Raclette Evening

Being married to a Swiss man certainly has its perks. We’re always on time, for one thing. My in laws like to shower me in gifts of chocolate, for another. And we eat a lot of cheese, which I love! (If you don’t love cheese, we could still be friends, but I will always think you’re a little weird.)

When thinking about Swiss dishes, the popular fondue often comes to mind. However, there are countless cheese dishes that the Swiss love. They eat their variety of cheeses with just about everything and have found a place for it within every meal of the day. They even enjoy it plain, with perhaps just a bit of bread.

One Swiss cheese dish that I’d never experienced before I’d met my husband is called Raclette (the Dutch may know it as Pannetjies). Essentially, it’s a little grill that you place on top of your table. Underneath the grill, you can place little pans of cheese to melt, which you then enjoy with a hot potato dusted in paprika.

On the grill itself, you can cook just about anything fancy, often little sausages or bits of vegetables, such as mushrooms. Typically, though, the Swiss will merely enjoy the cheese and potatoes as is, served with pickled condiments, such as gherkins, onions, baby corn, tinned asparagus, and olives.

At a dinner party served at our house, we provided the traditional basics, encouraging our guests to bring anything else they wished to add. Andrea Meyer, the friend that had hosted our previous Italian themed party, had bought along a salad, while her husband provided some sausages and strips of meat for grilling.

I’d bought a bottle of Fat Bastard Chardonnay to pair with the rich Raclette cheese, but other guests brought along red and rosé wines as well. Of course, this Swiss dish is inherently social, as diners serve themselves from the platters of accompaniments that get passed around the table, so the relaxing effect of alcohol is nice, but certainly not necessary.

The accompaniments to our Raclette dinner

In Switzerland, a meal like this can last for hours, with guests actually getting up to enjoy a stroll or aperitif before returning to the table to finish their meal. In South Africa, though, we are not used to pacing ourselves quite as well, so there was still food left by the time everyone had eaten their fill.

The meal was rounded off with a classic local dessert of malva pudding and custard, served with tea and coffee. My husband also passed around liquor chocolates as a form of nightcap to round off a wonderful evening with friends.