Dip it!

With the revival of the classics, fondues are making a comeback – and what a fun, indulgent evening to spend with friends and family.

Cheese fondue

Serve in a porcelain fondue bowl with cubes of french loaf and vegetables, such as raw mushrooms, baby corn, radishes, mange tout and blanched green beans. Cooked gnocchi is also a great dipper.

Serves: 6

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

30g butter

2 cloves garlic, halved

1 small onion, quartered

30g flour

150ml white wine

300ml vegetable stock

300g cheese (cheddar, emmentaler, edam, gouda), grated

50ml cream

Method:

1 Heat the butter in a saucepan. Add the garlic and onion, and fry until fragrant. Add the flour, white wine and vegetable stock. Stir well and bring to the boil for 2 minutes.

2 Remove from the heat, and add the cheese and cream. Stir until the cheese has melted – return to heat if necessary. Transfer to the fondue pot and serve immediately.

Chicken and fillet fondue

A meat fondue is done in a metal pot filled with hot oil, and kept hot with a paraffin burner. The meat is cooked in the hot oil, and served with accompaniments and sauces.

Serves: 6

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1kg meat (chicken breast or beef fillet), cubed

1 litre oil

Roasted baby potatoes and butternut

Method:

1 Dip the cubed meat into the hot oil for approximately 2 minutes a piece, or until done to your liking.

2 Serve with the roasted vegetables and the assorted sauces.

Fish fondue

You can use hot oil, as with the chicken and beef fondue, but we’ve used fish stock as a healthy alternative for cooking your fish. Serve with rice, lemon wedges and steamed vegetables or a side salad.

Serves: 6

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1,5 litres strong fish stock

1kg fish (salmon, hake, dorado, butterfish, tuna), cubed

Method:

1 Heat the fish stock to boiling. Transfer it to the fondue pot and keep it hot.

2 Dip the cubed fish into the hot fish stock for a few seconds until done (salmon and tuna should be served barely cooked, and dorado and hake should be cooked through).

3 Serve with rice and a side salad or steamed vegetables.

Chocolate fondue

A social dessert option – also great for girls’ parties!

Most chocolate fondue sets are ceramic, but any type of fondue set can be used for a chocolate fondue, as long as the temperature doesn’t get too hot.

Serves: 6

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

300g chocolate, broken into blocks

50ml cream

Marshmallows, finger biscuits, wafers, sliced fruit

Method:

1 In a small glass mixing bowl, heat the cream in the microwave. Add the broken chocolate and stir well. Return the bowl to the microwave for a further 30 seconds. Stir well until the chocolate has melted, returning the bowl to the microwave for only 10 seconds if necessary.

2 Transfer the melted chocolate to the chocolate fondue bowl, and serve with the marshmallows, biscuits, wafers and sliced fruit.

Peppercorn sauce

Heat 20g butter in a small frying pan, add 1 chopped garlic clove, half a finely chopped onion and 10ml mixed-colour peppercorns. Allow to fry for 2 minutes. Add 20ml flour, 20ml white wine and 250ml cream. Season to taste and simmer for 5 minutes.

Mushroom sauce

Heat 20g butter in a small frying pan, add 1 chopped garlic clove and 100g finely sliced mushrooms. Fry for 3 minutes. Add 15ml flour and 200ml cream. Season to taste and simmer for 5 minutes.

Monkeygland sauce

In a small mixing bowl, combine 100ml tomato sauce, 100ml chutney, 50ml barbeque sauce, 20ml worcester sauce and 10 ml soy sauce.

Cheese sauce

Heat 20g butter in a small frying pan, add 1 chopped garlic clove and fry for 30 seconds. Add 20ml flour and 20ml white wine, and cook for a minute. Add 100ml reduced fat cream and 150g mixed grated cheese. Heat through and season to taste.