Well winter is almost over for another year. This means the opportunity to indulge in heavy foods is coming to an end. So last night we had fondue. Along with Raclette it is one of two Swiss meals that I can do.

As Woolworths was out of the Le Superbe Brand of fondue mix and I didn’t get to place an order for fondue mix, Gruyere or emmentaller cheese with Christian at Fromart, I had to make my own up. As it was only for two people there was no need to make a huge amount. I bought some Swiss style cheese and lo and behold Woolies actually had some Swiss Gruyere, so all was not lost by using the slightly blander Aussie product.

Here is my version.

For two People…

200-230 Gr Gruyere cheese

200-230Gr Emmentaler(or Swiss style cheese)

1 garlic clove

Kirsch

300ml Riesling

pinch Paprika

pinch white pepper

Pinch nutmeg or mace

Cut the garlic clove in half and rub all over the inside of the pan. Cut one or 2 slices of the garlic and place in the saucpan with the wine. Place on stove and bring to a simmer. Add the cheese and turn heat to medium. Cheese will need to be stirred until completely melted. Once the cheese and wine have combined add Kirsch to taste( I like about a tablespoon for the quantity of cheese given), season with the spices and check the flavour. If the fondue looks grainy or runny I mix a little bit of cornflour with water and stir it in until the mixture looks smooth and “creamy” just remember to cook the cornflour out for a minute or two.

Put fondue pot on to the stand above the burner and dip cubes of baguette in to it.

Most of the time I use plain white baguette or I get a 1/2 sour dough baguette and a 1/2 plain baguette. As Rene likes his bread cubes a bit bigger I cut each baguette in half down the length  and then each half gets cut again down the length. This gives 4 long pieces of baguette. I then cut each piece across the length (about 1.5cm – 2cm).  We also drink the rest of the reisling as we find reisling goes best with the richness of cheese.

Hope you enjoy my version of fondue!