Now that the weather is better and the lockdowns are lifting and we’re all getting vaccinated, I thought I’d have a small dinner party. So I texted some friends and asked them over for Raclette. They all said “Sure. But what’s Raclette?” It’s hard to describe so I just sent some pictures of what Raclette is.
So, technically, this is Raclette. Raclette is a semi-soft cheese usually made from cow’s milk in Switzerland or France. It’s ever so slightly stinky (more in the “blue cheese” stinky range than say “limburger”). The one shown above is from France, and I purchased it from Amazon. The cheese freezes quite well, so it’s much more economical to buy it this way, however if you have a good local cheese monger, they should be able to get it for you.
But what do you *do* with it?
You have a party! In the spirit of fondue, or hot pot, it’s a social experience.
First assemble your ingredients:
- Cheese: we like to serve a mixture of Raclette, Swiss, and Gouda but really any semi-soft cheese will do.
- Veggies: This time we did asparagus, mini-bell peppers, leeks (these are particularly good), mushrooms, and broccoli.
- Bread: I did slices of baguette and slices of homemade rye bread.
- Potatoes: small are better and I usually par-cook them so they cook faster.
- Meat: We served a Serrano Ham (or could similarly do prosciutto!), shrimp, and thinly sliced tenderloin.
- Accoutrement: I served this with fig jam, ginger pear chutney, dried figs that had been cut in half, and a Green Goddess dip similar to what is served at The Melting Pot (it’s cream cheese based with herbs and garlic)
Here’s where it gets fun!
Break out the Raclette grill. This is a grill that has heating on the top for your meats and veggies, and small pans underneath to melt the cheese. Your guests cook everything to their liking and basically nosh all night.
The flavor combinations are quite varied so it’s really fun. It’s also nice because you can just graze, and talk and it’s very casual and engaging. In addition to the raclette grills, we do also a fondue pot with beefy stock for people to also cook meat and veggies in, for some variety.
And the cheese is SO SO GOOD!! Have fun at your next Raclette party, and comment in the comment section if you love Raclette as much as I do!!
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