French Recipes

Retortillat de l’Aubrac

Aubrac retortillat keeps its potatoes in browned slices, then folds in Tome fraîche de l’Aubrac at low heat until the cheese melts and stretches around them with garlic and parsley.

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Retortillat de l’Aubrac — shown in a pan
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 34 minutes
Total 49 minutes
Yield 4 main or substantial side-dish servings
Ingredients ↓
Introduction and overview

Retortillat de l’Aubrac — browned potatoes with Tome fraîche, garlic and parsley

Retortillat belongs to the potato-and-fresh-tome cooking of Aubrac, but it should not be collapsed into the better-known aligot or into Cantal truffade. The potatoes remain as slices rather than being mashed into a purée, and the cheese goes in only at the end. The finished pan should show distinct golden potatoes coated and connected by molten Tome fraîche de l’Aubrac, with garlic and parsley sharpening the rich combination.

The potato stage is built in two temperatures. Five-millimetre slices first brown in 40 g duck fat over medium-high heat, which creates the golden surfaces that would be lost if the potatoes were simply steamed. The heat is then lowered, the pan covered and the potatoes gently tenderized for 15 minutes. They are ready for the cheese when a knife passes through the thickest slice with little resistance but the slices can still be turned without crumbling.

Tome fraîche is young, moist and highly meltable, so it needs a different treatment from a hard grating cheese. Bring the 300 g tome to room temperature and cut it into strips before cooking. Once the potatoes are tender and seasoned with garlic, lower the pan to low heat and fold the tome through for about 5 minutes. The cheese should become elastic and coat the slices. Vigorous beating would turn the potatoes toward a mashed texture and erase the distinction that matters here.

Success points

Success points

  • Use waxy potatoes and cut them to an even 5 mm so they can brown without disintegrating.
  • Brown the slices first, then cover and tenderize at medium-low heat rather than adding water.
  • Bring the Tome fraîche de l’Aubrac to room temperature and cut it thinly before it reaches the pan.
  • Lower the heat before adding the cheese and fold gently only until it has melted around the slices.
  • Serve immediately; the cheese loses its best elastic texture as it cools.
Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1000 g waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 5 mm slices
  • 40 g duck fat
  • 10 g garlic, finely chopped
  • 15 g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • 300 g Tome fraîche de l’Aubrac, at room temperature and cut into thin strips
  • 4 g fine salt
  • 1 g black pepper
Method

Method

Directions

  1. Slice and portion everything. Peel the 1000 g potatoes and cut them evenly to about 5 mm. Chop the 10 g garlic and 15 g parsley and cut the 300 g tome into thin strips, allowing 15 minutes. The potato slices are close to 5 mm thick and the tome is in thin, flexible strips.

  2. Brown the potatoes. Melt the 40 g duck fat in a wide heavy frying pan and cook the potato slices over medium-high heat for 12 minutes, turning carefully. The potato slices show clear golden-brown patches but remain intact rather than crumbling.

  3. Tenderize under cover. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pan and cook for 15 minutes, turning once or twice. A knife slides through the thickest potato slice with little resistance, while the slices still hold their shape.

  4. Add the aromatics. Uncover, add the 10 g garlic, 4 g salt and 1 g pepper and cook for 2 minutes, holding the parsley back for the finish. The garlic is fragrant without dark browning and the potatoes remain intact.

  5. Fold in the fresh tome. Lower the heat to low, scatter over the 300 g Tome fraîche de l’Aubrac and fold gently for about 5 minutes; add the 15 g parsley at the end. The tome is fully melted and elastic, coating the potato slices while the potatoes remain visibly sliced rather than mashed.

Serving, storage and make-ahead

Practical

Serving, storage and make-ahead

Divide the pan into 4 servings and eat immediately while the cheese is molten. Retortillat is at its best straight from the heat, when the potato edges are still browned and the fresh tome pulls softly between slices. Delayed service allows the cheese to firm and the potatoes to absorb steam.

Serving, storage and make-ahead

The tome can be cut into strips and allowed to reach room temperature while the potatoes are prepared. Peel and slice the potatoes shortly before they enter the pan so they do not sit exposed long enough to discolour. The dish itself is not ideal for a long make-ahead hold because the cheese finish is deliberately last-minute.

Serving, storage and make-ahead

Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours at 4 °C or below for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a covered frying pan until the centre reaches 74 °C. Another young melting cheese can make a good potato dish, but it changes the Aubrac identity; a Cantal-based truffade and a mashed, stretched aligot should not be renamed retortillat.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

  • The potatoes colour outside but stay hardthe slices are too thick or the heat stayed too high. Keep the 5 mm cut and use the covered medium-low stage to finish the centres.
  • The potatoes collapse into mashthey were overcooked before the cheese stage or stirred too aggressively. Turn carefully and stop the covered cooking as soon as a knife meets little resistance.
  • The cheese becomes greasy and clumpythe heat is too high. Lower the pan before adding room-temperature tome and fold only until it melts.
Nutrition per serving

Nutrition per serving

  • Serving size1 of 4 servings
  • Calories534 kcal
  • Carbohydrate46.5 g
  • Protein20.3 g
  • Fat29.8 g
  • Fibre5.7 g
  • Sodium599 mg
Allergens and food safety

Allergens and food safety

Allergens: Milk.

Use the hand guard if slicing with a mandoline. Hot duck fat can spit when potatoes enter the pan, so lower the slices carefully. Molten Tome fraîche is both hot and sticky; do not touch stretching cheese with bare fingers. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and reheat cooked portions to 74 °C.

FAQ

FAQ

How is retortillat different from aligot?

Aligot begins with mashed potato and is worked with fresh tome until the mixture forms a smooth, stretching ribbon. Retortillat keeps browned potato slices intact and adds the cheese at the finish.

Is it the same as truffade?

No. The dishes are related in the broad family of potato-and-cheese cooking, but the Aubrac retortillat here uses Tome fraîche de l’Aubrac and is not presented as a Cantal-based truffade.

Closing

Closing

  • Result: Golden potato slices coated in hot, elastic fresh tome with garlic and parsley, still visibly sliced rather than mashed.
  • Decisive technique: Brown and tenderize the potatoes first, then lower the heat and fold in the Tome fraîche only at the end.
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