Tartiflette recipe: Our Ski Season Week Favourite
- The Yarrow Cookery School
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
There is one dish that always defines Ski Season Week at Yarrow.
The minute it goes into the oven, the kitchen changes. The smell of bacon, onions and melting cheese drifts through the steading. Conversations soften. Everyone knows something comforting is on its way.
This Tartiflette recipe is the dish our students remember most from Ski Season Week. It is generous, warming and deeply satisfying, the kind of food you crave after a long day on the slopes. But more importantly, it is the kind of recipe that builds real kitchen confidence.
Because once you can make this, you understand layering, balance and flavour. Sometimes it is the simpler dishes that proveide the most confidence.
Why We Teach Tartiflette on Ski Season Week
Ski Season Week at Yarrow is about more than recipes. It is about independence. Cooking for friends in a chalet. Feeding yourself well during a season abroad. Hosting without fear.
Tartiflette ticks every box:
It feeds a group easily
It can be prepared ahead
It feels impressive but is straightforward
It teaches control of texture and seasoning
It is classic French Alpine food, but it is also practical, simple, real life cooking.
Tartiflette Recipe
Ingredients (Serves 4–6)
1kg waxy potatoes (Charlotte or red potatoes)
Salt, for boiling
200g smoked lardons or streaky bacon, cut into pieces
1 tbsp butter (plus small amount for buttering dish)
2 large onions, finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
100ml dry white wine
150ml double cream
Freshly ground black pepper
1 whole Reblochon (around 450g) or alternative (see below)
Method
1. Cook the potatoes
Place the potatoes in cold salted water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15–20 minutes until just tender.
Drain well and leave to steam dry. When cool enough to handle, slice into 1cm thick rounds.
2. Cook the lardons
Preheat the oven to 190°C fan.
In a large frying pan, cook the lardons over medium heat until golden and lightly crisp. Remove and set aside.
3. Soften the onions
In the same pan, add the butter, once melted add the onions. Gently cook the onions for 8–10 minutes until soft and lightly caramelised.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Return the lardons to the pan. Pour in the white wine and allow it to bubble for 1–2 minutes to cook off the alcohol. Stir in the cream and season generously with freshly ground black pepper.
4. Assemble
Lightly butter an ovenproof dish.
Layer half the potatoes in the dish. Spoon over half the onion and bacon mixture. Repeat with the remaining potatoes and mixture.
Slice the cheese in half horizontally so you have two thinner rounds. Place both halves on top, rind side up.
5. Bake
Bake for 35–50 minutes until bubbling and deeply golden.
Rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Good Substitutes for Reblochon
If Reblochon is hard to find, these work very well:
Camembert (very similar melt and richness)
Brie (slightly milder and creamier)
Taleggio (stronger, more pungent Alpine character)
The Kind of Recipe That Changes Confidence
Some of our proudest moments during Ski Season Week are not about technique.
They are about watching someone realise they can cook something like this, for six friends, without panic. That they understand seasoning. Timing. Balance. That they can host.
If you have a young person preparing for a winter season abroad, Ski Season Week is designed exactly for that transition. Real food. Real skills. Real confidence. And Tartiflette is always part of it.
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