Raclette is a traditional Swiss recipe for a classic national dish of melted raclette cheese served over boiled new potatoes and accompanied by grilled vegetables and/or meats. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Swiss version of: Raclette.
(click this button to prevent the screen from sleeping so Cook Mode is 'ON')
Raclette is a traditional Swiss dish that's counted amongst the national dishes of Switzerland. The name refers to both the cheese that's the main component of the dish and is also the name of the dish itself. Raclette cheese is a semi-hard cheese that's traditionally made from cow’s milk, although you can also find some varieties made from sheep’s milk. For the dish, the cheese is thickly sliced (less than 1 cm) and used for melting and grilling; it is not intended to be eaten raw.
At home, a raclette meal is served using a table-top grill, like one pictured in these photos. The cheese is melted in small pans called coupelles, which are placed under the heating (grill) element. The grill plate is used to cook meat and vegetables, although you can prepare everything without the grill plate. Indeed you don't need to cook meat and vegetables for your raclette as it can also be served with cold charcuterie (salami, ham, dry-cured meat, etc) as an accompaniment.
The melted raclette cheese is usually served over boiled potatoes, with cornichons and pickled onions on the side; though you can also simply pour the cheese over the grilled meats, vegetables and pickles
Ingredients:
150-200g raclette cheese, per person, cut into 8mm thick 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 bell peppers, thickly sliced
cornichons (small whole pickled cucumbers), or pickled gherkins pickled baby corn
barbecue sauce, for the sausages and meat
ketchup, for the sausages and meat
Method:
If necessary, cut the raclette cheese to fit the coupelles or small trays that will fit under the raclette grill.
Heat the raclette grill to medium-high (you can also melt the cheese under an ordinary grill [broiler] or in an air fryer).
If you are using bacon, place the bacon rashers onto the grill plate and cook to 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 (or use a hot frying pan).
Whilst 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 hot grill 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.
