SOME 20-odd years ago, one of my tasks in an early job was to lay out the cheeses on their groaning trolley.
Some cheeses, I noticed, came and went. I didn't know why: maybe the head chef had got bored of them and fancied a change. It never occurred to me then that the disappearance or return of certain varieties was due to their seasonal availability.
Now running my own restaurant, I see this yearly. Autumn fades into early winter, supplies of goats' milk, and hence certain goats' cheeses, dry up. Our cheese trolley, consisting solely of Scottish cheeses, loses a few favourites, temporarily, to be replaced with others. I tell myself that losing a favourite now makes its return more special. And no return of any cheese is more special than the November arrival of one of the world's greats, Vacherin Mont d'Or.
Sadly it will not make it onto our Scottish cheese trolley, as it hails from France's Franche-Comté area, but it definitely gets a place in my fridge at home, especially with Christmas approaching. The region's cows feed on new springtime pasture of mountainous meadows, making the milk richly creamy. The resulting cheese is aged briefly, long enough to form its distinctive rusty rind. The fondue-like cheese beneath is sweet, fruity, a little salty, never cut with a knife, but served with a spoon. A finger or corner of good bread works well too. Indeed, bread is all it really needs, but cooking with Vacherin is an affordable luxury to be explored.
Baked Vacherin Mont d'Or fondue
Recipes serve 6
2 small Vacherin cheeses, each still in its round wooden box
2 cloves garlic
2 sprigs thyme
150ml white wine
Tin foil
3 large heads of chicory
20 or so new potatoes, depending on size
Method
1. You can buy slices cut from a large Vacherin, but purists get theirs in the distinctive, small round individual box for which this cheese is famous. So whether cooking it or serving as part of a cheese platter, always serve it in its box.
2. Remove any outside cellophane or plastic packaging, then remove and discard the lid. Make several small nicks with the tip of a small knife across the surface of the cheese. Now peel the garlic and cut into very thin slivers. Cut the thyme into short (1 to 2cm) pieces. Insert the garlic and thyme into the slits you have scored in each cheese. You can do this in advance then cover in cling film and refrigerate.
3. To cook: remove the cheese from the fridge 20 minutes before you want to cook it. Pre-heat oven to 180C. Place the cheese on a baking tray, having wrapped a small piece of tin foil around the cheese, but still leaving the top open. Now pour the wine in, dividing it between the two cheeses. Place into the middle of the heated oven and cook for 20 minutes, or until the surface feels very soft and the interior is thickly molten.
4. Place the potatoes into a pan of cold, salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes until tender, then leave to stand in the water. These can either be served warm or allowed to cool in the water then served cold. Either way I recommend slicing them all in half lengthways, once cooked.
5. Trim off and discard the base of each head of the chicory. With your fingers, gently tug apart the leaves so the head opens apart and the leaves separate out individually. When you reach the heart, you may have to cut off another section of the base to allow the central section to open out in the same way. Arrange the leaves on one side of two serving dishes.
6. Drain the potatoes and divide between the two serving dishes, arranging them next to the chicory leaves.
7. Check the cheese is ready then carefully remove from the oven. Allow to stand for a few minutes then peel away the tin foil from the cylindrical box so it is on display. Place one box of Vacherin in each serving platter then serve at once. You can provide guests with a spoon to ladle out their cheese, or they can dip the chicory and potatoes into the melting cheese as it is. Good quality, fresh crusty bread is also essential.
Gratin of potatoes and Vacherin
3 egg yolks
200ml crème fraiche or whipping cream
1kg medium-sized potatoes (eg Red Roosters, King Edwards, Maris Pipers), peeled and sliced into 2mm rounds
1 Vacherin cheese, at room temperature
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 small knob of butter for greasing, at room temperature
Salt and pepper
Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. In a large bowl, whisk together half of the crème fraiche (or cream) and two of the yolks. Add the potatoes then season lightly with salt and a very little fresh ground black pepper. Toss together well.
2. Grease the inside of a gratin dish with the butter then rub the garlic clove around the inside, pressing down firmly, to scent the dish.
3. Arrange a layer of the potatoes in the base of the dish then using a teaspoon, dot the cheese evenly all over. Then build another layer of the potatoes and cheese, continuing until the potatoes and cheese are all used and the dish is full, spooning in the cream mixture that the potatoes were tossed in, as you go. Press down as you go and ensure the layers are even and flat as they get built up.
4. Cover with tin foil and bake. Every 15 minutes or so, remove from the oven, lift back the tin foil, and press down with a palette knife.
5. After one hour, beat the rest of the crème fraiche with the last yolk in a small pan, warm gently then spoon over the surface of the dish. Bake for 15 more minutes until golden, then serve.
Geoffrey Smeddle is the chef patron of The Peat Inn, By St. Andrew's, Fife, Ky15 5LH 01334 840206 www.thepeatinn.co.uk
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