Weekend Recipe: Warm, Wonderful Tartiflette (and a Tip for Your Next Paris Trip)

Easy-Peasy-Cheesy Comfort Food, but Make it French!

Feb 23, 2024

Until I moved to France, I had never heard about Tartiflette. I think I first encountered it at the Salon de l’Agriculture, a huge annual fair held in late February/early March at the Porte de Versailles, where farmers and producers from all over France converge to celebrate French food and agriculture. If you happen to be in Paris at that time of year, I highly recommend getting tickets for an incredible immersion into French farm culture, plus wine, food, and other products like linen clothing and accessories.

But back to the tartiflette. I just remember seeing two old guys at a stand, stirring an enormous pan of melty cheese-potatoes-lardons and I was like, “Bah, OUI !”

Then last Saturday morning, we were strolling around the Marché d’Aligre, oohing and ahhing at all the fresh fruits and vegetables, the poulet rôti (roasted chicken) and the cochon de lait (suckling pig), the beautiful breads and the incredible variety of cheeses.

market stands of cheese and vegetables in France — Saturday morning at the Marché d'Aligre in Paris

At one point, I was drooling in front of the cheese counter, and the dinner inspiration struck—”Et si on faisait une belle tartiflette ?” (What if we made a nice tartiflette?)

There’s controversy about the origins of the tartiflette, a delectable baked potato and cheese casserole, but everyone agrees that it originates from La Savoie, and everyone agrees it is f-ing merveilleux. Some folks insist it was first referenced in a cookbook in the early 1800s, while others argue it was a marketing ploy from the 1980s to promote Reblochon, a ridiculously creamy and flavorful cheese from the area.

Franchement, je m’en fiche. C’est delicieux ! (Frankly, I don’t care. It’s delicious!)

It looks like maybe the earlier version was more of a mac-n-fromage concept, with a base of local pasta, whereas the current iteration is made with mainly just four simple ingredients—potatoes, onions, lardons and reblochon.

“Aha!” You may say. “Karen, attend-tend-tend ! “(Hold on, Karen!) “We can’t get Reblochon in the States.” This is true. It’s forbidden because it’s a raw milk cheese and it’s not aged long enough to be considered “safe” by the U.S. government, those venerable experts who let all kinds o’ chemicals into our food. But that’s another story.

French food market with fruits, berries and fresh bread and baguette — The sheer variety of beautiful, generally affordable fresh foods in France is one of life's sweetest pleasures

I talked to Monsieur B (which, since someone asked me, is pronounced Missyuh Bae en français—don’t pronounce the “r” and instead of “bee” it’s “bae,” which I just think is delightful since he really is my bae hee hee). Anyway I asked him, what do I tell people about the Reblochon since they can’t find it in the States? And you know what he said?

He said, “La tartiflette, c’est un plat fait avec des restes.” (Tartiflette is a dish made with leftovers.) “You throw in whatever little ends of cheese you have with some potatoes and some pancetta or bacon and onions. Don’t be so serious!”

I’m just glad he said it, because this man seriously knows every single thing about French cheese, and I don’t want the French Fromage Police on my case about cheese provenance and local pride. The point is, prioritize melty, creamy real cheese of decent quality. Reblochon has a soft croûte (rind) so something like a Brie or a Camembert could work well, or even a Delice de Bourgogne.

When to serve it? Sunday lunch or dinner for those relaxed but cool après-ski vibes. Even better: you can make it ahead and heat it up in a slow oven when you’re ready to serve with a crunchy salad and a snowy, crisp vin blanc.

Refer a friend

FRENCH COMFORT FOOD: LA TARTIFLETTE

Serves 4 if you’re not gluttons like us. The whole deal including prep takes about 40 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup lardons, chopped (pancetta works just fine, too and if you want to make this dish vegetarian, you could use your favorite veggie bacon or sausage)
3-4 Russet Potatoes (or other starchy variety), peeled and sliced into rounds (not too thin, as you want a crispy outside and a little fluff on the inside to absorb the cheese)
8-12 oz (ish) good melty cheese (the classic is Reblochon, but you can use what you like)
2 cloves of garlic, minced (you can also use a small chopped yellow onion or a shallot or two—don’t be so serious!)
Splash white wine (optional)

PREPARATION

STEP ONE
In an oven-proof pan or skillet (I love cast iron), brown your lardons or pancetta over medium heat. Set them aside. Also, preheat your oven to 375 degrees (185 Celsius).

STEP TWO
In the same skillet, add in whatever onions you like (sweet yellow onions are classic, and shallots work, but I didn’t have any so I just used garlic and that was great too). Then tip in your potatoes and brown them for about 5 mins. If you like, hit them with a splash of dry white wine, but that’s optional. Also, you can salt and pepper here, but remember, the cheese and the lardons already have salt, so don’t overdo it.

STEP THREE
Once the potatoes have a little color on both sides, add the lardons/pancetta back in, then tuck in your cheese wedges. If you have a full round of cheese (such as a Camembert), you can slice it through the middle and turn the two discs upside-down with the rind on top, or you can do like me and make smaller wedges to get cheese everywhere.

STEP FOUR
Chuck the pan in the oven for just about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the potatoes are golden brown and fluffy on the inside.

STEP FIVE
Serve warm (I like to put the skillet right on the table on a dessous de plat—a trivet— with a big spoon for scooping the melty cheesy goodness) with a simple salad. If you’re making it for brunch, you could serve it with scrambled or fried eggs, too. For a wine pairing, and a white or red wine from the tartiflette home region (La Savoie) is a solid way to go. A crisp sparkling Crémant de Savoie, for example, would be delightful and crémants are almost always cheaper than Champagne.

If you’re looking for more cozy recipes, try my Warm Winter White Bean Stew—it’s vegetarian et c’est vraiment bon !

ONE LITTLE PARIS TIP

When you do visit Paris, I highly recommend wandering the Marché d’Aligre, whose real name is Marché Beauvau by the way. It’s in a very lively quartier with lots of little shops and cute restaurants, not far from the Bastille. When we were there on a recent Saturday, there was also a simple but charming brocante (flea market) in the square.