• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MsMarmiteLover

  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Vegan
  • Travel
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • UK
  • Wine
  • Gardens
  • Supperclubs/Events
  • About
    • Published Articles
    • Books
  • Shop
    • Cart

Potatoes, cheese and revolution: truffade

December 13, 2010 3 Comments Filed Under: Christmas, Food, Recipes, Uncategorized

gratin dauphinoise recipe
My gratin dauphinois

The French celebrate this humble tuber with a range of regional potato dishes exotically named; aligot, tartiflette, truffade, roigabrageldi (Alsacian), mousseline (mash), boulangeres, fricasée, duchesse, dauphine, etouffés (Vosgien), soufflés, frites (naturellement) and then we have the potato gratins; Dauphinois, Savoyard, Anna.
Aligot and truffade come from the Auvergne region in the middle of France; a place where few tourists visit but many French go for their spas, ‘to take’ the volcanic water (paid for by the French state on prescription). In the street markets you will find stall holders with vast cast iron frying pans, repeatedly scooping the aligot, laden with butter and garlic into a finely textured dense purée.
I served truffade on Saturday night, each table had a scorching hot frying pan with cheesy potatoes. Of course the burnt bits were the best and I had several visitors into the kitchen, stray fingers dipping, trying to grab a few more shards from the bottoms of the pans forming an orderly queue for washing up. Food hygiene be damned, my guests wanted the crispy bits!
Traditionally truffade is served with Tomme, a firm regional cheese, but, as Elizabeth David says, a crumbly cheshire cheese could make a good replacement. I used slithers of truffle cheese, brie and plenty of cheddar and some fried onions. It’s also usually made with lardons but I replaced these with a side plate of home smoked salmon from the Eastend smokehouse, a stallholder at The Underground farmer’s market.

My recipe:

For four:


5 large potatoes, peeled and sliced horizontally to the thickness of a pound coin.
250g of butter
2 brown onions, sliced into rings.
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
A handful of mixed fresh herbs ( I used rosemary, oregano, parsley from the garden)
400g of Tomme, cheshire cheese, cheddar or truffle cheese (now sold in Waitrose or obtain The Deli Station’s divine ricetto al tartufo). Sliced.

Parboil the potato slices in salted water for six minutes. Then drain, taking care not to break them up too much.
Melt the butter in a wide cast iron saucepan (ideally) and cook the onion slices until soft. Add the garlic and bay leaf.
Add the potatoes to the pan, cooking slowly until the edges begin to brown. Then the handful of fresh herbs. Lastly add the slices of cheese, mix gently until all is melted.
Serve with smoked salmon, a salad (endives) and a crisp white wine.

If you really like potatoes read this account of a man, Chris Voigt, who works for the potato industry in the United States, who lived on nothing but potatoes for sixty days. Part One and Part Two.

It’s great when cooked on a fire too, sorry I seemed to have forgotten to take pictures of my truffade, will rectify soon.
Saturday night’s quiz by Marcus Berkmann was hotly contested with Guardian writer Catherine Phipps leading her winning team, dropping only 3 points out of 30 along the way. She brought gorgeous baby Adam with her and he slept peacefully in a cot in the bedroom.
This is another advantage of home restaurants, you can bring your baby!
As the main course was so cheesy I reversed my usual French style course order of cheese then dessert and served the cheeses at the end. I got several of the goat’s cheeses from an event called ‘Ready Steady chevre’ held at Divertimenti, a cookery shop in Marylebone, London.
I’m a fan of goat’s cheese, always wanted to marry a goat farmer but heard the suicide rate is quite high (lonely, not much money, never allowed to go on holiday as turning cheeses over and looking after goats every day) so probably not a good bet.
All profits from this meal are going to wikileaks, as I support free speech. Especially after the ordeal that my daughter went through last Thursday at the demonstration against the rise of Student fees. She was held in a ‘kettle’ for eight hours, the last three hours on Westminster Bridge, an incredibly dangerous tactic by the police. Schoolchildren were squeezed so tightly on this bridge that they could not breathe. My daughter’s account is here. Parents who went down to free their kids, pleading with police to let them go, were then ‘kettled’ themselves. I called the police to complain about the police. The reporting on these demonstrations has concentrated on the tiny minority that become physically violent and police injuries, ignoring the injuries sustained by protesters. The coalition has succeeded in politicising a new generation, previously thought only interested in facebook and video games. This generation are the sons and daughters of the punk generation, of course they are not going to sit down and take this assault on their future without a fuss!
The coalition, like Labour before them, are only interested in helping children born under their administration.

Coming up: Christmas eve at The Underground Restaurant. A European style christmas, secret santa, bring a present for another guest, roaring fire, champagne and good food. Book here.http://www.wegottickets.com/event/92917

Recent posts

Queens of Kelp, from the Outer Hebrides

June 4, 2023

midsummer supper club June 17th 2023 Msmarmitelover

My next supper club: midsummer June 17th

May 28, 2023

I organised a street party for the Coronation

May 10, 2023

Previous Post: « Underground pub quiz
Next Post: My kitchen in Food & Wine magazine »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous

    December 13, 2010 at 8:50 pm

    Hey guys,

    Do you want to watch harry potter and the deathly hallows? It is not released yet but you can watch it online already!

    Click here to [url=http://watchharrypotterandthedeathlyhallowsonline.org/watch-harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-online-free.php]watch harry potter and the deathly hallows[/url]

    Reply
  2. Liz

    December 13, 2010 at 9:20 pm

    oh lordy I think I put on pounds just reading this…how fantabulous…

    Reply
  3. Su-Lin

    January 24, 2011 at 12:39 pm

    Wow – I need some truffade!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

Subscribe to my mailing list

msmarmitelover

Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
My next supper club 17th June london tickets £50 My next supper club 17th June london tickets £50 BYO book here: https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsummer-supper-club-tickets-june-17th #london #supperclub #msmarmitelover #midsummer
For tonight’s event I had to push the boundaries For tonight’s event I had to push the boundaries. Here is how to prepare goose neck barnacles or percebes which are a very expensive and rare delicacy, hunted down from cliffs. It’s quite dangerous to forage them. #canapes #eventcatering #satanicfood #percebes #grossfood #seafood #devilsfood
Midsummer supperclub 17th June book tickets here h Midsummer supperclub 17th June book tickets here https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsummer-supper-club-tickets-june-17th at London’s pioneering supper club. Tickets £50 BYO. Scandinavian inspired summery food. #supperclub #msmarmitelover #midsummer #northwestlondon #londonevents #popups
Tina sweating through a gig at Brixton academy cir Tina sweating through a gig at Brixton academy circa 1987 pic: kerstin Rodgers #rip #tinaturner #rockphotographer #kerstinrodgers #teenagephotographer
Attended an incredible talk with @frenchpete_1 on Attended an incredible talk with @frenchpete_1 on war photography in the Ukraine . Go to the exhibition @thebppa @thebargehouse in SE1 last few days 
Had to stop filming cos I was told off. The photographers would be less forthcoming if they were filmed I was told. 
Anyway @frenchpete_1 should be followed by a camera crew cos he’s a star.
For yesterdays lunch I made a blue cheese puff pas For yesterdays lunch I made a blue cheese puff pastry quiche and a little one with less blue cheese & no salt for my 7 month old granddaughter. She absolutely loved it. I’m enjoying seeing her experience and explore new foods with baby led weaning. Avocado, strawberries, kiwi & buttered crumpets are a hit. Pasta less so. Who is this child? Are we even related? #babyledweaning #quiche #homemadepuffpastry
Nice to be featured as The Great Read in The natio Nice to be featured as The Great Read in The national newspaper again. These are the stories I love to do: I go off on an adventure, take my time, interview people (especially women), photograph them in their environment and create recipes on site. This story cost me a lot more than I made as I had an accident and lost my excess. My own damn fault though! Loved loved loved having a campervan. Thanks for lending me it @camperdays.international and sorry about the hole in the side.  https://www.thenational.scot/news/23505593.foraging-seaweed-western-isles/
My terrace on a sunny May morning. The builders @l My terrace on a sunny May morning. The builders @lk.general.building left yesterday. They’ve been working since January. I had the awning installed, the encaustic Minton tiles removed and put back with green grout. The terrace was causing damp so this had to be done. My calamondin plant is looking lovely. The benches which I repaired with hard wood & I repainted using a mix of 2 colours. The marble table I bought in Suffolk at a car boot. Everything is still dusty & I’m waiting for the window cleaner to arrive.
Last but very heartfelt thankyou to @cideriswine f Last but very heartfelt thankyou to @cideriswine for their contribution of these beautiful dry ciders for the coronation street lunch. Gorgeously illustrated labels. #stcuthbertsrd #kilburn #london #cider #artisanaldrinks
When it comes to vodka I much prefer potato vodka. When it comes to vodka I much prefer potato vodka. It’s smoother. Artisanal distillery @devoncovevodka contributed some bottles to my coronation lunch which gave everyone a feeling of being at a classy party. Thanks so much. And also @rawfoodanddrink for arranging. If you want to read my blog post about how and why I organised this event, copy and paste this link: https://t.co/GWNNW2XKba #coronationstreetparty #biglunch #community #kilburn #london #forthepeoplebythepeople
I’ve been a fan of @luscombedrinks for years now I’ve been a fan of @luscombedrinks for years now. They sent a selection: elderflower bubbly, st. Clements orange 🍊 Sicilian lemonade, @belvoirfarm_uk lemonade, which were all delicious and just the tickets for the fortuitous mini-heatwave that occurred on the Sunday coronation lunch. #thankyou #community #coronation #streetparty #biglunch
Our street party. Double page spread in The Sun! T Our street party. Double page spread in The Sun! Tiny bit in the guardian. Decent pic in the Mail and The Star credit @asproider #coronationlunch #kilburn #stcuthbertsrd #kingscroftrd #fordwychrd #templarhouse
My coronation quiche with Broad beans, tarragon, s My coronation quiche with Broad beans, tarragon, spinach, cheddar. I used crème fraiche and blind baked puff pastry shells. I was up at 11 last night making these for todays street party, which featured in the mail, telegraph, mirror, metro courtesy of photographer Gavin Rodgers @asproider
Seaweed foraging at Spring tides in the Outer Hebr Seaweed foraging at Spring tides in the Outer Hebrides with @outerhebrideanforager Fi bird. She’s cutting sea spaghetti. I drove my campervan @camperdays.international from london to the Hebrides- using my gas stove to cook foraged and local ingredients. A real food safari. With the sea spaghetti I made a sea spag vongole with giant parlourdes picked up from the sand at the same time. Great fun, beautiful weather and, the day of the full moon, a wonderfully low tide. This was on south Uist.
More flavours, the flavour thesaurus is a plant-ba More flavours, the flavour thesaurus is a plant-based version of the original. Beautifully constructed, designed and written by @nikisegnit it’s vegetarian rather than vegan but recommended for both. She widens the sensory vocabulary around plant flavours in this book- encouraging new delicious sounding combinations. Now she includes new categories such as flower & meadow, caramel roasted, zesty roost- just the words make me salivate. #foodbooks #bookstagram #newbooks
Yesterday I attended @marmaladeawards @dalemainman Yesterday I attended @marmaladeawards @dalemainmansion I found out so much about marmalade. I’m going to make it this winter. I found out the worlds best maker is Japanese, in fact I was most impressed by the Japanese marmalades in general. Everyone wore orange. I must have tasted 50 marmalades. I met Paddington’s sister, karen jankel who is michael bond’s daughter, born in the same year as Paddington. She gave a charming talk on Paddington, mentioning how the queen insisted on having real marmalade sandwiches in her @launerlondonofficial handbag during the shoot. The house itself is Tudor and Georgian. I stayed in my campervan from @camperdays.international in the car park, cosy in the rain. Another freewheeling adventure. #yorkshire #marmalade #travel #food #ontheroad #campervan
I had a piece in @thetimes on Sunday about being a I had a piece in @thetimes on Sunday about being a vegetarian rather than a vegan. How I still need butter. And how restaurants & plane meals are now vegan rather than vegetarian. But, there are still more the double amount of vegetarians as vegans in the UK. I’ve written a vegan cookbook V is for vegan (link in bio) and am a big fan of vegan foods. I’ve not eaten meat for over 40 years. This is a sustainable diet, in terms of longevity. Vegans that I knew from the early noughties have reverted to meat eating. #newpuritanism? #vegetarian #vegan #foodwriter
Scrambled croft eggs (bright yellow yolks) with a Scrambled croft eggs (bright yellow yolks) with a seaweed that tastes just like truffle. Just done a little kelp foraging at low tide with @thetempleharris’ Amanda Saurin. Isle of Harris. Turquoise sea, white sand, cloud hovering just above. @camperdays.international @roosterpr
I went to Wembley in north west london to talk to I went to Wembley in north west london to talk to Sophie of @tobia.teff she uses the iron-rich, gluten free teff grain from her homeland Ethiopia. She showed me how to make injera, the Ethiopian flatbread which is fermented. She also talked about the coffee ceremony, 3 cups, which they pair with toasted barley or, currently, popcorn! I’d love to visit Ethiopia and find out more about their ancient food culture, history, 3.5k year old monarchy and religions.
Doing a spring budget recipe cooking demo for @bre Doing a spring budget recipe cooking demo for @brentcouncil Willesden library. I’ve been doing this a few times a year for the last few years. Wouldn’t it be great if they had a kitchen set up permanently. Libraries are community centres and could be used to teach how to cook from scratch.
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Archives

Copyright © 2023 msmarmitelover