Raclette recipe

Ingredients:
- 200 g. (7 ounces) of cheese per person
- 4 medium potatoes per person
- sliced meat or sausage
- pickles
Recipe:
• Wash (but do not peel) the potatoes
• Boil the potatoes in their skins until cooked (20 to 30 minutes)
• While the potatoes are cooking:
o Cut the cheese into cubes, put into a serving bowl on the
table
o Put the onions and / or pickles into a serving bowl on the
table
o Place sliced meats or sausage onto a serving plate, on the
tab
o Place the raclette machine on the table and turn it on (so
it has time to warm up before serving the meal.
• When the potatoes are cooked, drain the water and then place
the pot with the potatoes onto the table (you may need to use
a hot plate to prevent the hot pot from damaging the table.
Leave the lid on the pot so that the potatoes stay warm.
• The meal can now start (see notes below).
Notes:
The potatoes are not peeled prior to boiling as they taste better if
cooked in their skins. They are pealed at the table, each guest
peeling his/her own potatoes.
There is no need to peel the potatoes for your guests prior to serving.
A raclette meal is intended to be eaten slowly and at leisure, and the
time for peeling potatoes (while the cheese melts) is part of this and
very traditional.
You may wish to place a small dish between the guests in which they
can place the potato peels. This way they can eat off of an
uncluttered plate.
If you have a potato fork (a 3-pronged fork with a wooden or plastic
handle, used to hold a hot potato while peeling it) and a sharp knife
for each guest, this is a bonus (but not required).
History:
Raclette is a cheese produced in the mountains of Switzerland and
eastern France. It is a firm cheese with a pale yellow colour and a
mild taste. It can be eaten cold, but is best known for being melted
and poured over potatoes.
The traditional way of eating Raclette is to melt it in front of an open
file (first removing part of the rind or cutting it in half/quarters to
allow it to melt easier). When the fire has melted the outer layer, the
melted cheese is scraped off and placed on potatoes (which are then
eaten). As the heat of the fire then softens or melts the outer part of
the remaining cheese, this is again scrapped off and served on
potatoes. This continues until everyone has eaten their fill.
The name of the cheese "Raclette" comes from the French word
"Racler", which means "to scrape off". In other words, the cheese
gets its name from the repeated scrapping off of the outer melted
layer described above.
The name Raclette refers not only to the name of the cheese, but
also to the meal on which it is based, consisting of potatoes with
melted cheese, served with sliced meats and pickles (see above
recipe).
In modern times, a machine is used to melt the cheese. This is also
referred to as a Raclette. The simplest version consists of a cheese
holder (in which a piece of raclette cheese is placed) and a grill to
melt the cheese. More sophisticated versions (which are now the
most popular) have a grill under which several small dishes can be
placed. Each guest will have a small dish which they can fill with
cheese and place under the grill to melt. Many machines also have a
stone or hot plate above the grill. The pot of potatoes can be place on
this to keep them warm. Alternatively, the stone or hot plate can be
used to grill meat; while this is not traditionally done as part of a
raclette meal, it means that the same machine can either be used for
a racletter or a grill (in other words, it can be used for two different
types of meals).