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The Northern French Alps is a gastronomic hotbed of creative, hearty cuisine just waiting to be discovered. We at Villanovo take you through our selection of favourite winter warmers and fine dining from this prestigious holiday destination.
The Swiss and the French dispute the origins of this delicious mountain recipe made with melted cheese and dry bread. The preparation of the Savoyard fondue is made from two to three different cheeses, depending on the recipe, such as Emmental, Beaufort, Gruyère or Comté. It is a highly sociable dish that involves friends and family gathering around a pot of melted cheese into which pieces of bread on small forks are dipped. The challenge is not to drop your bread or you'll be punished! Because it is a warm and rich dish, it is usually enjoyed in cooler weather, in winter and on cool summer nights after hiking.
An Alpine custom is to finish the fondue with an egg. The egg is placed in the remaining cheese, mixed until it is cooked with the pieces of bread. The fondue meal is usually served with a side dish of salad and charcuterie.
The story goes that this dish was invented by dairy farmers who, after a day's work in the alpine pastures, used their campfire to soften a cold block of cheese, scraping the melted layer onto bread. While the essence of the dish has remained unchanged over the centuries, the method has been modernised with the addition of a small electric grill to melt the raclette at your table. Some establishments still prepare it in the traditional way by placing half a wheel of cheese in the hearth of a wood burning fireplace.
At the end of a day on the slopes, there's nothing like a tartiflette to instantly replenish your lost calories. Potatoes, Reblochon cheese, bacon lardons, onions and a touch of white wine combine to create a tasty, heart-warming dish.
Tartiflette pairs well with a lettuce salad, and the unique taste of Reblochon makes it a dish whose flavour is difficult to replicate without this ingredient. Tartiflette-inspired dishes are very popular in the mountains: you can even find tartiflette pizzas!
Originally from the Mont Blanc valley, farçon, or farcement, is a warm bacon and potato cake traditionally baked in a large pan. Shredded potatoes are combined with bacon, double cream, eggs and onions, as well as a handful of dried fruit, such as prunes and raisins. It's sweet, savoury, rich and buttery, the perfect response to a cold, snowy night in the Alps!
Diots are small pork sausages, often prepared with a pinch of nutmeg and sometimes smoked. They can be found in all sorts of recipes, but the traditional way of serving them is with a wine sauce, accompanied by a potato gratin or crozets, a type of pasta typical of the region, made from durum wheat or saracen flour.
Gratin dauphinois is a dish originating in the Dauphiné region, which encompasses the area around Grenoble. Some recipes do not include cheese in the gratin, while others do. They can be made with a mixture of milk, eggs, garlic or by incorporating cream instead of milk/eggs. Whichever version you try, gratin dauphinois is one of the most traditional dishes in the Alps.
With its crispy butter pastry, velvety cream and thick layer of caramelised fruit sprinkled with icing sugar, this blueberry tart is a real treat. It is common to find it served with vanilla ice cream or even with genepi ice cream, which has been infused with alpine liqueur.
Originally from the town of Chambéry, where you will find it proudly displayed in the windows of family bakeries, it has made its way onto menus throughout the region. Served with a dollop of homemade apple jam, it is the perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee.
