Cookbook Challenge #2: fromage from the Alps.

Roast Figs Sugar Snow by Diana Henry: Octopus Publishing, 2005. 

ISBN 1 84000 888 1

Mr Fork is a winter person. Not one for sunny pursuits in hot climates, he is infinitely happier in cold and snow. At Christmas, our compromise was that I would spend time with my family in the sun and he would spend time with his in the snow. For Mr F, the highlight of a trip to the French Alps is the snow boarding. For me, it is him returning home with cheese. With a fridge full of the Alps' finest taunting my January health-related resolutions, it made sense to put it to work in pursuit of my other resolution: recipes. 

Roast Figs Sugar Snow is a very different prospect to the book used for my first challenge. Whereas the latter was a dense, unillustrated and sternly written collection of recipes; Diana Henry is much more modern in her approach. Beautiful photography and helpful explanations make it an easier read. However, the fabulous cultural insights of the Persian book are not found to the same extent here. Instead, reading is a more personal experience and the insight you are given is into how travelling has shaped Henry's love of food. As with her first book, chapters are focused on specific food groups all unified by a single theme: in this case the food of cold countries and winter. There is even a chapter on cheese - perfect for a dark January evening.

However, there is a reason this book has remained, unused and unloved, propping itself up in a dark corner of my cramped bookshelf. Beautiful photography and envy-inducing travel-come-food writing aside, the recipes have always failed to inspire me. Veering between a little ordinary and slightly over stylised, there is no stand-out instruction in the book that begs to be followed. 

We decided to make tartiflette: that wonderful mix of potato, bacon and cheese. The recipe was extremely easy to follow and the ingredients easy to source. Despite it being my first attempt at following the recipe, it was a stress-free and rewarding experience. But then potatoes with melted cheese was never going to be a rigorous culinary challenge. 

The result was shamelessly indulgent: the potatoes squidgy with a golden crisp on top; the cheese gooey and wonderfully rich; and the nuggets of bacon provided a welcome meaty contrast. Served, as is typical, with pickled onions, salad and gherkins; it was one of those meals that insulates you against the bitter cold of winter and makes the near-constant darkness bearable. Ditch the health kick and give in to its fatty carb-laden charms.

Tartiflette

serves 6

1.3kg waxy potatoes (no need to peel)

salt and pepper

75g unsalted butter

2 tbsp olive oil

250g chunky bacon lardons

1 onion, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 Reblochon (about 350g)

115g crème fraîche

1. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until just tender. Drain. When they are cool enough to handle, slice the potatoes. Heat half the butter and oil together in a sauté pan and cook the potatoes until they are golden. Season with salt and pepper and put them into a shallow ovenproof dish.

2. Preheat the oven to 190°C/ 375°F / gas mark 5. Heat the rest of the butter and oil in the same sauté pan and cook the lardons over a fairly high heat to colour them well. Turn the heat down, add the onion and cook it until soft and just beginning to colour. Throw in the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. Add this to the ovenproof dish and gently combine with the potatoes.

3. Cut the Reblochon into slices and trim the rind. Dot spoonfuls of crème fraîche all over the potatoes and cover with slices of Reblochon. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. The cheese should be melted and bubbling. Serve immediately.