if you ever get to spend time in the alps, you’ll proobably notice that eating cheese is a popular activity.
Big chunks as a snack, melted in fondue, or gratinéed over potatoes. all of these options are tasty, sure—but let’s try to shake it up a bit 😉

Today, we’re going for something fun and unexpected: giving Beaufort the starring role where you’d normally find icing on an éclair.

Serves 4 as a starter (2 éclairs each) or makes 8 éclairs.

For the choux pastry:

• 125 g flour
• 200 ml water
• 75 g butter
• 3 eggs

For the filling:

• 400 g tomato pulp (canned works perfectly fine)
• 1 eggplant (around 300 g)
  (canned from your garden last summer, will work great, live in a place where it grows all year round, even better, anything will do, even the greenhouse grown stuff)
• 80 g canned tuna flakes
• ½ shallot
• A pinch of oregano

For the “icing”:

• 200 g young Beaufort (a piece about 20 cm x 2 cm x 2 cm) or any hard swiss cheese you can get your hands on

Prepare the choux pastry

Start here to give it time to rest.

1. Bring the water and butter to a boil. Add the flour in one go. Lower the heat and stir vigorously for about 5 minutes over low to medium heat.
2. Let the mixture cool below 60°C (so you don’t cook the eggs). Add the eggs one at a time, stirring thoroughly after each addition.
3. Once smooth, let the dough rest.

Step 2: Prepare the filling

1. Dice the eggplant and sauté it in olive oil over medium heat for a few minutes.
2. Add the tomato pulp and finely chopped shallot. Reduce the mixture slightly and blend it into a coarse purée (smooth is boring; you want some texture).
3. Return the mixture to the stove and let it simmer on low for about an hour. Add the well-drained tuna and continue reducing for another 30 minutes. Keep warm.

Step 3: Bake the éclairs

Preheat your oven to 200°C. Pipe 8 éclair shapes onto a baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes.

little tip, At 18 minutes, take the éclairs out briefly poke them and rummage a bit in the cavity to remove the inner walls that would interfere with the filling process. Return them to the oven for the final 2 minutes.

Step 4: Slice the Beaufort

While the éclair shells are in the oven, cut 8 rectangular strips of Beaufort, about 2 mm thick.

Step 5: Assemble and finish

1. Let the éclair shells cool slightly, then fill them with the warm eggplant-tomato-tuna mixture using a piping bag.
2. Lay a slice of Beaufort on top of each éclair. Briefly melt the cheese under a hot grill (30 seconds to 1 minute).

Serve warm, two éclairs per plate.