More recipes from the menu – hot potatoes!

It's not compulsory to have hot or warm dishes - it's personal choice. If however you've never mixed hot with cold in a salad sense give it a go I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The next recipe is the Tartiflette. I've already mentioned that it's a French dish - classically it uses Reblochon cheese. Reblochon is expensive but worth the treat so why not indulge - however it's quite difficult to source, especially if you live “in the sticks” like I do. If you need ideas for alternatives any cheese that melts easily will do the trick – two of my favourites are gruyere and taleggio – you could even use a ripe camembert.

Here's the traditional Tartiflette recipe which includes bacon – dry cured if at all possible :

Tartiflette

1.5kg/3lb 5oz all purpose potatoes, e.g. Desirée, peeled

and cut to a similar size

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 thick dry cured smoked streaky bacon rashers, finely chopped

50g/2oz butter

1 garlic clove or roasted garlic

250g/9oz Reblochon cheese, rind trimmed and removed

Pre-heat oven 160fan/180c/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 ovenproof dish – or a foil version if more convenient – my dish measures 23x23x8cms – 9x9x3¼” . If you're using roasted garlic, spread it around the inside.

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 the foil for the remaining 15 minutes to enable the tartiflette to crisp around the edges.

The beauty of this dish is that it can be prepared ahead. If you're a lover of garlic then don't be afraid to increase the garlic to 2 tsps of roasted or 2 cloves when you're cooking the onions and bacon – rules are made to be broken.

Hot potatoes, a plan and the prep to follow!