Truffade comes from the volcanic uplands of the Auvergne, the country around Clermont Ferrand where the Charade circuit once wound across the slopes of an extinct volcano. It was the food of the cowherds who spent summers in stone huts on the high pastures, making cheese: potatoes cooked slowly in pork or goose fat, with slices of fresh young cheese folded in until the pan held something closer to a warm, golden blanket than a side dish.

The cheese is the secret and, outside France, the difficulty. Locals use tomme fraîche, the unsalted, unaged curd from which Cantal is made, which melts into long elastic strands. We give a mixture of supermarket cheeses that comes satisfyingly close. Served with a green salad and a slice of ham, it will keep a crowd warm through any amount of rain at the track.

The potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 lb (1 kg) waxy potatoes
• 3 tablespoons (45 g) duck fat or lard
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves

The cheese

Ingredients

• 14 oz (400 g) tomme fraîche
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

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