Variety Is The Spring Of Life

The raclette we ate a couple of weeks ago was so easy and so scrumptious that I couldn't wait until a decent amount of time had passed so I could try it again.

I had found some green garlic at the farmer's market but I didn't have any more back bacon, so I decided to use some of the corned beef left over from St. Patrick's Day.

Raclette is so very simple, that it's easy to tweak with just a change or two. This time, I sauteed the chopped white and light green parts of a green garlic shaft in a little butter before adding lardons of the corned beef to the pan to heat briefly. I layered the garlic and corned beef into a small casserole dish, topping them with boiled red potato chunks and slabs of raclette cheese before running the dish under the broiler just long enough to bubble and lightly gild the cheese before serving.

The green garlic gave little pockets of intensely sweet spring flavor to the slightly salty beef and savory cheese. What might otherwise have been the perfect winter dish was brightened by the presence of spring in the form of green garlic freshly sprouted in the warming sunshine.