French Tartiflette- The American Way

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This Cheese And Bacon Potato Dish is an American version of the French Tartiflette. If you never tried a Tartiflette, you don’t know what you missed. This recipe is a comforting potatoes, bacon, onions and cheese dish, where the cheese is the star.

French Tartiflette- The American Way

What is a Tartiflette?

A tartiflette is a French comforting  dish  that originated in the Southern region of France, Haute-Savoie.

This French dish, a glorious recipe that is made with potatoes, bacon (lardon), onions and a type of cheese named Reblochon, was born in the 1980’s to boost the Reblochon cheese production.

The boosting strategy worked really well, as potatoes and cheese are perfect together and this dish ended up to be a tremendous success.

Just to be clear here, a tartiflette is not a tart. If you look at the ingredients, the recipe doesn’t call for a dough. It is a baked potato dish, that is also very creamy and delicious.

If you never heard of Tartiflette, you are not alone. Americans don’t know much about this dish, because the cheese used in the recipe is not available in U.S.

However, other types of cheese can be used, so thank God for that, as we can still enjoy it.

It is a relatively easy recipe to put together but requires some preparation, the most tedious job being cleaning the potatoes. I know, right?

Cheese is the main ingredient:

Yes, you heard that right. In this dish, cheese is the star of the show. The original recipe requires Reblochon cheese, which is a mild, soft cheese made from cow milk.

FDA banned this cheese back in 2004 because it is a raw cheese that is not aged enough to meet the American standards. (sigh) 

Of course we have our cheesy potatoes in US that everyone loves, scalloped potatoes and other potato dishes that require some cheese, but there is nothing, in my humble opinion, to resemble a tartiflette.

Because Reblochon is not available in the US, I recommend a slightly aged Brie, that will have kind of the same texture and consistency of the Reblochon. The idea is that you need a soft, melty cheese for this dish.

Whatever you choose, keep in mind that the taste, obviously, will be slightly different, based on the cheese you used.

I cubed the cheese in this dish and mixed it with the rest of the ingredients. The original recipe says to place the piece of cheese on top of the potatoes.

While it looks more spectacular baked that way, it is your choice here, I am not going to micro manage you on this one.

Potatoes:

What type of potato is used in this recipe? Well, I would say, use a potato that is not starchy, as it needs to be boiled first, then baked.

If it is too starchy, by the time you are done with the recipe, you will have mashed potatoes instead.

Waxy potatoes are the best for this recipe, aka red skin potatoes. (Read here about different types of potatoes and more recipes)

Also, the original recipe calls for unpeeled potatoes.

I always buy organic ones, because I like to eat the skin of a potato, which is quite nutritious.

I always buy organic ones, because I like to eat the skin of a potato, which is quite nutritious.

There are 35 different types of pesticides and fungicides that are used on treating the conventional potatoes, therefore, stick with the organic ones, if you can.

Parboil the potatoes rather than boiling them through. Parboiling means that you boil the potatoes in water and salt, just enough to soften them, then remove them from the water and use them in the recipe.

Slicing them in thin rounds before baking is my favorite way to cut the potatoes for this particular recipe.

Lardon: The recipe calls for lardon, but that might be difficult to find in the US, so you can go with bacon or pancetta.

Onions and Garlic: I sliced the onions thinly, or Julienne, the right term for this technique. Also, I cooked the onion with garlic and bacon together.

White dry wine: Use your favorite white wine that you would also drink. Remember, you cannot make a good tasting dish using bad tasting ingredients.

Cream: The original recipe calls for creme fraiche, but I have a hard time finding that one. Some recipes use heavy cream, some use sour cream.

I would say that sour cream has more or less the same consistency as the creme fraiche, so I prefer it. It is also easier to find in the stores. 

A word of advice 🙂

First of all, this dish is NOT for the faint of heart. Make this dish when it is cold outside and you come back inside the house after shoveling snow for a few hours and built an appetite.

It has a gazillion calories, but it is so worth it! You know that you will pig out on it. It is a real danger for the potato and cheese lovers. 

This dish is great for serving multiple guests and also great for making it in advance, as it stays well in the fridge for a couple of days.

I would say that it is also good for the holidays. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, especially if you live in a colder climate where Spring comes later.

side dish recipes:

ROASTED POTATOES WITH GREEN GARLIC AND DILL

LEMON RICE WITH WINE

SAVORY SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE- DELICIOUS THANKSGIVING SIDE DISH

VEGETARIAN WILD RICE AND MUSHROOM STUFFING

We still cook casseroles and comfort food even in May here in Minnesota! Enjoy!

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