Sunday, 1 December 2013

When in Switzerland...

Well, not really, but as Rowena went to Geneva last weekend, Naomi and Suzanne both wanted a cheese fondue so I had to cook one.  We rarely eat fondue as it's so fatty, but every once in a while it really can't be beaten!

Rowena commented that the fondue she had in Geneva seemed less "winey" and more creamy than she remembered mine being, so this might be a series of recipes as I develop the creaminess.  Going on historic data the next one will be in about four years time!

Ingredients
1 garlic clove
375ml dry white wine
A dash of Lemon juice
190g Conté cheese
170g Swiss Emmental cheese
170g Swiss Gruyere cheese
100g Abondance cheese
4 teaspoons cornflour
A dash of brandy
2 Batons bread

Method
Peel and crush the garlic clove, then wipe around a cast iron pan.  Ideally use a fondue pan for this.  Add the wine and lemon juice and bring to the boil for 3-4 minutes to drive off some of the alcohol.

While the wine boils, grate all the cheeses roughly and add them to the pan making sure you stir the mixture constantly.  Keep the heat under the wine but make sure the mixture doesn't boil or the cheese will burn on the bottom of the pan.

Once the cheese is thoroughly melted, mix the cornflour with either a dessert spoon of Kirsch or Cognac, even water is fine, then add this to the cheese and wine mixture making sure you stir constantly or you'll get lumps.

Now cut the batons into bite size chunks ready to serve.  While doing this leave the cheese and wine to simmer on the lowest possible heat, ideally you should just keep it warm with no bubbles, and make sure you stir every couple of minutes to stop a skin forming.

If you've feeling romantic, serve in front of a log fire in  a room full of candlelight and dip the bread into the cheese and wine on a chilly wintry evening.

Do let me know what your best fondue recipe is...

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