Make Your Raclette In The Air Fryer This Holiday Season
Air fryers can be used to quickly prepare so many different delicious foods that sometimes it's hard to remember what you used to do without one. They're arguably the best thing invented for the kitchen since the microwave oven. Some might even say they beat the microwave, too. Just when you thought the air fryer couldn't get any better, the handy dandy kitchen appliance is also perfect for making raclette for the holiday season.
Surprisingly, the air fryer can handle the entire production, not just the potatoes and accompanying vegetables. As it turns out, it's perfect for melting cheese when you want to keep it gooey all the way through – no need to invest in a raclette grill. And since it won't actually fry the cheese, you won't have to worry about creating unwanted crust. So fire up the air fryer because it is all you will need to make the perfect appetizer or snack.
Making raclette in the air fryer
One way to make raclette in the air fryer is simply to cook the potatoes and veggies first. Once they are prepared, melt the cheese in the air fryer and pour it over the cooked potatoes and veggies. Depending on the type of air fryer you use, you may need to line it with foil or a fryer-safe dish. Be sure to garnish the plate with any uncooked goodies like pickles, marinated onions, bread, and the like.
Or you could make a stacked raclette all at once. To do so, you'll want to steam some small potatoes first. Then, cut them in half and hollow them out partway so that they can be stuffed with veggies like mushrooms, tomatoes, and onions. Finally, top the potatoes with a slice of raclette and cook in the air fryer until the cheese reaches that perfect melting point.
What exactly is raclette?
If you're unfamiliar with raclette, think of it like a close cousin to fondue, without the mix-and-match cheese varieties. Fondue has added wine and other ingredients, whereas raclette is just melted cheese traditionally scraped off a grill or heated surface. It's also limited to one specific kind of cheese (its namesake) that boasts a bold, fruity flavor and a creamy center similar to brie. The dish is said to have started hundreds of years ago with farmers in Switzerland, who had the ingenious idea to melt the cheese over their fires.
Raclette is also eaten differently than fondue. Instead of dipping pieces of bread and meat into a pot of melted cheese, the cheese is scraped directly onto the sides, typically potatoes, pickled veggies and gherkins.
There are no hard and fast rules for making raclette, so it's worth experimenting with different ingredients. And definitely take advantage of the air fryer when doing so. It'll give you deliciously gooey melted cheese to scrape on top of whatever your heart desires.