Two tarts, one ‘boulette’ of cheese

The tarte al djote from Nivelles and the flamiche de Dinant are two of the most important (savoury) cheese tarts of Wallonia. They are both made with a boulette cheese (or bètchéye in Walloon) from the region. This cheese is made by mixing raw skimmed milk into fermented curds, leaving it to coagulate. Its texture is dry and crumbly and unlike any other cheese I’ve had the pleasure to taste. You can see the version used for flamiche (the Romedenne) in the photograph. The complete process of making the cheese is a closely guarded secret, so much so that when creameries cease to produce, knowledge is not being passed on for fear of people stealing the recipe. I cannot stress enough that placing too much importance on the secrecy of a recipe will ultimately mean it will be forever lost.