It’s one of the French’s favorite dishes and for good reason, it’s one of the easiest to make. Slices of raclette cheese (which we call “the” raclette when we talk about “the” cheese) that we slide into the device of the same name (and there it becomes “the” raclette), cold meats to place sliced on a large plate, a big, beautiful green salad and we sit down at the table. It seems simple, written like that, but we can always improve a little. Here are four simple tips to make your raclette memorable.
1. The choice of ingredients
The most important thing is obviously the cheese. No matter if the Raclette World Championship held on October 28 in Morgins, Switzerland, was largely dominated by Swiss cheese producers. The French also make good ones. And in both countries, it is called “le” raclette when it comes to cheese.
“We are looking for a raclette that is creamy, smooth, has a beautiful appearance, a beautiful color and taste, but also a beautiful texture, no wire, no rope, no gum,” explained Eddy Baillifard, one of the world championship judges.
That day, they sampled a maximum of fifteen cheeses per session, before their senses were overwhelmed, with hot black tea or apple slices allowing them to refresh their palates and start again. If you have a device with cups, think about it: fifteen slices of cheese per person is the maximum. For devices that hang cheese, allow 250 grams per person.
Obviously, there is also the quality of the accompaniments. Small new potatoes cooked in the oven or steamed, quality cold meats even in small quantities, a green salad and white ham which brings freshness, pickled onions or gherkins for their welcome touch of acidity … To cold cuts, some prefer smoked fish, less fatty, why not
2. The choice of device
There are two types of device, both of which are placed in the center of the table. The round device with its small cups has the advantage of letting everyone eat at their own pace. But this advantage comes with the risk of eating too quickly, which, when it comes to raclette, can prove fatal. “Chewing slowly is important,” recalls Pauline Gouth, dietitian nutritionist, 20 minutes. Every time you take the time to chew and polish before swallowing, your brain also takes the time to register the information. » Which has a real impact on your satiety effect.
To eat slowly, take the time to chat with loved ones and finish what’s on your plate before rushing into a new portion of melted cheese, the second type of appliance, rectangular in shape, has its advantages . We hang half a wheel of raclette under two electric grills. The cheese melts, which we will be able to “scrape when it is ready, that is to say when the first bubbles appear, before it browns”, explained one of the “scrapers” of the last world championship raclette cheese, Jean-Michel Dubosson, for whom “raclette cheese is important not to heat it too quickly”. As the whole table eats from the same device, you have to wait your turn and you gobble up the cheese less quickly. But we eat it for longer, the effect of satiety arriving less quickly.
3. The choice of setting, atmosphere and friends
Decoration is important and it is no coincidence that successful restaurants give themselves a mountain setting. We remember Fouquet’s a few years ago, with its chalet nestled in the hotel courtyard. Or At Monix (the play on words, do you get it?), one of the “Bistrots Pas Parisiens”, a chain dear to Stéphane Rotenberg, in Asnières-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine). Mountain specialties are served in gondolas with skis planted at the entrance.
“The ingredients are important, but the main thing is to have fun,” says Matthias, the chef at Chez Monix.
If you’re doing raclette at home, a light Christmas decoration may be enough. “We must not forget that the main thing in raclette is the people with whom you share it,” said Romanian candidate for the Raclette World Championship Narcis Pintea. When you have good company, people around you who appreciate cheese, raclette is already 80% successful. »