Cheese Fondue

It's cold outside and you have just finished your day’s skiing and, although (aunque) you are warm (tienes calor) from the exercise, it is snowing. So, instead of (en vez de) a bowl of hot soup, why not have a change? How about a nice, warming cheese fondue?

Fondue originated in Switzerland as a way of using up hard, dry cheese (queso curado) and stale bread.(pan duro) The word “fondue” comes from the French verb fondre, meaning “to melt”.(deshacer) Originally, fondue was a classic peasant dish.(plato de campesinos) Traditional fondue is made with a mixture of Emmenthal and Gruyère cheeses melted together but you can add other cheeses as well. You can add a strong liqueur (such as Kirsch) to the melted mixture if you like.

Ingredients (for 6 to 8 people)

1 large clove of garlic,(ajo) peeled (pelado)

1/2 litre dry white wine

A little lemon juice

1/2 kilo grated (rallado) Gruyère cheese

1/2 kilo grated Emmenthal cheese

2 level tablespoons (cuchara sopera) cornflour (maicena)

6 tablespoons Kirsch

1 large loaf of bread (barra de pan) cut into cubes (better if the bread is one day old).


Method

Rub (restregar) the inside of the fondue pan with the garlic. Add the wine and lemon juice. Heat (calentar)gently on the stovetop.(encimera de la cocina) Mix the cheeses together. When the wine is hot, but not boiling, gradually add the cheese. Stir (remover) continuously. Mix the cornflour with the Kirsch and add this mixture (mezcla) to the melted cheese. Keep on stirring until the cheese mixture boils then let it simmer (cocer a fuego lento) for a few minutes.

Transfer the fondue pan from the stovetop to the fondue stand (soporte) and light the flame underneath (por debajo) it. Put the cubes of bread on to forks, dip (moja) them into the cheese mixture and eat immediately. Serve with chilled (fresquito) dry white wine. Just a word of warning (advertencia) : there is a lot of alcohol in this dish and you will be drinking wine with it, so don’t go skiing immediately afterwards!

Watch this video to see how to prepare a nice fondue!