Love fondue, but not a fan of double dippers? The solution, my individual mini-fondue servings, will satisfy the creaminess of the cheese and wine sauce.
Serving a variety of crisp, colorful veggies makes for a healthier spin on the traditional fondue. The vegetables and bread can be prepared ahead, while the fondue sauce is a quick sauce prepared and served immediately. Topped with a zesty pesto cuts the heaviness of just serving an all cheese sauce.
Fondue with Sweet English Spring Peas & Garlic Scape Pesto
Sauce serves 6-8
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4 Tablespoons Garlic Scape Pesto, or my Perfect Pesto or Winter Pesto when scapes are out of season
1 cup dry white wine
½ pound Swiss Emmenthaler or Emmental cheese, shredded
½ pound Gruyere, cheese, shredded
2 Tablespoons flour
Pinch fresh grated nutmeg and sea salt
Fresh grated black pepper
Serve with assorted crisp vegetables such as string beans, spring peas, tomatoes & slices of crusty bread.
Prepare ahead an assortment of vegetables and sliced bread and arrange in small ramekins.
Mix flour with shredded cheese.
Immediately before serving, gently simmer wine in a small saucepan. Add Swiss cheese, Gruyere cheese a little bit at a time until blended into the wine. Keep gently stirring after each addition of cheese until completely melted. When all the cheese has melted, add nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Ladle a small amount into each ramekin. Top with a small spoon of pesto. Serve immediately.
Tips:
- Use well-aged or moist grating cheeses for optimum flavor and texture of the sauce
- Caution: Cook at low heat with a gentle simmer, do not boil the cheese sauce
- To avoid over stringiness of cheese, do not over stir