The evolution of the AliKats savoury tart. Phase 3 of 3

After three seasons serving slightly different versions of the red pepper tatin, I felt it needed a complete change. I was trying to use more and more local ingredients and take more inspiration from Savoyard cuisine but keeping the modern elements as well. This thought process led me to one of the most famous local dishes – the tartiflette! This is a real mountain staple and perfect fodder after a hard days skiing but is a bit too heavy for a classy dinner menu!

So I decided to take the key ingredients of potatoes, bacon, onions, reblochon cheese, cream and to make them work together as a tart.

The resulting dish is a Tartiflette tatin with reblochon icecream and Savoyard ham and as far as I can tell it is a pretty original dish – I’ve googled it and can’t find anything similar!

A few guests have definitely been skeptical about the reblochon ice cream and I can completely understand why – when eaten on it’s own, the strong farm yardyness of the cheese is rather unexpected in ice cream form but let it melt all over caramalised potatoes and shallots and I promise you, it is absolutely delicious.

Tartiflette tatin, reblochon icecream & a savoyard ham crisp recipe

Tartiflette tatin

Ingredients

• 20 baby potatoes
• 20 cocktail onions or small shallots
• 100g Reblochon cheese, cut into small pieces
• 50g smoked lardons, fried until golden
• 1 puff pastry sheet (pre-rolled)
• 1 Tbsp Thyme, leaves picked & finely chopped
• 80g Caster sugar
• 20g Butter
• 1 Tbsp Olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Method

1. Use a little olive oil to grease an ovenproof pie/tart dish and place it on a baking tray. Boil some salted water in a pan, add the potatoes to cook for 15-20 minutes.
2. Peel the shallots/onions and add to the potatoes and boil both for another 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender but not breaking up. Drain and leave to cool.
3. Slice the potatoes in half horizontally, trimming the ends of each potato to make the pieces all the same size if desired. Slice larger shallots in half or leave whole if using small ones or baby onions. You’re aiming for similar sizes of potato and shallot pieces. Slice the cheese.
4. Heat the sugar and butter in a small pan over a high heat and stir constantly until a caramel begins to form. When the caramel starts to darken and turn a golden brown colour, remove from the heat and pour into the dish, covering the base.
5. Take a few sprigs of fresh thyme and strip the leaves into the caramel, sprinkling over the base of the dish. Next, add the pieces of potato, pressing them into the caramel and leaving little space between. Gently squeeze the shallot in with the potato and then sprinkle over the fried lardons. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Lay the slices of Reblochon cheese all over the potato and shallot filling, keeping the surface fairly even.
7. (you can do everything up to this point in advance.)
8. Take the puff pastry and cut out a circle large enough to cover the tart tin, plus 2-3cms overhang all the way round. Gently place it on top of the cheese, tucking the excess down inside the dish and gently pressing the pastry around the potatoes.
9. Bake at 200 degrees centigrade for 20 minutes, check and turn the dish to cook each side evenly, then for another 15-20 minutes until the pastry is cooked through. The caramel will bubble and the layers of puff pastry start to turn light brown and flaky when the tatin is ready.
10. Remove from the oven and place a plate on top of the dish. Carefully, but quickly, turn the tatin onto the plate and remove the dish.

Savoyard ham crisp

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C
2. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and lay out the slices of ham on top. (allow 1 per 2-3 people)
3. Place another layer of paper on top and then put another baking tray, the same size as the first, on top of this to keep the slices flat as they cook
4. Bake for 10-20 mins or until prosciutto is crisp and golden.

Reblochon icecream

Method

Make using the same method and ingredients as for the parmesan icecream, which you can find here, but replace the parmesan with 150g of reblochon cut into small pieces.