Have you heard of truffade?
I love all the French potato dishes, so imagine my delight when I find another new one!
This is a one pot dish of finely sliced potatoes, cooked until tender, and mixed with chopped bacon and cheese.
The potatoes are formed into a giant pancake and served rather like a Spanish tortilla in wedges.
It's perfect as a side dish or a simple and filling meal.
Well, you can't go wrong with cheese and bacon, can you?
Bon appétit!
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Truffade is a French peasant dish from the Auvergne region in the centre of France. It is the same region that is famous for the Charolais beef. It's also well known for cured pork products, hence the addition of smoked bacon lardons in this dish.
The traditional cheese, Tome fraiche de Cantal, isn't found in the UK and I can't say that I ever saw it in France either, as I was living in the west of the country.
Apparently, the cheese is firm with a buttery taste that is reminiscent of mature cheddar. Either way, potatoes, cheese and bacon is a magic comfort combination and it always goes down well in my family.
Originally, the potatoes were cooked in duck fat, which will give them a richer flavour. However, for this version I have used a combination of butter and oil instead. Feel free to use duck fat if you have it.
Why you will love this dish
- Easy to make.
- Can be a side dish or a main dish.
- Lots of variations to add your own twist.
- Great family dinner.
🥘 Ingredients
- Potatoes - this is a very personal choice for this recipe. I've used Maris Piper, which is an all round potato which is quite floury. This means that the slices naturally stick together well. Similar potato varieties include Russet, Idaho, Yukon Gold or King Edward.
- Cheese - I've used mild cheddar but you can also use Cheshire cheese, assuming you cannot get hold of Tome Fraiche.
- Butter -salted or unsalted. If you use salted butter reduce the amount of salt in the recipe as the bacon will also be salty.
- Oil - cooking with a combination of the oil and butter helps to stop the butter from burning.Use something plain like rape, sunflower or vegetable oil.
- Bacon - smoked bacon lardons, which are essentially small cubes of streaky bacon from the belly.
- Garlic - a garlic clove.
- Salt - the amount depends on personal preference. Although the bacon will be salty the potatoes will still need some seasoning.
- Pepper - freshly ground black pepper.
- Parsley - traditionally, al little fresh chopped parsely is added before serving, but leave this out if you prefer.
See recipe card for quantities.
🍽 Equipment
- Large lidded pan
- Wooden spoon
- Sharp knife
- Food processor or mandolin
- Cheese grater
🔪 Instructions
Peel and slice the potatoes thinly using a food processor or a mandolin.
Soak the potatoes in water, while you prepare the rest of the ingredients
💭 Top Tip
- Soaking the potato slices removes some of the starch so that they are easily to stir in the pan to cook evenly.
- If you are using a mandolin for the first time use the guard or be very careful as it's extremely easy to injur your fingers.
Grate the cheese and peel and finely chop the garlic and parsley.
⏲️ Cooking Time
Place the pan over a medium heat and add the bacon lardons.
If the bacon is very lean you may need to add an extra teaspoon of oil to stop them from sticking to the pan.
Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally then add the garlic for a minute.
Turn off the heat and transfer the bacon to a small bowl.
Add the oil and butter to the pan over a medium heat and add the potatoes.
Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and stir well.
Place the lid on and turn the heat to medium low for 15 - 20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through.
Add the bacon and cheese and stir the mixture together.
Use a spoon or spatula to tidy the edges to form a giant pancake.
Preheat the grill to medium and grill the truffade for a few minutes.
Scatter with chopped parsley and serve in slices like a pizza.
🥗 Serve with
Serve this dish on its own with a few veggies or salad on the side for a simple and economical supper or it does go particularly well with chicken dishes too.
- Chicken Supreme
- Spatchcock Chicken
- Roast Chicken with Tarragon and Lemon
- Lemon Garlic Chicken Bake
- Chicken with Juniper Berries
Substitutions
- Bacon - use chopped streaky bacon instead or cooked ham. Leave the bacon out for a vegetarian version.
- Cheese - another alternative cheese is Cheshire cheese, but you could also use any cheese that melts well, such as Emmental or Mozzarella.
📖 Variations
- Meat - this dish is a great way to use up leftovers from a roast. Use cooked shredded chicken, beef, pork or lamb. Sliced cooked sausages or Chorizo would also work well.
Storage
- Refrigerator - cool, cover and store in the refirgerator for up to 3 days.
- Freezer - divide into portion, wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months.
- To reheat - reheat in the microwave or place on a small oven dish and cover with foil before reheating in the oven at 180 C / 350 F / 160 FAN / Gas 4.
FAQs
Tomme, sometimes spelt tome just means a round cheese but it normally relates to cheese that originates in the French alps.
It can be made from cows', goats' or ewes' milk and normally has a name that relates to its local region.
Tome fraiche is is a young cheese, which melts very easily like a fondue cheese. It's used in the famous Aligot potatoes, which is a seriously cheesy mashed potatoes dish.
Stir all the ingredients together and transfer to an oven proof dish.
Cover with foil and cook in a preheated oven at 180 C / 350 F / 160 FAN / Gas 4 for 40 minutes or until tender.
Remove the foil and cook for a further 10 minutes to brown the top.
Let me know what you think in the comments or you can post a picture and tag me on Twitter @chezlereve, Instagram @chezlerevefrancais, or Facebook @chezlerevefrancais
More French potato dishes you may like
📋 Recipe
Truffade
Equipment
- Large lidded pan
- wooden spoon
- sharp knife
- Food processor or mandolin
- Cheese grater
Ingredients
- 800 g potatoes
- 1 clove garlic
- 155 g smoked bacon lardons
- 300 g mild Cheddar
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon oil
Instructions
- Peel and slice the potatoes thinly using a food processor or a mandolin and put the slices to soak in water.
- Grate the cheese and peel and finely chop the garlic and parsley.
- Place the pan over a medium heat and add the bacon lardons.
- Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally then add the garlic for a minute.
- Turn off the heat and transfer the bacon to a small bowl.
- Add the oil and butter to the pan over a medium heat and add the potatoes.
- Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and stir well.
- Place the lid on and turn the heat to medium low for 15 - 20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through.
- Add the bacon and cheese and stir the mixture together.
- Use a spoon or spatula to tidy the edges to form a giant pancake.
- Preheat the grill to medium and grill the truffade for a few minutes.
- Scatter with chopped parsley and serve in slices like a pizza.
Disclaimer: The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
Detailed instructions for this recipe, including step by step photographs, hints and tips, can be found in the main article.
More
Food Safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using gas.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I love to read them and answer your questions. However, due to spam comments, I do have to moderate each one, so don't worry if you cannot see your comment immediately. I'll publish your comments as soon as I can.
Toni
This is so good! Love how cheesy and comforting it is! Really easy to make, too! So perfect!
Kate
I hadn't heard of Truffade, but I'm so glad I have now... what a gorgeous combination of flavours, totally delicious!
Beth
This is the best potato recipe I've had in a long, long time. I love all that cheese, and the bacon lardon. I made it this weekend, and it was gone in one meal. LOL
Katherine
I'm with you on loving new potato dishes! This is amazing and I can't wait to try it!
Corrine Parkes
😀 What do you know about that? Joke's on me. I've been making an American very poor imitation of this for years, simply from messy cooking and not really caring about food appearance. Well. Now, this recipe reminded me of my grandma, who cooked Swedish. This is so close to one of her dishes. I must try it, as written here. Thank you!
Tavo
I loved this dish! I had all the ingredients readily available and dived into it! So good!
Juliane
Wow, very intriguing! I honestly haven't heard about this before.... and I am excited to give this a try!
Beth Sachs
I've never heard of truffade before but it looks like a delicious potato recipe.
Natalie
Great kid-friendly recipe, can't wait to prepare it for my kids. Your meals are always fabulous!
Helen
Oooh, cheesy buttery potatoes? In a big pancake? Yes please!
I can't believe this dish isn't better known...
Amanda
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