an aussie in austria

This is definitely one of my top meal discoveries from Austria. Traditionally a Swiss dish, Raclette is enjoyed by many countries around Europe and is what I would call an interactive meal.

Imagine a small grill plate that sits on the centre of the table. On top you can cook whatever you like BBQ style, but underneath is the exciting part. Underneath there is a grill space where you can load up a small shovel with food, top it with cheese and grill it to your heart’s content.

It’s great for large dinner groups and long meals like birthdays, Christmas and special occasions. It gives everyone a chance to cook their own food, eat at their own pace and drink and talk the night away.

Generally they’ll be a few types of meat (chicken/pork), possibly seafood (salmon/prawns) and some vegetables like zucchini, potato and mushroom. These are all cut up into small pieces so they cook quickly. And as an added bonus, quite often there’ll also be prunes or cheese wrapped in prosciutto which tastes magnificent when grilled. Along with this there’ll be a host of items you can choose to add to your shovel (with the above) like kidney beans, corn, pineapple and pickled onions). You can buy special raclette cheese at the shops in ready cut size to drape over everything before you cook it. This all accompanied by a green salad, some fresh cut garlic bread and amazing garlic sauce.

Food heaven!