A bit of French Toast…..Vegetarian Tartiflette Open Toastie for a Random Lunch

Vegetarian Tartiflette Open Toastie

A bit of French Toast…..

Vegetarian Tartiflette Open Toastie for a Random Lunch

Any recipe or dish that has the name “Tartiflette” is okay in my book, in fact, it’s the sort of recipe name that I LOVE to repeat over and over again – I obviously need to get out more! Tartiflette is one of my favourite French recipes, real COMFORT food at its best. I DO have a recipe for this fun sounding dish, and I will post it towards the end of summer, when it cools down a bit……..hold on, what am I saying?! With the summer we have had so far, maybe I can post my recipe in JULY to warm us up a bit!  But to get back to the recipe; it’s basically a baked potato and cheese dish with bacon, onions and cream…….so, pretty light on the calories then.  The dish comes from the Haute Savoie region of France, and is a typical après-ski dish. I would love to tell you that the recipe is an ancient Alpine dish, but in actual fact, the recipe was commercially developed in the 1980’s as a big marketing hype to promote Reblochon cheese, the cheese that is used in this dish. Never mind its tender age though, the recipe is delicious and is a favourite all over France, as well as in my home throughout the winter.

Vegetarian Tartiflette Open Toastie

So when I picked out a book for Dom’s Random Recipe challenge this month, and when I realised that my “Middle” recipe was on page 206/207 and it was a VEGGIE Tartiflette Toastie, I was chuffed……..what a brilliant recipe I thought, and one that would go down a treat in this Arctic summer we are having. My random book was number 256, which is River Cottage Veg Every Day – the book is 214 pages long, hence my middle recipe, The Vegiflette Toastie, being on page 206/207. It’s a book that I “borrowed” from my sister, who is a full-blown vegetarian, and not a lapsed vegetarian like me. The book is packed full of amazing veggie recipes, I can’t think of one recipe that I dislike, and it has fast become my favourite book of 2012……

Vegetarian Tartiflette Open Toastie

……however, one teensy weensy little problem; I planned this for today’s lunch – I had the bread, I had the cheese, I had the potatoes and I had the time……..but, I didn’t have the bitter salad leaves, or, and I am astounded at this, the crème fraîche! (One of my staple ingredients) We have just come back home after being away for a week and I haven’t been shopping yet……so, I had to improvise with the recipe, and although the idea came from the book, this is very much my own recipe now, as I changed it quite a bit. I used artichoke hearts in place of bitter leaves, and extra cheese in place of the crème fraîche. It was delicious however, and I served it with a simple salad of ripe tomatoes, with a black pepper dressing and some cornichons.

Vegetarian Tartiflette Open Toastie

I have posted my much adapted recipe below, and suggest that onions and olives, as well as few peppers or shallots would make a nice change to the artichoke hearts. I can also see this being a brilliant “meaty” recipe, with the addition of fried bacon or lardons and maybe some cooked sausages or chorizo…….it’s a moveable feast, and up to you. I used some of my own home-made sourdough bread, recipe to follow, and this meal appears in my Meal Planning Monday post too…..so, that’s it for today, I have some book and product reviews to post this week, as well as my usual recipes and kitchen notes, (ramblings!) I hope you have had a great start to the week, see you tomorrow, Karen.

The Vegiflette Toastie

Vegetarian Tartiflette Open Toastie

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Serves	2
Prep time	2 minutes
Cook time	5 minutes
Total time	7 minutes
Allergy	Wheat
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Appetizer, Bread, Breakfast, Lunch, Side Dish, Snack, Starter
Misc	Serve Hot
Occasion	Barbecue, Casual Party, Formal Party
Region	French

Delicious open toasties topped with potatoes and artichoke hearts, and then covered in bubbling melted cheese....a vegetarian variation on a Tartiflette, which is a baked cheese and potato dish and has bacon in it.

Ingredients

• one cold cooked potato (sliced thinly)
• 1 teaspoon rapeseed oil
• 2 cooked artichoke hearts (from a jar, sliced)
• 6 slices of Reblochon cheese (or Camembert, Brie or Stinking Bishop)
• 2 slices of sourdough bread
• salt and black pepper

Note

Delicious open toasties topped with potatoes and artichoke hearts, and then covered in bubbling melted cheese....a vegetarian variation on a Tartiflette, which is a baked cheese and potato dish and has bacon in it. Use any good melting cheese if Reblochon is not available.

Directions

Step 1	Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the potato slices and artichoke hearts - cook over a low heat until they are warmed through and just starting to turn brown,
Step 2	Preheat the grill and toast the bread lightly on both sides, for about a minute each side.
Step 3	Spoon the potato and artichoke mixture on each slice of bread, and then lay three slices of cheese over each slice of bread, season to taste with salt and pepper, and then place under the grill until the cheese has melted and is bubbling.
Step 4	Carefully remove the toasties and serve immediately with salad or other seasonal vegetables.

Vegetarian Tartiflette Open Toastie

 Have you got a favourite recipe with a fun name?

Have you ever tried Tartiflette?