Raclettes

(Or how to put large lumps of cheese in front of a wood fire and have a brilliant meal.)

Traditionally, a raclette – there is no sensible translation – was cooked in front of a wood fire with the aid of a long metal fork. The idea was to put one edge of a large block of hard cheese next to the fire, and as it heated up and melted, you scraped it on to a plate, runny and soft and hot, and ate it with jacket potatoes, gherkins and pickled onions.