Tartiflette

Tartiflette is sliced potatoes baked with bacon, onion and a whole wheel of reblochon melted over the top. It's Savoie's ski-country potato bake, built specifically around that one washed-rind cheese from the Alpine region — and unlike gratin dauphinois, France's other famous potato bake, cheese is the entire point rather than something deliberately left out.

What it actually is

Boiled or par-cooked potato slices layer into a baking dish with pan-fried bacon lardons and softened onion, sometimes with a splash of white wine stirred through. A whole round of reblochon — a soft, washed-rind cow's-milk cheese from the Savoie region — gets halved and laid rind-up over the entire top, then the dish bakes until the potato is hot through and the reblochon has melted into a thick, pungent, faintly funky sheet across the surface.

Reblochon specifically, not a substitute cheese, is what makes it tartiflette. A similar potato-and-bacon bake topped with a milder melting cheese is a reasonable dish in its own right, but the name tartiflette belongs to the version built around reblochon's particular washed-rind character.

How it's served

• Straight from the baking dish, the melted reblochon rind still visible on top.
• As a hearty main, especially in mountain and ski-resort restaurants, often with a simple green salad on the side to cut the richness.
• Hot, since the melted cheese firms up quickly once it cools.

Writing it on a menu

• Flag dairy; the reblochon carries most of it, on top of any dairy in the potato preparation itself.
• Say clearly that reblochon specifically is used, since it's a distinctive, pungent cheese some guests may not expect.
• Note that it's a rich, substantial dish, usually a main on its own rather than a side.
• Mention that it's different from gratin dauphinois, which is the region's other famous potato bake and is deliberately made without any cheese at all.