A feel-good recipe

Taking a dip Keystone

For those who would rather eat fondue than read about it, here's a recipe.

This version of the quintessential Swiss dish is perfect for a cold winter’s evening, especially after a day on the pistes.

Serves 4:

800g cheese (eg 400g Gruyères, 200g Emmental, 200g Fribourg Vacherin)
1-3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of cornflour
2 tablespoons of kirsch
Approx. 500g bread
4dl white wine (Valais fendant or other dry white wine)
Nutmeg
Paprika
Freshly ground pepper

1. To prepare the fondue properly keep all the ingredients close at hand: the caquelon (clay pot), garlic, bread, cheese, white wine, kirsch, cornstarch and seasoning.

2. Grate the cheese coarsely. Peel the garlic cloves, halve them and rub the inside of the pot with them. Then divide the cloves into four or chop them finely and add to the pot. Dissolve the cornstarch in the kirsch. Cut the bread into cubes of approx. 2 cm.

3. Pour the wine into the pot and bring to the boil on the stove. Add the cheese little by little, mixing with a wooden spoon. Fold in carefully to ensure that the heat is spread evenly. As soon as the cheese has melted, add enough of the cornstarch mixture to make the fondue creamy and give the desired consistency. Season with ground pepper and transfer to the table. Place on the burner and continue to stir. Dip the bread into the cheese mixture right away, stir it round and enjoy.

Optional

Anyone who loses a piece of bread in the mixture has to pay for a bottle of wine.

Serve a small glass of kirsch for guests to dip their bread in before they dip it in the cheese mixture.

If only a little cheese is left at the bottom, and people are still hungry, add two fresh eggs and a good-sized glass of kirsch and stir vigorously.

Variations

– Instead of wine you can use apple cider, water, apple juice, rosé or red wine, champagne or fermenting fruit juice.
– Substitute cognac, William’s pear schnapps, grappa, vermouth, whisky or calvados for the kirsch.

As a final touch, and if your guests are still hungry, mix the last 2-3 spoons of fondue with 1-2 eggs in the caquelon, let the mixture thicken slightly and dip bread into it.

Suggestions

If you don’t want a crust to form on the bottom of the pot, keep the flame low and mix well.

The cheese mixture will keep for 5-6 days in the fridge or for 5-6 months in the freezer.

If the fondue is too thick, dilute it with water or heated wine.

If the fondue is too thin, dissolve a little cornstarch in kirsch or wine, add to the fondue while mixing, and continue to stir until you obtain the desired consistency.

To prepare a particularly light fondue that is easy to digest, add a pinch of bicarbonate of soda just before serving.

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