from our notebook · Everything else
Cheese Fondue
Pieces of bread soaked in sauce and coated in melted cheese, the perfect dish to share with family or friends.
Jump to the methodAdded September 2011
It’s been a while since I’ve had a good Cheese Fondue. As it was mother’s day last week I decided that it would be a good occasion to dust off the old Fondue set and help our daughter cook something special for her Mum. Ok, so our daughter is only two so it was mostly me doing the cooking but hey, it’s the thought that counts.
You'll need
- 200g of Swiss cheese
- 150g other melting cheese*
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 French shallot
- 1 tbsp dried mushrooms
- Sparkling wine
- 1 shot glass of Brandy
- 10g of butter
- Salt and white pepper
- Ground Nutmeg
- 1 Loaf of bread, Homemade works well here
- 1 Medium to Large potato per person
- 4 Thin slices of cured ham per person
* Select any cheese that suits your taste and is known to melt well. Beaufort, Emmental or Comte will all work well here.
Method
Score the potatoes using a knife and then put them on to boil while you prepare the rest of the fondue. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the potatoes.
Boil the Potatoes 
Rehydrate the dried mushrooms While the potatoes are boiling rehydrate the dried mushrooms by putting them in a bowl and covering them with boiling water and allowing them to stand for about 15 minutes.
While the mushrooms are rehydrating, finely chop the clove of garlic, finely chop the shallot, grate your cheese and cut the bread into one inch cubes.
Once rehydrated, squeeze the mushrooms between your hands to remove any excess water before chopping them finely as well. After doing this you can discard the water used to rehydrate the mushrooms.
Cut up the bread 
Cut up the potatoes Once the potatoes are cooked through, remove them from the water and cut them into rough inch thick pieces.
Using the Fondue dish on a low heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic, mushrooms and shallots. Cook until the shallot has softened.
Start Cooking 
Add the cheese and wine Add the grated cheese to the fondue dish and then pour in the sparkling wine so it fills the dish to just below the surface of the cheese.
Stir over low heat until the cheese has melted and is very soft. Then add a little pepper, nutmeg and the Brandy and stir the mixture around. The fondue is now ready to serve.
Finish the Fondue To serve, light the burner in the base of your Fondue set and transfer the Fondue dish to it. The Bread, Potatoes and Meat should be put into serving bowls on the table for everyone to help themselves.
Using one of the forks from your set, take a piece of bread and dip it into the Fondue. It should come out soaked in the sauce, covered in cheese and tasting unbelievable. The meat and potato should be treated exactly the same way, they too will benefit from a coating of cheese.
