Ingredients
Pastry
- 400 gshortcrust or puff pastry
- 1egg yolk, to glaze
Filling
- 500 gpotatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2leeks, sliced
- 2apples, peeled and sliced
- 200 gRaclette or another mountain cheese, sliced
- 150 gbacon or dried Valais meat, diced
- 1onion, sliced
- 30 gbutter
- grated nutmeg
- salt and black pepper
Directions
- Parboil the sliced potatoes for 5 minutes and drain them thoroughly. Raw slices will not cook through in the time the pastry takes, and you end up with a handsome pie full of crunchy potato.
- Soften the leeks and onion in the butter for 10 minutes without letting them colour, and fry the bacon separately until its fat runs.
- Let everything cool completely before assembling, because warm filling melts the pastry from the inside before it ever reaches the oven.
- Line a 24 cm tin with two thirds of the pastry.
- Layer in the filling: potato first, then the leek and onion, then the apple, then the cheese, then the bacon, seasoning as you go and grating nutmeg over the potato.
- The apple is neither a mistake nor a modern flourish. It is what makes this a Valais pie rather than a generic potato tart, and its sharpness cuts straight through the cheese and bacon.
- Cover with the remaining pastry, seal the edges firmly, and cut a hole in the centre for steam.
- Glaze with the beaten egg yolk.
- Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 20 minutes, then lower to 180°C (355°F) and bake for a further 40 minutes, until deep golden.
- Rest it for 15 minutes before cutting, so the cheese sets enough to hold a slice together.
- Serve warm with a green salad.
Technique
- The name comes from the cholera epidemic of the 1830s, when people stayed indoors and baked a pie out of whatever was in the cellar. Nothing about the dish is otherwise alarming.
- Parboil the potato and cool the filling. Those two steps account for most of what goes wrong.
- Every Valais family has a slightly different filling, which is entirely in keeping with how it started.
Substitutions
- Gruyère or Appenzeller in place of Raclette.
- Pear instead of apple, which is sweeter and works well.
- Dried beef in place of bacon, which is the more local choice.
Variations
- Made without meat, as a vegetarian pie.
- Baked as individual pies.
- With a layer of sliced pear as well as apple.
History
Named after the cholera epidemic of the 1830s, when people stayed indoors and baked a pie from whatever was in the cellar.
Frequently asked questions
What is Cholera?
Cholera is a main from Switzerland: valais pie filled with potato, apple, leek, cheese and bacon. Named after the cholera epidemic of the 1830s, when people stayed indoors and baked a pie from whatever was in the cellar.
How long does Cholera take to make?
Cholera takes 40 min of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 1 pie, 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Cholera?
Yes, within limits. Gruyère or Appenzeller in place of Raclette. Pear instead of apple, which is sweeter and works well. Dried beef in place of bacon, which is the more local choice.
What is the most important thing to get right in Cholera?
The apple is neither a mistake nor a modern flourish. It is what makes this a Valais pie rather than a generic potato tart, and its sharpness cuts straight through the cheese and bacon.
