Slob Out Sunday

...or – guilty pleasure day

….and you bet your life you are entitled to it.

Today is about the cook indulging so here's my idea of heaven.

Any dish that involves a combination of cheese and potatoes, preferably baked is fine by me.

There are two dishes that are up there, dauphinoise potatoes has to be one but the stand-out is a Tartiflette. An integral ingredient of said dish is Reblochon cheese. I should point out that unless you've made an impromptu trip across the Channel then you'll need a Second Mortgage for said cheese. This may not be a problem – if it's your guilty pleasure who cares. There are alternatives, for example, Camembert, Brie, Gruyere or Taleggio – any cheese that is soft and melts easily.

In an attempt to save you time, here's the recipe for the Tartiflette which I gave you in GOM: Chapter 10 – Pork tenderloin and salsa – I aim to please!

Tartiflette

1.5kg all purpose potatoes e.g. desiree, peeled and cut to

a similar size

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 thick dry cured smoked streaky bacon rashers, finely chopped

50g butter

1 garlic clove

250g reblochon cheese, rind trimmed and removed

Pre-heat oven 180c/160 fan/gas 4

Boil the potatoes until cooked, cool, then slice.

Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook the onion and bacon

until softened.

Cut the garlic clove in half and rub the inside of an

oven-proof dish.

Place some of the potato slices in the bottom and

season with salt and black pepper, then layer with the

onion and bacon, repeat until all the potato slices have

been used, seasoning between each layer.

Chop the cheese and scatter over the potatoes and cover with foil.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour, remove foil for remaining 15 minutes

so that the tartiflette crisps around the edges.

This can be prepared ahead and feel free to use 2 tsps of garlic paste

when cooking the onions and bacon – rules are made to be broken.

My version won't include the bacon – if you are expecting company you could always serve it with crispy bacon on the side and everyone's happy.

Personally, I like the idea of fish, chips and peas – Tartiflette (no bacon), fish cakes á la The Ivy see GOM : Chapter 16 The Dinner Party ...for the recipe and petit pois or, push the boat out – mushy peas.

I did say it was my idea of heaven – each to their own!