Raclette: Fondue minus clichés and '70s flashbacks

When Cowgirl Creamery breaks out the raclette on weekends in San Francisco's Ferry Building Marketplace, people float into the store almost trancelike.

"They smell that aroma coming down the hall in the ferry building and they're drawn to it like a cartoon," Sue Conley, co-founder of the San Francisco-based cheese company, says of raclette (the name of a cheese, as well as a dish and the machine used to make it).

Raclette, which derives from the French word meaning 'to scrape', involves melting the surface of a wheel of semi-soft raclette cheese, then scraping the gooey part on to boiled potatoes and other accompaniments. It is a tradition of the Swiss Alps.

The pungent, washed rind cheese has been made in Switzerland for centuries in the canton of Valais. Its most distinctive feature is that it becomes creamy and smooth when melted. The Swiss eat it as a meal, accompanied by boiled potatoes, cornichons and pearl onions, with liberal drafts of white wine or tea.

Raclette should naturally appeal to palates weaned on grilled cheese. But a number of obstacles have slowed its rise. Raclette traditionally has been imported, which can make it both expensive and hard to find. While most raclette still is imported, a number of American cheesemakers have begun producing it.

"You don't need a fancy oven," says René Weber, master cheesemaker and vice-president of operations for Emmi Roth USA. "You can just cut a quarter-inch slice, put it in a Teflon pan, and heat it up, and when it melts you put it on a plate. That's how the Swiss eat it at home."

"Think of the '70s when fondue became all the rage. Raclette is next, maybe," says American Cheese Society's executive director, Nora Weiser. "People are more open to different cheeses. They're looking for local products and looking for ways to support producers in their region. They're more open and their palates are more prepared for it.

New Year's Eve Raclette

Raclette is the perfect party food. Like fondue, it's all about melting cheese. The biggest difference is that raclette is grilled or broiled, rather than cooked in a pot.

Other accompaniments might include ham or dried beef, along with various vegetables and fresh bread.

Raclette is obviously the most popular cheese to use for the dish. If you can't find it, another firm, easy-melting Swiss cheese can be substituted, such as Emmentaler.

Raclette

Start to finish: 1 hour prep

Servings: 8

For the potatoes:

2lb new or fingerling potatoes

Kosher salt

For the marinated vegetables:

1/2 cup rice or sherry vinegar

2tbs sugar

1tsp kosher salt

1/2tsp smoked paprika

1/2tsp ground black pepper

2tbs chopped fresh thyme

1 cup frozen, peeled pearl onions, thawed

3 red sweet peppers, cored and sliced

1lb green beans, trimmed

12oz small button mushrooms

For the accompaniments:

4oz prosciutto

4oz dry salami, sliced

1lb cooked, peeled shrimp

1/2 cup marinated artichokes

1/2 cup gherkins or cornichons

2lb raclette cheese, sliced

Heat the oven to 200°F.

Method

To prepare the potatoes, fill a large pot with the potatoes and enough salted water to cover them by one inch.

Bring to a boil over medium-high and cook for 15 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a fork.

Drain the potatoes, then return them to the pot, cover and place in the oven to keep warm.

While the potatoes are cooking, start the vegetables.

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the vinegar, sugar, salt, paprika and black pepper to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt.

In a large bowl, combine the thyme, onions, red peppers, green beans and mushrooms. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the vegetables then set aside, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

To serve, follow the product directions for heating and using your raclette grill.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the marinated vegetables to a platter. Arrange the potatoes and other accompaniments in bowls or on plates at the table.

Guests can heat their vegetables on the top of the grill and melt their cheese using the grill's broiler according to product directions. Top potatoes with the vegetables and melted cheese.

(Recipe by Alison Ladman)

NB: Raclette potatoes are available in a number of supermarkets in Jamaica, and a number of establishments such as MegaMart carry a variety of cheese that can be used.