In short: warm potatoes dressed with a cider vinaigrette, crisp salad greens, mountain cured meats and melted raclette cheese spooned over at the last moment. A complete salad in 35 minutes, or 15 if your potatoes are already cooked.
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Chef’s tip
The raclette salad is the perfect compromise for the evenings when you want melted cheese without getting out the grill, the pans, the extension cord and the courage to clean it all up. You keep the soul of raclette and lose the mandatory after-dinner nap. Well, you shorten it.
The move that changes everything is dressing the potatoes while they are still warm. They soak up the vinaigrette the way a skier soaks up mulled wine at the end of the day, and take on an incomparable flavor. The cheese arrives last, still runny, to blanket everything. Serve quickly: cold raclette on a salad is sad news.
| Prep time | 15 minutes |
|---|---|
| Cook time | 20 minutes |
| Total | 35 minutes |
| Servings | 4 people (adjustable) |
| Difficulty | Easy |
Ingredients (for 4 people)
- 600 g waxy potatoes (Charlotte or Ratte)
- 200 g sliced raclette cheese
- 80 g cured ham
- 60 g Grisons air-dried beef (Bündnerfleisch)
- 120 g lamb’s lettuce or arugula
- 12 gherkins
- 12 small pickled onions
- 1 shallot
- 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
- 5 tablespoons of canola oil
- ½ bunch of chives
- Salt and pepper
Preparation
- Cook the potatoes. Cook the potatoes in their skins for 20 minutes in gently simmering salted water, until the tip of a knife slides in with no resistance.
- Make the vinaigrette. While the potatoes cook, mix the mustard, cider vinegar, salt and pepper, then whisk in the oil. Add the finely minced shallot.
- Dress the potatoes. Drain the potatoes, cut them into thick slices or wedges while still warm, and drizzle them with half of the vinaigrette.
- Prepare the toppings. Halve the gherkins and the small onions, and cut the cured meats into strips. Snip the chives.
- Melt the cheese. Lay the raclette slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put them under the oven broiler for 3 to 4 minutes, or melt them in the pans of a raclette grill.
- Plate and serve. Toss the salad greens with the rest of the vinaigrette and divide them among four plates. Add the potatoes, cured meats, gherkins and onions, blanket with melted cheese and sprinkle with chives. Serve right away.
The chef’s tips
- Don’t peel the potatoes before cooking: they hold their shape and their flavor.
- Dress the salad greens at the very last moment, otherwise they wilt on contact with the warm potatoes.
- Keep an eye on the cheese under the broiler: it goes from melted to burnt in under a minute.
- Leftover potatoes from a raclette night work perfectly: reheat them for 2 minutes in a steamer.
Variations
- Vegetarian: replace the cured meats with crushed walnuts and pan-fried mushrooms.
- With bacon: pan-fry 4 slices of smoked bacon and crumble them over the salad.
- Smoky: a smoked raclette and a nicely bitter curly endive for a bolder contrast.
Which wine to serve?
A dry, crisp white from Savoie, made from Jacquère or Altesse, stands up well to the acidity of the vinaigrette without overpowering the cheese. A Chasselas from Valais, fresh and lightly mineral, also works very well, especially on a summer evening.
Frequently asked questions
Can you make the raclette salad ahead of time?
Yes for the potatoes and the vinaigrette, up to the day before. The cheese is melted at the last moment and the salad is dressed just before serving.
Which cheese should you choose for the raclette salad?
A classic raclette cheese, raw-milk or pasteurized. A peppered or smoked raclette adds a bolder touch.
Can you serve the raclette salad cold?
The potatoes can be served at room temperature, but the cheese must stay hot and melty: that’s the whole point of the recipe.
Read also: Raclette salad: the light and fresh take on raclette
