (coal or electric) or grill it directly in front of the fire.
Grilling it in front of the open fire is rarely an option and most use a raclette machine that pivots the cheese both close to the heat to melt it, and then away to serve. As the cheese face melts, you simply scrape the cheese onto your plate and eat with the accompaniments that are served with it. It is simply delicious and the best bit is still to come. Initially there is a surge of cheese scraping but then slowly we lose the momentum and the cheese is left to grill a little longer. As a consequence a crispy outer layer starts to form and it tastes just fabulous!
With most good establishments it will come served with accompaniments such as potatoes, pickled onions and gherkins, salad and a charcuterie too, but just check when selecting the restaurant.
Once you have become a raclette connoisseur, then why not search the smoked version, in fact so good is the smoked alternative, it is a must for one or two of us in the Chalet Ski Holidays office. And finally, don’t forget a robust, good quality red wine as they are a match made in heaven and cut through the cheese with each quaff!
