In short: Rustic raclette is prepared before your guests arrive: each pan is filled ahead with sautéed mushrooms, salami, green olives and pickled onions, then covered with smoked raclette. At the table, you just slide the pans under the grill and pour the cheese over the potatoes.
Chef’s tip
Raclette is convivial, but it also means eight hands crossing above the grill and someone who always ends up with three gherkins and no cheese. Rustic raclette solves that: you fill the pans ahead, like little open sandwiches without the bread, and everyone just slides them under the heating element. Calm returns, and so does the cheese.
The secret is balance. Smoked raclette brings a fairly strong wood-fire flavour, so it is paired with the sharpness of pickled onions and green olives, which cut through the richness, and with well-browned mushrooms for softness. Pick a beechwood-smoked raclette, sliced 3 to 4 mm thick: thinner, it burns; thicker, it takes forever to melt.
| Prep time | 25 min |
|---|---|
| Cook time | 35 min |
| Total | 1 h |
| Servings | 4 people (adjustable) |
| Difficulty | Easy |
Ingredients (for 4 people)
- 1,2 kg waxy potatoes (Charlotte or similar)
- 800 g sliced smoked raclette cheese
- 150 g thinly sliced salami
- 300 g button mushrooms
- 100 g pitted green olives
- 150 g pickled pearl onions, drained
- 20 g butter
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ bunch of flat-leaf parsley
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Equipment: a raclette grill (8 pans) and a large tray
Preparation
- Cook the potatoes. Wash the potatoes and boil them in their skins for 20 to 25 minutes in a large pan of salted water, until a knife slides in easily. Drain and keep them warm in a basket covered with a tea towel.
- Sauté the mushrooms. Slice the mushrooms. Melt the butter in a frying pan over high heat, add the mushrooms and let them brown for 6 to 8 minutes without stirring too much, until their water has evaporated. Add the chopped garlic for the last minute, season and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
- Prepare the toppings. Slice the green olives into rings and halve the pickled onions. Cut the salami slices into quarters. Trim the smoked raclette slices to the size of the pans, keeping the offcuts for later.
- Fill the pans. In each pan, place a spoonful of mushrooms, a few pieces of salami, some olive rings and three or four onion halves. Cover with a slice of smoked raclette. Line the filled pans up on a tray: they can wait an hour in the fridge.
- Preheat the grill. Switch on the raclette grill 10 minutes before sitting down, so the heating element is really hot. Put the tray of pans, the potatoes and the rest of the toppings in the middle of the table.
- Melt. Slide the pans under the grill and let them melt for 3 to 4 minutes, until the raclette bubbles and starts to brown at the edges. No longer: smoked raclette quickly turns bitter if it gets too toasted.
- Serve. Halve a potato on your plate and slide the contents of the pan over it with the wooden spatula. Add a twist of pepper and fill a new pan with the remaining toppings while the first one cools.
Chef’s tips
- Drain and pat the pickled onions dry: excess vinegar would make the cheese split.
- Sauté the mushrooms ahead, but never covered: they must stay golden, not stewed.
- Allow two filled pans per person, then let everyone improvise the next ones with the leftover toppings.
- If your smoked raclette is very strong, alternate one smoked slice and one plain slice in the same pan.
Variations
- Vegetarian: swap the salami for grilled peppers and a few sun-dried tomatoes.
- Mountain style: mountain sausage and fried bacon lardons instead of salami.
- Mediterranean: black olives, capers and a pinch of oregano on the smoked raclette.
Which wine to serve?
A light, peppery Savoie red such as Mondeuse stands up to the smokiness. For white, a crisp Roussette or Chignin, well chilled, refreshes the palate between pans.
Frequently asked questions
Can I prepare the raclette pans ahead?
Yes, up to an hour before, in the fridge. Take them out 10 minutes before grilling so they melt evenly.
Which cheese is best for rustic raclette?
A beechwood-smoked raclette, sliced 3 to 4 mm thick. It melts well and its smokiness matches the salami. If some guests dislike smoke, plan half plain raclette.
How much cheese per person?
About 200 g of raclette per person for a full meal, so 800 g for 4. With the toppings, that is plenty.
🧀 The right grill: For pans that all melt at the same pace, an 8-person grill with a strong heating element is best: the best raclette grills, our tests.
Read also: all our raclette recipes.
