La Morbiflette is a gratin de pommes de terre that greatly resembles the better-known Tartiflette, which is made not far south of Geneva (Switzerland) in the Alps in the area called la Savoie. The little town of Morbier (pop. 2,400 or so) is just 25 miles north of Geneva.
Both of these gratins are made of blanched (partially cooked) potatoes peeled and then sliced into rounds before being browned lightly in oil or butter on a baking sheet in the oven or in a frying pan on the stovetop. The rondelles de pomme de terre are arranged in a baking dish in layers and cooked in a hot oven with sauteed onions and smoked lardons, along with cream, white wine, and Morbier cheese.
The Morbier cheese's distinctive feature is a line of vegetable ash that runs through the middle of a wheel of the cheese. Morbier is mild-tasting (as is the cheese that the Tartiflette is made from, called Reblochon) and melts smoothly. The crust of both these cheeses is edible, like the crust of Brie or Camembert, as is the ash in the Morbier. (The broccoli in my photos is some that I steamed for us to have as a side dish.)
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After you saute the onions and lardons, lightly oil an oven-proof dish and put in a first layer of sliced potatoes. Then put a layer of sauteed onions and lardons over them. Put on another layer of potatoes and pour on some cream and a splash of white wine. Slice the Morbier cheese and spread them over the potato mixture. Cook the Morbiflette in a hot oven until the potatoes are tender and the cheese has melted and started to turn a golden brown color. The cream and wine will have mostly evaporated when the Morbiflette is done. Be careful not to burn your mouth when you eat it.
P.S. If you're in the U.S. I don't know whether you can find Morbier cheese or not. I believe the Reblochon cheese used to make a Tartiflette is not imported into the U.S. Also, my innovation here was to make the Morbiflette not with smoked-pork lardons but with diced-up smoked chicken that I happened to have in the refrigerator.
I can get Morbier or something that looks like it, at Whole Foods, or Balducci's, they have extensive imported cheese selections. But nothing like SuperU, of my that was fun last spring.
ReplyDeletecan't get any good cheese around here...especially since Helene here in western NC & both Harris Teeter & Fresh Market are still being renovated after flooding...
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of adding smoked chicken. What a nice meal!
ReplyDeleteThat looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteBettyAnn
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That does look delicious, and I love learning about these new dishes :) Neither Morbier nor Reblochon come up in my search of Whole Foods, but I think you can get Morbier through Amazon... not fresh, though, and probably twice what it costs in France.
ReplyDeleteAfter many years without, the local Whole Foods has been carrying a good non pasturized Morbier. Lovely cheese, amazing to have it in Oklahoma City, (and a WF’s)
ReplyDeleteOur local store says it has a goat's milk Morbier (?). The result looks very good above.
ReplyDelete