Raclette

Scents of wood-burning fires and pine waft through Switzerland’s roads in cooler months. Step into most hillside haunts and the fragrance of pungent melted raclette cheese will also greet you. Hailing from the canton of Valais, raclette is a local cheese customarily grilled slowly over a fire, with layer-by-melted-layer sliced off to blanket boiled potatoes, pickles and onions. Contemporary raclette machines make grilling commonplace in Swiss homes, where friends gather for hours, waiting for slices of raclette to melt, while drinking copious glasses of local Fendant wine.

Potato & wild mushroom melt

Ingredients

1 bunch tarragon (about 30g), leaves picked

100ml groundnut oil 900g-

1kg potatoes (Charlotte if you can find them), washed

6 medium or 9 small tomatoes,

walnut oil, for drizzling over 2 red onions, thinly sliced squeeze lime juice 450-600g mixed wild mushrooms, such as chanterelles, ceps and trompette des morts, trimmed

generous knob butter

2 tsp wholegrain mustard

200ml double or whipping cream

450g raclette cheese, rind removed and thinly sliced

2 tbsp broken walnut pieces, optional

Method

To make the tarragon oil, chop the tarragon leaves, the warm the groundnut oil in a small pan. Add the tarragon, season with a pinch of salt, then liquidise until smooth with a stick blender. Set aside. Can be done up to 2 days ahead.

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 20-25 mins. Cooking them a bit longer than usual will give them a very soft, almost creamy texture. Drain and halve the potatoes length ways and season with salt and pepper.

While the potatoes cook, arrange the tomatoes on a baking tray, season, then drizzle liberally with walnut oil. Put under a pre-heated grill and cook for 6-8 mins until they start to color and soften. Set aside to be served at room temperature. Add the sliced red onions to the cooked potatoes, with the lime juice. Cover and keep warm. Heat oven to 220c/fan 200c/gas 7.

Rinse the mushrooms briefly and pat dry. Sauté in butter over a high heat, then season. Add the mushrooms to the potatoes and red onions. Stir the mustard into the cream, then lightly whip the cream (see tip, opposite). Season and stir it amongst the potatoes, onions and mushrooms, then spoon over a large ovenproof platter. Lay the strips of cheese, overlapping haphazardly, on top. Can be done up to 1 hr ahead.

Now finish it in style. Bake until the cheese begins to melt and is tinged to a light golden brown, about 10-12 mins. Arrange the grilled tomatoes down either side of the platter, scatter the broken walnuts (if using) Over the tomatoes and drizzle with tarragon oil. Serve the rest of the tarragon oil separately.