The touffaye (also toufé or tofaye) is a Vosges mountain dish of humble origins and extraordinary comfort: a layered casserole of sliced potatoes, smoked pork, and onions, slow-baked in white wine until the potatoes absorb the smoky, savoury juices and the top layer crisps to a golden gratin. This is the quintessential mountain shepherd’s dish of the Vosges — simple in ingredients, demanding only patience and a good oven, and producing a result that belies its modest origins. The name derives from the Vosgien dialect for ‘to stew’ or ‘to smother’ (related to étouffer in standard French), describing the covered, slow cooking that defines the dish. The ingredients are layered in a deep earthenware dish (a gratin dish or cocotte): a base layer of thinly sliced potatoes (3-4mm), seasoned with salt and pepper; a layer of thinly sliced onions; a layer of smoked pork (palette fumée, lard fumé, or collet fumé, cut into slices or cubes); then repeated layers, finishing with potatoes on top. A glass of dry white wine (Riesling or Sylvaner) is poured over, along with enough water or stock to come three-quarters up the layers. A few bay leaves and juniper berries are tucked between the layers. The dish is covered tightly (with a lid or sealed with foil) and baked at 150°C for 2.5-3 hours, during which the potatoes absorb the smoky, wine-scented liquid and become meltingly tender. In the final 30 minutes, the cover is removed and the temperature raised to 190°C to brown the top layer of potatoes into a golden crust. The touffaye is served directly from the baking dish with a green salad dressed in walnut oil. This is a dish that cannot be rushed and should not be complicated: its beauty is in the transformation of four or five humble ingredients into something that fills a mountain farmhouse with irresistible aroma.
Layered construction: potatoes, onions, smoked pork, repeated. Wine and stock to three-quarters height. Covered, slow bake at 150°C for 2.5-3 hours. Uncover for final 30 minutes at 190°C for golden top. Serve from the dish.
Soak very salty smoked pork in water for 2 hours before layering. Rub the inside of the baking dish with a cut garlic clove and a smear of goose fat. A few slices of Munster cheese laid over the top for the final 15 minutes creates an extraordinarily rich gratin crust.
Potatoes sliced too thick, remaining firm in the centre. Insufficient liquid, causing the bottom layer to burn. Not covering tightly, allowing moisture to escape too early. Using unsalted fresh pork instead of smoked (the smoke flavour is essential). Rushing at a higher temperature.
La Cuisine Lorraine (Colette Guillemard)