Lazy Sundays are so nice and also when you have time to enjoy a more extravagant dinner. How about a cheese fondue? I’m not sure I could live without cheese! This is inspired by my trip to Zizzi where they have fonduta formaggi – a cheese pot with Gruyère & Pecorino cheese with baked dough sticks & focaccia bread. You have to try it when you are dining there!
Nigella Lawson is the queen of delicious comforting food. So I used her recipe as a guideline and tweaked a few things. I can’t resist changing things in recipes! This dish is probably not the healthiest one for getting that trim figure but who cares….its a Sunday!
Recipe (serves 2)
Fondue
150g roughly chopped Gruyere cheese
150g roughly chopped camembert (I love Couer de Lion’s cheeses – use either Le Camembert or Le Pié d’ Angloys)
150ml white wine (such as Pinot Grigio)
1 tsp cornflour
1 ½ tbsp Marsala wine
1 clove garlic (peeled)
a good pinch of ground pepper
a good pinch of grated nutmeg
Dippers (choose 3-4 of these options….or make them up yourself)
carrot batons (raw)
celery sticks (raw)
chorizo sausage
asparagus sticks (raw or slightly blanched)
crusty bread
broccoli sticks (raw or slightly blanched)
green beans (raw or slightly blanched)
Method
- Start with preparing the dippers so they are all ready.
- Melt the cheese in a saucepan along with the wine. Heat until boiling.
- Mix the cornflour with the Marsala until a creamy paste.
- Simmer the cheesy gooeyness with the cornflour mix and add the garlic clove (whole). Let the mixture thicken whilst stirring continuously (useful fact – this process is called gelatinisation).
- Add the nutmeg and pepper and poor into the fondue pot. You will need to have a lit candle prepared prior to keep the pot warm.
I recommend accompanying this dish with The Wolftrap, Western Cape 2014.
Enjoy your fondue!