Savoyard cooking, the typical food from Chamonix Mont-Blanc, is based on a staple diet of cheese and potatoes. Produced locally in summer and easy to store during the long winter months, and with a high calorific value, they make for a good human fuel source. With a little ingenuity, the Savoyards make it taste good too.
Don't miss the pleasure of the aperitif. Every evening, people gather around in Chamonix town center or Argentière to enjoy this French 'ritual'! Chamonix, Argentière, Les Houches, all have a lot of bars where you can enjoy 'Apero' time.
Savoyarde Fondue
1 glass of Savoie white wine per person
200gr of cheese per person (half emmental, half beaufort)
1 clove of garlic
1 teaspoon of potato flour
1 glass of Kirsch liqueur
pepper, nutmeg
Cut the cheese into strips. Mix the potato flour into the kirsch. Rub the inside of the caquelon (special fondue saucepan) with the peeled garlic clove. Heat the wine: as soon as it starts to bubble add the cut cheese, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon. Add pepper. When the cheese has all melted, add the potato flour and kirsch mixture, mixing all the time. Your fondue is now ready! Put your piece of bread on the end of a long fork and dip it in. Don't forget to stir all the time. If anyone loses their bread in the fondue then traditionally they must buy a bottle of wine.
Raclette
200gr of raclette cheese per person
potatos (small or new)
small pickled gherkins, and cocktail onions
a selection of ham and dried meats
Boil the potatos with their skins on. Let the cheese melt in front of the heat source, then scrape it off and pour it over the potatoes.
Eaten with accompanying pickles and meats.
For this a special raclette grill is needed. These come in numerous shapes and sizes, from large ones that cook half a round cheese, to small ones that cook just the precut slices.
La Tartiflette, for 4 people
1 reblochon (cheese)
1 kg of potatos
3 onions
250 gr bacon bits
salt and pepper
butter
Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the bacon bits, add the onions, chopped finely, fry with the potatoes. When the potatoes are nearly cooked, put them in a low oven proof dish with the bacon bits and onions then cover with the grated reblochon. Cook this in a very hot oven, until the cheese has melted and browned.
Serve with a green salad and a little Savoie dry white wine.
La Tarte aux Myrtilles (Bilberry tart)
500gr of flour
100gr of butter
1/2 glass of water
a pinch of salt
Bilberries
Make a hole in the center of the flour and pour in the water. Add the salt and butter. Mix the pastry with the end of your fingers, then your palms, role it out and place in a flan dish, pricking it with a fork. Cook the pastry until golden about 20 minutes. Lay the pre-poached bilberries on the pastry, a bit of jelly can be added to give it a shine.
Visit the Shops selling local produce in Chamonix Mont-Blanc: where to buy regional products from the Haute Savoie: the cheeses, the charcuterie, the wines.
