A molten Alpine bake of potatoes, lardons and onions buried under a whole wheel of Reblochon cheese, splashed with white wine. As the cheese melts it floods every crevice, fusing the dish into one bubbling, golden mass. The undisputed king of French ski-resort comfort food.
From the Savoie and Haute-Savoie valleys of the French Alps; the modern dish was popularised on ski-resort menus in the 1980s, inspired by the older Savoyard gratin péla.
Crack through the bronzed rind and a tide of nutty, faintly funky melted cheese pours over the potatoes. The lardons add smoky salt and the wine a bright lift that keeps the richness from cloying. It is gloriously, unashamedly heavy in the best mountain way.
Reblochon's high fat and moisture let it melt into a smooth, flowing sauce rather than splitting, while the wine's acidity cuts the fat and the rendered lardon fat carries flavour throughout. Pre-boiling the potatoes means they only need to absorb cheese in the oven, not cook through.
Variations
Croziflette swaps potatoes for crozets buckwheat pasta; some add a spoon of crème fraîche, and a milder version uses tomme or raclette when Reblochon is unavailable.
On the Palate
Where Tartiflette sits in the French flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 25 min
- 120 min
Boil the potatoes in their skins until just tender, then peel and slice them thickly.
- 26 min
Fry the lardons in a dry pan until the fat renders and they colour.
Watch outStart the lardons in a dry pan and wait for the fat to run clear and the edges to color — that rendered fat carries the whole dish.
- 38 min
Add sliced onions and cook gently until soft and golden.
- 44 min
Deglaze with a generous splash of dry white wine and let it reduce.
Watch outThe wine is ready when the pan smells of alcohol no more and the liquid has cooked down to a shiny film.
- 54 min
Combine potatoes, lardons and onions in a buttered baking dish.
- 63 min
Halve the Reblochon horizontally and lay both halves rind-up over the top.
- 728 min
Bake at 200C for about 25-30 minutes until the cheese melts and bubbles.
Watch outPull it when the cheese is molten and bubbling at the edges and the top is patched golden, not stiff.
- 82 min
Let it settle a couple of minutes, then serve straight from the dish.
