It's snowing in the South of France...
The kids are thrilled. School came to a halt today, and we went to pick them up in first thick rain, sleet, and finally snow. So what's for dinner? I don't feel like cooking. As I thought about my previous post, where do cooks come from, I remembered we use to come from Switzerland. Well, coming from there is a stretch, we lived there for three years. Once winter rolled around in Nyon, Switzerland, our weekly staple was raclette. So tonight, that's our choice.
Luckily, we were just given a beautiful raclette machine from our French friends, Lena and Patrice Arnera! Tonight, we will put it to good use.
What is raclette? It's easy as pie, and very convenient to fix. It provides our bellies with good food consisting of potatoes, melted cheese and various meats.
The name "raclette" (pronounced ruck-lett in English or rah-klett in its native French) refers to a meal and to a type of cheese with the same name. The traditional dish can be described as melted cheese eaten with boiled (or roasted) potatoes with small gherkins and pickled onions. Modern electrical appliances that are used to make the dish are called raclette grills, mine, featured below.
With the tradition originating in Switzerland, Raclette, the meal, is one of Switzerland's best loved national dishes and is very popular in other parts of Europe such as France and Germany.
Tip: Not too keen on the stinky cheese? Try Raclette with Cheddar. Nothing is better (in my opinion) than melted cheddar cheese over potatoes. If you want a veggie raclette, try slicing zuchinni, red peppers, and strips of asparagus just warming them up on the top tray, instead of meat. Use your imagination and enjoy. Raclette machines can be bought online or found in high end kitchen stores such as "Sur La Table" or "William Sanoma." If you are overseas, you can find them at most any applicance stores such as Darty or Conforama.
Bon App!
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