Do you know croziflette? This dish made from crozets, square pasta made from wheat and eggs. Yes ? does that remind you of something ? Maybe it’s because you ate it on your ski vacation or maybe your algorithm made your mouth water by offering you this comforting dish. And that wouldn’t be surprising since croziflette is becoming more and more popular. It’s even “the most requested recipe” on the Alpina Savoie website, said the dough brand. 20 minutes. To find out more about this recipe, we questioned Agnès Epalle, communications director at Alpina Savoie, the oldest pastry maker in France, and Cyril Brun, originally from Savoy and owner of Chalet de Neuilly, one of the oldest Savoyard restaurants in Ile-de-France.
The origins of croziflette
The Alpina Savoie brand and the Chalet de Neuilly are unanimous on the subject: “croziflette is a Savoyard dish,” says Cyril Brun. “Croziflette is a typically Savoyard recipe invented at the end of the 20th century by Alpina Savoie, our recipe was even registered by the brand with the INPI in 2002,” adds Agnès Epalle.
As for crozets, they are also “emblematic products of Savoie”, says Agnès Epalle. The latter says that the word crozet comes from the dialect “croé” which means small. “It’s difficult to date, but we estimate that the first origins of crozet date back to the 17th century,” says the communications director of the French brand that has been distributing crozets for more than 30 years. “Many Savoyards were peddlers in the Alps. The men crossed the mountains with their food, and to avoid breakage of the pasta during transport, the women favored a small and square shape,” she says.
According to Cyril Brun, this dish is not “especially” more popular at the moment, it is mainly the ski resorts which are making (or bringing) these dishes back into fashion by offering them more often. When families leave the mountains, they want to continue to consume what reminds them of their vacations and their moments of sharing.
Agnès Epalle also agrees with this opinion: “Many discover croziflette during a stay in the mountains, it is an alternative to tartiflette”. She nevertheless notes a craze for crozets over the past two years or so, with two million additional French households purchasing crozets.
The chef’s croziflette recipe
The chef of the Savoyard restaurant Chalet de Neuilly shared his recipe with us for 4 people, to make at home.
The list of ingredients: 300 g of crozet, 250 g of smoked bacon, 1 farmhouse Reblochon, 200 g of Savoie cheese, 20 cl of liquid cream, an onion and a glass of Apremont (a dry white wine from Savoy).
Once the count is good, you can cook the crozets for twenty minutes. Then, brown your onions and bacon before deglazing with the Apremont. Then, drain your crozets, and mix everything with the Savoie wheel, before adding the cream. Last step, cover everything with reblochon and put in the oven at 180° for twenty minutes. And when it’s ready… enjoy!