Fondue Recipe
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott, adapted from the Fondue Academy, Gruyere, Switzerland
Recipe Overview
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10-12 minutes
Makes: enough for 10 adults as part of a spread with other dishes or 5 adults as a main
Ingredients Needed
- 1 large clove garlic, cut in half
- 300ml/10.6flozs dry white wine
- 500g/1.1lbs Gruyere cheese, grated
- 250g/8.8ozs Emmental cheese, grated
- 250g/8.8ozs Raclette cheese, grated
- 20g/0.7ozs cornflour or potato flour
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 - Rub the inside of the caquelon or fondue pot well with the clove of garlic. Heat the caquelon on the stovetop on medium heat and add the wine to heat up. Then once simmering add the cheese and cornflour. It will look like it won't fit in the pot but once melted it will fit in just fine (it's voluminous when grated). Stir vigorously until the cheese has melted and the mixture is very smooth - you cannot really overstir the cheese. Then pop the garlic back into the pot.
Step 2 - Place the caquelon on the stand with the lit spirit burner. Serve with the bread, potatoes, cured beef, cornichons and pearl onions.
Personal Note
We made this fondue for the Elliott birthday party on the weekend. Ever since visiting Switzerland I've become obsessed with a) moving there and b) Swiss food like fondue. I figured that a fondue would be great for feeding a crowd. I needed a fondue set but I wanted one pot in particular as it was a Swiss one. The only way it would arrive in time would be to buy one from Facebook marketplace. I figured that fondue pots are the sort of thing that is used maybe once or twice and then resold. I found the exact one I was after and messaged the guy selling it.
He replied straight away and it was about 15 minutes away from us. I messaged him again but there was no response. I left it for a few days until I realised that I had to either contact him again or buy another fondue pot. None were quite right, they were either a bit too small or a bit more functional looking. I messaged him again and he responded quickly. I couldn't see the fondue forks in the picture but he assured me that all six were in the box.
He mentioned that he was going away the next day so that was the latest date for pick up. "How about 3.30-4pm today then?" I asked him and he said it was perfect. "I'll see you this afternoon," I said confirming the pick up.
I sent Mr NQN off to pick it up that afternoon telling him that he needed to count the fondue forks to make sure there were six. Then I let the seller know that my husband was on his way. There was no answer but I figured I was just updating him. When Mr NQN arrived I told the seller that he was there. No response. I messaged a couple of other times and Mr NQN decided that he wasn't going to wait any longer. He took the dogs to Sydney Park for their run. I was disappointed as I really wanted that fondue pot.
Then an hour later I got a message. It turned out that he thought it was tomorrow and he was at work (I did make sure to say "see you this afternoon" but I guess he didn't read the message properly). "I'll be home in 15 minutes!" he said and I asked Mr NQN if he would mind going back. I got his phone number just in case and he came home with this beautiful copper fondue pot. Except not all the forks were there and there were only 5 and Mr NQN hadn't bothered counting!
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever made fondue? Have you ever been let down by a marketplace buy?