A New Old Cheese Sauce: Lighter and Stronger

Dinner Menu

  • Roasted Tomato Soup/ Rosemary Ciabatta

  • Beef/ Veal Meatballs /Porcini/ “French Onion” Broth

  • Broiled Miso Salmon

  • Cavatelli

  • Roasted Broccolini and Cauliflorini

  • Romaine/Endive/Radiccio Salad

It’s freezing cold outside and this menu needs a unifying element. I want this meal to feel more like Swiss Alps than Italian night. The beef-shiitake broth I made with short ribs in my pressure cooker is really good and I want to use it for more than just the ‘French Onion’ broth. I also need a sauce for the pasta that will play along with the broccoli and meatballs. I’m thinking about a slightly funky cheese sauce using a gruyere-like cheese that isn’t heavy and creamy. I want to marry the broth and the cheese. The answer is old school Fondue.

A union of wine and cheese. Cornstarch usually does the thickening and smoothing in classic Fondue preparations, but I’m going to use melted leeks and garlic.

  • Melt Leeks and Garlic and season with salt and pepper, a sprinkle of flour or cornstarch

  • Add equal parts White Wine and Stock, simmer for 2 minutes

  • Puree until smooth with a hand blender

  • Add Gruyere-like cheese, anything you would find in a Fondue recipe

  • Adjust your consistency with White Wine and Stock, Adjust seasoning

  • Black Pepper and thyme are nice late additions to this sauce and the usually the more acidic the wine, the better. You can use any white wine, but the citric and tartaric acid in tarter wines are what facilitate smooth melting.