I had my first ever cheese fondue whilst on holiday in Grenoble over three years ago and it's been a long wait to have one again. Grenoble is known as the Capital of the Alps and a popular ski resort so fondue can be found in many restaurants across the city. Fondue is great served after a long day on the slopes but you can enjoy it at home too so I'm sharing my recipe for a Swiss/French fondue.
Serves 4
You will need
225g chopped or grated gruyere cheese
225g chopped camembert (remove the rind)
225g emmental cheese, grated
300 millilitres white wine
2 tsp cornflour
3 tablespoons kirsch (optional)
1 clove garlic (peeled)
Pinch of black pepper
To serve
Cubed bread
Potatoes
Charcuterie
Whatever vegetables you have - tomatoes, peppers etc
Method
Rub the fondue pot with the garlic clove, you can either discard the garlic or leave it in the pot for some extra flavour.
Put the chopped and grated cheese into the fondue pot with the wine and heat until boiling on the hob, by which time the cheese should have melted.
Turn the pot down to a simmer. Mix the cornflour with the Kirsch in a small bowl, and add to the fondue pot. I used wine instead of Kirsch which is just as tasty but less traditional.
Season with the pepper, stir well and place the fondue pot over a flame at the table.
Once everyone is at the table tuck in and prepare to enter a CHEESE COMA. Cheese fondue is the best but you may need a little nap after consuming this amount of cheese. I think as long as you have gruyere in the mix you can add whatever cheese you have at home and create your own fondue mix. It might not be typically Swiss if you add cheddar but who cares?
A cheese fondue mixture should be kept warm enough to keep the fondue smooth and liquid but not so hot that it burns. When the fondue is finished there will be a thin crust of toasted cheese at the bottom of the pot. This is called la religieuse (French for the nun). It has the texture of a cracker and this can be lifted out and eaten. Martyn bought us a fondue pot but you could keep a pan and your cheesy mix warm by popping it on a grill rack or wire cake cooling rack with some tea light candles underneath.
Remember, don't drop your bread in the fondue because if you're a woman you kiss your neighbours around the pot and if you're a man you buy a round of drinks for everyone at the table.
15 comments
those champagne glasses are so much fun. Nice recipe too. R
ReplyDeleteThey were a Chirstmas present from my boyfriend, Cath Kidston I think.
DeleteI love a fondue! And actually I haven't had one for about 15 years! We used to enjoy cheese fondues and steak ones too
ReplyDeleteI've had chocolate fondue, but never cheese - although I've been meaning to change that over the past few years. I may have to persuade my hubby to make it after our wedding :)
ReplyDeleteI love chocolate fondue but never had any other before but this looks yummy
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh this looks amazing! I've only ever had chocolate fondue! Why have I never tried this?!
ReplyDeletethis looks amazing! I wish that my boyfriend liked cheese so I could make this!
ReplyDeleteCan you believe I've never jad cheese fondue yet I'n the biggest lover of cheese!!! This is a great recipe for doing it at home which I'll definitley be trying now with the run up to Christmas!
ReplyDeleteA good cheese fondue is amazing and it's a lovely communal food. We add bits of meat, carrots, beans,cauliflower, potato etc to dip in and the kids love it
ReplyDeleteLove the champagne glasses. Am not usually a fan of fondue, but love the idea with garlic.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, you use cornflour! I have learned something. Not that I've had a fondue in ages. Maybe I should invest in a kit??
ReplyDeleteit helps to bind it all together :) I would say a kit is nice but you can try it with just a pan to see if you enjoy it and then invest if you know you like to have fondue regularly.
DeleteThis is definitely something for the other half, im not a cheese fan and I only like it melted on toast. I guess I should really give it a try as everyone else seems to love the idea.
ReplyDeleteFondue is so good, and such a treat this time of year! I love every kind of fondue, as well as I'm a huge cheese lover, so this sounds delish to me! xx
ReplyDeleteKyia at WANDERLUSTGIRL// Come read my BLOGMAS posts!
Let’s be BLOGLOVIN friends!
We love cheese but I have never tried fondue think I might have to invest and do this over Christmas when family come round
ReplyDeleteThank you for leaving a comment, feel free to ask me any questions here or on twitter- @Gemma_DS.