Swiss Taters

Cruising through the supermarket aisles the other day, I happened upon a nice brick of cheese from the Swiss/French mountains and was reminded of the dish that bears its name.

Raclette; the very idea starts my mouth watering. This time, it was little more than a slightly tangy, earthy cheese melted under the broiler over some boiled red potatoes and sprinkled with a little bacon but what a lovely late fall meal it made!

I added dark green Swiss chard that I had sautéed in some of the bacon drippings with a minced garlic clove or two - just seemed like the right combination since the origins match - and sprinkled the raclette with a little Italian parsley for color and a bright taste. Added some very puckery cornichons and pickled onions to the plate and, man, does that ever liven up the tongue! Alternating bites of pickle with bites of unctuous cheesy spuds is a screaming, arms-in-the-air roller-coaster ride for the taste buds.

If you were struggling home after a tough day at work or from driving the kids to all their soccer, ballet and playdate activities, this would put delicious dinner on the table in less than half an hour. Even if you're retired like me with lots of time to spare, you could spend it reading a trashy novel or visiting with friends and still have a lovely meal in a flash. Raclette - keep it in mind.