What Is Raclette?
Raclette is a Swiss dish made with melted raclette cheese, a type of semi-hard cheese typically made from cow's milk and used for grilling and melting. This dish consists of melted cheese served over boiled and sliced potatoes, grilled vegetables, meat, etc., and has many different variations.
French raclette is slightly different from Swiss raclette in that it is softer with a smoother, creamier flavor. This raclette recipe employs the French version and is made with several different ingredients like potatoes, bacon, beef, sausages, zucchini, capsicum, cornichons, and pickled baby corn. The end result is sweet, sour, and salty, with a hint of pungent nuttiness from the cheese.
How to Melt Raclette Cheese?
There are many ways to melt raclette cheese. You can melt it using a raclette grill as described above, use a hot pot stove, or employ a special Raclette cheese melter. Raclette cubes can also be melted in the microwave by heating them at one-minute intervals on medium heat.
You can also melt raclette over the stove by cutting the cheese into quarter-inch slices and adding them in a single layer to a cast-iron skillet rubbed with vegetable oil. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes on low heat till cheese is properly melted.
What to Serve with Raclette?
Raclette potatoes are the most common traditional way of enjoying Raclette, but other vegetables, pickled items, and meats are also usual sides.
Raclette goes well with vegetables such as tomatoes, mushrooms, cornichons, broccoli, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, avocado. Also peras, pineapple, mango, grapes and figs can be combined with raclette cheese recipes.
Raclette can also be served with beef fillets, cream cheese stuffed mushrooms, and prosciutto-wrapped asparagus for a fancier dinner feel. And if you're not the biggest fan of grilled meat and sausages, you can go for something more traditional and serve your raclette with a plate of charcuterie or cold cuts like salami, bratwurst bites, ham, prosciutto, and other deli meats.
Here are some our delicious recipes that you can serve with Raclette:
How to Store Raclette?
Raclette cheese can be stored in the refrigerator for about six weeks or frozen for up to three months. To freeze your raclette without affecting flavor and texture, tightly wrap hand-sized blocks of cheese in plastic wrap and store.
You can also freeze raclette by coarsely grating the cheese block into an airtight ziplock bag and sealing with all the air pushed out.
