Softness, slowness and flavor: this is what we want for a successful Valentine’s Day dinner. What’s better than putting fondue on the menu. To fall in love with this dish again, we give you original ideas to vary the pleasures!
We know the classic Burgundy, Chinese and cheese fondues. No gourmet forgets the chocolate one. However, fondues are reinventing themselves and offering accompaniments that offer a thousand ways to enjoy them. The only limits are our audacity! Because you can easily transform fondue by modifying either the broth, the foods you cook – vegetables, bread or proteins – or the sauces that accompany it. Indeed, it is the combination of these three elements that makes our fondue a success!
The problem is that we don’t dare enough to go out of the ordinary. We prepare our fondue like putting on comfortable slippers. We make the same broth, the same sauces and we serve the same side dishes without asking too many questions. However, like life as a couple, this dish sometimes needs a new lease of life, a little spice, what? So what do we do to give oumpf to our fondue? We vary the three basic elements as well as the accompaniments. We dare, for example, to swap baked potatoes for vermicelli. We replace the usual meat with fish or even wontons. We replace the mushrooms with quarters of bok choy. Metamorphoses are endlessly possible! Few mistakes can be made, so why stop yourself?
Finally, so that nothing spoils this evening, we must be able to trust our fondue pan. Let him not fail us in the middle of a meal. This is why electric stoves are all the rage. With them, there is no risk of running out of fuel. In addition, they help maintain the broth at a constant temperature and are safer. However, be careful with the wire which can be bulky. Gas stoves heat more intensely, but must be handled with care to avoid burns or fires. But each stove has its strengths and drawbacks, it depends on what you prefer. Like love, what?
exclusive-design – stock.adobe.com
10 ways to vary your fondue
1. We vary the broths : Italian style, with coconut milk (ideal with fish and seafood), with pesto and cheese, etc.
2. We are thinking about diving tasty spices in a more traditional broth: cinnamon, anise, ginger, rosemary, cayenne, cumin, etc.
3. Next to our forks, we add fish or cooking baskets. You can cook vermicelli, dumplings and other more fragile foods there.
4. An Asian touch : we dip wontons, dumplings, bok choy, mushrooms and sweet accompanying sauces. And put lemongrass in your broth!
5. Tortellini in broth ? But why not ? You can also cook gnocchi.
6. Some vegetables can be blanched in advance to speed up cooking. All you have to do is soak them so that they soak up the flavors of the broth. We focus on broccoli, cauliflower, baby potatoes, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, carrots, etc.
7. In a chocolate fondue, we think of citrus fruits (grapefruit, tangerine, clementines, etc.).
8. For dessert fondues, we offer dip cookies, angel food cake pieces, cranberry bread pieces, marshmallows (flavored!), etc.
9. A wand, of course! But also nut bread, olive focaccia, naan bread, cheese breadetc.
10. The secret is in the sauces… We open our cupboards—and our refrigerator and mix flavors. Sour cream and bagel seasoning, hoisin sauce and sesame seeds, maple mustard, mayo, honey and curry, etc.